1994 Edition

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

Agriculture

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

Airports

total: 302 usable: 175 with permanent-surface runways: 32 with runways over 3,659 m: 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 18 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 59

Area

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

Birth rate

45.43 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Branches

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

Budget

revenues: $928 million expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $963 million (1992 est.)

Capital

Luanda

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

Constitution

11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, 6 March 1991, and 26 August 1992

Currency

1 new kwanza (NKz) = 100 lwei

Death rate

18.55 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Digraph

AO

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Jose PATRICIO embassy: 1899 L Street NW, 5th floor, Washington, DC 20038 telephone: (202) 785-1156

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $265 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.105 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $1.3 billion; net official disbursements (1985-89), $750 million

Electricity

capacity: 510,000 kW production: 800 million kWh consumption per capita: 84 kWh (1991)

Environment

current issues: population pressures contributing to overuse of pastures and subsequent soil erosion; desertification; deforestation of tropical rain forest attributable to the international demand for tropical timber and domestic use as a fuel; deforestation contributing to loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to water pollution and siltation of rivers and dams; scarcity of potable water natural hazards: locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau international agreements: party to - Law of the Sea; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change

Ethnic divisions

Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and Native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22%

Exchange rates

kwanza (Kz) per US$1 - 90,000 (official rate 1June 1994), 180,000 (black market rate 1 June 1994); 7,000 (official rate 16 December 1993), 50,000 (black market rate 16 December 1993); 3,884 (July 1993); 550 (April 1992); 90 (November 1991); 60 (October 1990)

Executive branch

chief of state: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979) head of government: Prime Minister Marcolino Jose Carlos MOCO (since 2 December 1992) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president

Exports

$3 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton partners: US, France, Germany, Netherlands, Brazil

External debt

$8 billion (1993 est.)

FAX

(202) 785-1258

[244] (2) 39-05-15

Fiscal year

calendar year

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)

Highways

total: 73,828 km paved: bituminous-surface 8,577 km unpaved: crushed stone, gravel, improved earth 29,350 km; unimproved earth 35,901 km

Imports

$1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1992 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

Independence

11 November 1975 (from Portugal)

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

Infant mortality rate

145.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1,840% (1993 est.)

Inland waterways

1,295 km navigable

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

NA km2

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Tribunal da Relacao)

Labor force

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

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%

Languages

Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 45.77 years male: 43.72 years female: 47.92 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

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

Location

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

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 2,262,669; fit for military service 1,139,319; reach military age (18) annually 96,900 (1994 est.)

Map references

Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 20 nm

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, OAS (observer), OAU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Merchant marine

12 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 63,776 GRT/99,863 DWT, cargo 11, oil tanker 1

Names

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

National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional)

first nationwide, multiparty elections were held 29-30 September 1992 with disputed results; further elections are being discussed

National holiday

Independence Day, 11 November (1975)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $5.7 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$600 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

-22.6% (1993 est.)

Nationality

noun: Angolan(s) adjective: Angolan

Natural resources

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

Net migration rate

-0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Note

Cabinda is separated from rest of country by Zaire

Civil war has been the norm since independence on 11 November 1975; a cease-fire lasted from 31 May 1991 until October 1992 when the insurgent National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) refused to accept its defeat in internationally monitored elections; fighting has since resumed throughout much of the countryside. Nevertheless, the two sides are negotiating the details for holding the second round of presidential elections.

Other political or pressure groups

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

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 economy, and food must be imported. In 1993, production fell by an estimated 22.6%, mainly because of the capture by insurgents of the oil town of Soyo and diamond-producing areas in northeastern Angola. Angola has rich natural resources - notably gold, diamonds, and arable land, in addition to large oil depoaits - but will need to end the war and reform government policies if it is to achieve its potential.

Pipelines

crude oil 179 km

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 return to armed resistance to the government; five minor parties have small numbers of seats in the National Assembly

Population

9,803,576 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

2.67% (1994 est.)

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

Religions

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Telecommunications

limited system of wire, microwave radio relay, and troposcatter routes; high frequency radio used extensively for military links; telephone service limited mostly to government and business use; 40,300 telephones (4.1 telephones per 1,000 persons); broadcast stations - 17 AM, 13 FM, 6 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations

Terrain

narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau

Total fertility rate

6.48 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Type

transitional government nominally a multiparty democracy with a strong presidential system

Unemployment rate

15% with considerable underemployment (1993 est.)

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Edmund DE JARNETTE embassy: Miramar, Luanda mailing address: CP6484, Luanda, Angola (mail international); US Embassy, Luanda, Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20521-2550 (pouch) telephone: [244] (2) 39-24-98