1995 Edition

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

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

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; inadequate supplies 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, Desertification

International disputes

none

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

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 45% (female 2,208,307; male 2,274,533) 15-64 years: 53% (female 2,641,259; male 2,685,543) 65 years and over: 2% (female 136,573; male 123,286) (July 1995 est.)

Birth rate

45.05 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate

18.1 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

142.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Labor force

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

Languages

Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 46.28 years male: 44.18 years female: 48.49 years (1995 est.)

Literacy

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

Nationality

noun: Angolan(s) adjective: Angolan

Net migration rate

-0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Population

10,069,501 (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate

2.68% (1995 est.)

Religions

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

Total fertility rate

6.42 children born/woman (1995 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

Constitution

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

Digraph

AO

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Jose Goncalves Martins PATRICIO embassy: 1819 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, Suite 400 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156

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

FAX

[1] (202) 785-1258

[244] (2) 347-884

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)

Independence

11 November 1975 (from Portugal)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Tribunal da Relacao)

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

Member of

ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC (observer), ECA, FAO, FLS, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), 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: 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

National holiday

Independence Day, 11 November (1975)

Note

Civil war has been the norm since independence from Portugal 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 and fighting resumed throughout much of the countryside. The two sides signed another peace accord on 20 November 1994; the cease-fire is generally holding but most provisions of the accord remain to be implemented.

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

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, is a legal party despite its history of 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

chief of mission: Ambassador Edmund T. DE JARNETTE embassy: 32 Rua Houari Boumedienne, Miramar, Luanda mailing address: C.P. 6484, Luanda; American Embassy, Luanda, Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20521-2550 (pouch) telephone: [244] (2) 345-481, 346-418

Agriculture

cash crops - bananas, sugarcane, 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

Budget

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

Currency

1 new kwanza (NKz) = 100 lwei

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: 620,000 kW production: 1.9 billion kWh consumption per capita: 189 kWh (1993)

Exchange rates

new kwanza (NKz) per US$1 - 900,000 (official rate 25 April 1995), 1,900,000 (black market rate 6 April 1995), 600,000 (official rate 10 January 1995), 90,000 (official rate 1 June 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)

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

$11.7 billion (1994 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Illicit drugs

increasingly used as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for Western Europe

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

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)

20% average per month (1994 est.)

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $6.1 billion (1994 est.)

National product per capita

$620 (1994 est.)

National product real growth rate

-1% (1994 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. Despite the signing of a peace accord in November 1994 between the Angola government and the UNITA insurgents, sporadic fighting continues and many farmers remain reluctant to return to their fields. As a result, much of the country's food requirements must still be imported. Angola has rich natural resources - notably gold, diamonds, and arable land, in addition to large oil deposits - but will need to observe the cease-fire, implement the peace agreement, and reform government policies if it is to achieve its potential.

Unemployment rate

15% with considerable underemployment (1993 est.)

Radio

broadcast stations: AM 17, FM 13, shortwave 0 radios: NA

Telephone system

40,300 telephones; 4.1 telephones/1,000 persons; high frequency radio used extensively for military links; telephone service limited mostly to government and business use local: NA intercity: limited system of wire, microwave radio relay, and troposcatter routes international: 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations

Television

broadcast stations: 6 televisions: NA

Airports

total: 289 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 4 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 6 with paved runways under 914 m: 93 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 33 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 126

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

Inland waterways

1,295 km navigable

Merchant marine

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

Pipelines

crude oil 179 km

Ports

Ambriz, Cabinda, Lobito, Luanda, Malogo, Namibe, Porto Amboim, Soyo

Railroads

total: 3,189 km; note - 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 narrow gauge: 2,879 km 1.067-m gauge; 310 km 0.600-m gauge

Branches

Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Police Force

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $1.1 billion, 31% of GDP (1993) ________________________________________________________________________ ANGUILLA (dependent territory of the UK)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 2,315,717; males fit for military service 1,166,082; males reach military age (18) annually 100,273 (1995 est.)