1993 Edition

Area

total area: 1,246,700 km2 land area: 1,246,700 km2 comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Climate

semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April)

Coastline

1,600 km

Environment

locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on plateau; desertification

International disputes

civil war since independence on 11 November 1975; a ceasefire held from 31 May 1991 until October 1992, when the insurgent National Union for the Total Independence of Angola refused to accept its defeat in internationally monitored elections; fighting has since resumed across the countryside

Irrigated land

NA km2

Land boundaries

total 5,198 km, Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zaire 2,511 km, Zambia 1,110 km

Land use

arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 23% forest and woodland: 43% other: 32%

Location

Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean between Namibia and Zaire

Map references

Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 20 nm

Natural resources

petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium

Note

Cabinda is separated from rest of country by Zaire

Terrain

narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau

Birth rate

45.8 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate

18.96 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, Mestico 2%, European 1%, other 22%

Infant mortality rate

148.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Labor force

2.783 million economically active by occupation: agriculture 85%, industry 15% (1985 est.)

Languages

Portuguese (official), Bantu dialects

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 45.26 years male: 43.26 years female: 47.35 years (1993 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 42% male: 56% female: 28%

Nationality

noun: Angolan(s) adjective: Angolan

Net migration rate

-0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population

9,545,235 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate

2.67% (1993 est.)

Religions

indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (est.)

Total fertility rate

6.54 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Administrative divisions

18 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire

Capital

Luanda

Chief of State

President Jose Eduardo dos SANTOS (since 21 September 1979)

Constitution

11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, and 6 March 1991

Digraph

AO

Diplomatic representation in US

none representation: Jose PATRICIO, Permanent Observer to the Organization of American States address: Permanent Observer to the Organization of American States, 1899 L Street, NW, 5th floor, Washington, DC 20038 telephone: (202) 785-1156

Elections

first nationwide, multiparty elections were held in late September 1992 with disputed results; further elections are being discussed

Executive branch

president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

FAX

(202) 785-1258

[244] (2) 39-05-15 note: the US maintains a liaison office in Luanda accredited to the Joint Political Military Commission that oversees implementation of the Angola Peace Accords; this office does not perform any commercial or consular services; the US does not maintain diplomatic relations with the Government of the Republic of Angola

Flag

two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle)

Head of Government

Prime Minister Marcolino Jose Carlos MOCO (since 2 December 1992)

Independence

11 November 1975 (from Portugal)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Tribunal da Relacrao)

Legal system

based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; recently modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets

Legislative branch

unicameral National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional)

Member of

ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC (observer), ECA, FAO, FLS, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Names

conventional long form: Republic of Angola conventional short form: Angola local long form: Republic de Angola local short form: Angola former: People's Republic of Angola

National holiday

Independence Day, 11 November (1975)

Other political or pressure groups

Cabindan State Liberation Front (FLEC), NZZIA Tiago, leader note: FLEC is waging a small-scale, highly factionalized, armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province

Political parties and leaders

Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose EDUARDO DOS SANTOS, is the ruling party and has been in power since 1975; National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, remains a legal party despite its returned to armed resistance to the government; five minor parties have small numbers of seats in the National Assembly

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

transitional government nominally a multiparty democracy with a strong presidential system

US diplomatic representation

director: Edmund DE JARNETTE liaison office: Rua Major Kanhangolo, Nes 132/138, Luanda mailing address: CP6484, Luanda, Angola (mail international); USLO Luanda, Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20521-2550 (pouch) telephone: [244] (2) 34-54-81

Agriculture

cash crops - coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, sugar cane, manioc, tobacco; food crops - cassava, corn, vegetables, plantains, bananas; livestock production accounts for 20%, fishing 4%, forestry 2% of total agricultural output; disruptions caused by civil war and marketing deficiencies require food imports

Budget

revenues $2.1 billion; expenditures $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $963 million (1991 est.)

Currency

1 kwanza (Kz) = 100 kwei

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $265 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1,105 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $1.3 billion; net official disbursements (1985-89), $750 million

Electricity

510,000 kW capacity; 800 million kWh produced, 84 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates

kwanza (Kz) per US$1 -4,000 (black market rate was 17,000 on 30 April 1993)

Exports

$3.7 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.) commodities: oil, liquefied petroleum gas, diamonds, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton partners: US, France, Germany, Netherlands, Brazil

External debt

$8 billion (1991)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Imports

$1.5 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.) commodities: capital equipment (machinery and electrical equipment), food, vehicles and spare parts, textiles and clothing, medicines; substantial military deliveries partners: Portugal, Brazil, US, France, Spain

Industrial production

growth rate NA%; accounts for about 60% of GDP, including petroleum output

Industries

petroleum; mining diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, bauxite, uranium, and gold;, fish processing; food processing; brewing; tobacco; sugar; textiles; cement; basic metal products

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1,000% (1992 est.)

National product

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $5.1 billion (1991 est.)

National product per capita

$950 (1991 est.)

National product real growth rate

1.7% (1991 est.)

Overview

Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for 80-90% of the population, but accounts for less than 15% of GDP. Oil production is vital to the economy, contributing about 60% to GDP. Bitter internal fighting continues to severely affect the nonoil economy, and food needs to be imported. For the long run, Angola has the advantage of rich natural resources in addition to oil, notably gold, diamonds, and arable land. To realize its economic potential Angola not only must secure domestic peace but also must reform government policies that have led to distortions and imbalances throughout the economy.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Airports

total: 302 usable: 173 with permanent-surface runways: 32 with runways over 3,659 m: 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 17 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 57

Highways

73,828 km total; 8,577 km bituminous-surface treatment, 29,350 km crushed stone, gravel, or improved earth, remainder unimproved earth

Inland waterways

1,295 km navigable

Merchant marine

12 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 66,348 GRT/102,825 DWT; includes 11 cargo, 1 oil tanker

Pipelines

crude oil 179 km

Ports

Luanda, Lobito, Namibe, Cabinda

Railroads

3,189 km total; 2,879 km 1.067-meter gauge, 310 km 0.600-meter gauge; limited trackage in use because of landmines still in place from the civil war; majority of the Benguela Railroad also closed because of civil war

Telecommunications

limited system of wire, microwave radio relay, and troposcatter routes; high frequency radio used extensively for military links; 40,300 telephones; broadcast stations - 17 AM, 13 FM, 6 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force/Air Defense, People's Defense Organization and Territorial Troops, Frontier Guard

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 2,204,155; fit for military service 1,109,292; reach military age (18) annually 94,919 (1993 est.)