Communications
Airports [time series]
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
Roadways (Highways) [time series]
73,828 km total; 8,577 km bituminous-surface treatment, 29,350 km crushed stone, gravel, or improved earth, remainder unimproved earth
Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]
1,295 km navigable
Merchant marine [time series]
12 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 66,348 GRT/102,825 DWT; includes 11 cargo, 1 oil tanker
Pipelines [time series]
crude oil 179 km
Luanda, Lobito, Namibe, Cabinda
Railways (Railroads) [time series]
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
Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]
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
Defense Forces
Affiliation [time series]
(dependent territory of the UK)
Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]
Army, Navy, Air Force/Air Defense, People's Defense Organization and Territorial Troops, Frontier Guard
Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]
exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP
Manpower availability [time series]
males age 15-49 2,204,155; fit for military service 1,109,292; reach military age (18) annually 94,919 (1993 est.)
Economy
Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]
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 [time series]
revenues $2.1 billion; expenditures $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $963 million (1991 est.)
Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]
1 kwanza (Kz) = 100 kwei
Economic aid [time series]
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 [time series]
510,000 kW capacity; 800 million kWh produced, 84 kWh per capita (1991)
Exchange rates [time series]
kwanza (Kz) per US$1 -4,000 (black market rate was 17,000 on 30 April 1993)
Exports [time series]
$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
Debt - external (External debt) [time series]
$8 billion (1991)
Fiscal year [time series]
calendar year
Imports [time series]
$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 (Industrial production) [time series]
growth rate NA%; accounts for about 60% of GDP, including petroleum output
Industries [time series]
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) [time series]
1,000% (1992 est.)
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (National product) [time series]
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $5.1 billion (1991 est.)
Real GDP per capita (National product per capita) [time series]
$950 (1991 est.)
Real GDP growth rate (National product real growth rate) [time series]
1.7% (1991 est.)
Economic overview (Overview) [time series]
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 [time series]
NA%
Geography
total area: 1,246,700 km2 land area: 1,246,700 km2 comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Climate [time series]
semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April)
Coastline [time series]
1,600 km
Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]
locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on plateau; desertification
Disputes - international (International disputes) [time series]
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 [time series]
NA km2
Land boundaries [time series]
total 5,198 km, Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zaire 2,511 km, Zambia 1,110 km
Land use [time series]
arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 23% forest and woodland: 43% other: 32%
Location [time series]
Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean between Namibia and Zaire
Map references [time series]
Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims [time series]
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 20 nm
Natural resources [time series]
petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium
Cabinda is separated from rest of country by Zaire
Terrain [time series]
narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau
Government
Administrative divisions [time series]
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 [time series]
Luanda
Constitution [time series]
11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, and 6 March 1991
Digraph [time series]
AO
Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation in US) [time series]
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 FAX: (202) 785-1258
Executive branch (Elections) [time series]
first nationwide, multiparty elections were held in late September 1992 with disputed results; further elections are being discussed
Executive branch [time series]
president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
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 [time series]
11 November 1975 (from Portugal)
Judicial branch [time series]
Supreme Court (Tribunal da Relacrao)
Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]
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)
Legal system [time series]
based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; recently modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets
Legislative branch [time series]
unicameral National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional)
International organization participation (Member of) [time series]
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
Country name (Names) [time series]
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 [time series]
Independence Day, 11 November (1975)
Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]
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 (Political parties and leaders) [time series]
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 [time series]
18 years of age; universal
Government type (Type) [time series]
transitional government nominally a multiparty democracy with a strong presidential system
Diplomatic representation from the US (US diplomatic representation) [time series]
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 FAX: [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
People
Birth rate [time series]
45.8 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate [time series]
18.96 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]
Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, Mestico 2%, European 1%, other 22%
Infant mortality rate [time series]
148.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Labor force [time series]
2.783 million economically active by occupation: agriculture 85%, industry 15% (1985 est.)
Languages [time series]
Portuguese (official), Bantu dialects
Life expectancy at birth [time series]
total population: 45.26 years male: 43.26 years female: 47.35 years (1993 est.)
Literacy [time series]
age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 42% male: 56% female: 28%
Nationality [time series]
noun: Angolan(s) adjective: Angolan
Net migration rate [time series]
-0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population [time series]
9,545,235 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate [time series]
2.67% (1993 est.)
Religions [time series]
indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (est.)
Total fertility rate [time series]
6.54 children born/woman (1993 est.)