Geography
Area: 1,246,700 sq. km. (481,400 sq. mi), about twice the size of
Texas.
Cities: Capital--Luanda (pop. 4.0 million); Huambo (750,000);
Benguela (600,000).
Terrain: A narrow, dry coastal strip extending from the far north
(Luanda) to Namibia in the south; well-watered agricultural
highlands; savanna in the far east and south; and rain forest in the
north and the enclave of Cabinda.
Climate: Tropical and tropical highland.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Angolan(s).
Population (December 2004 est.): 13,000,000.
Annual population growth rate (2004): 2.9%.
Ethnic groups: Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mixed
racial 2%, European 1%.
Religions (2001 official est.): Roman Catholic 68%, various
Protestant 20%; indigenous beliefs 12%.
Languages: Portuguese (official), Ovimbundu, Kimbundu, Bakongo, and
others.
Education: Years compulsory--8. Enrollment (2003
est.)--primary school 55%, secondary 30%, and post-secondary 3%.
Literacy (total population over 15 that can read and write, 2002
est.)--42% (male 56%, female 28%).
Health: Life expectancy (2002 est.)--total population 46.7
years. Infant mortality rate (2003 est.)--154/1,000.
Work force (2003 est. 5.6 million): Agriculture--85%;
industry and commerce--15%; services--6%.
Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: November 11, 1975.
Branches: Executive--elected president (chief of state),
appointed prime minister, and 40 appointed civilian ministers and
vice ministers. Legislative--elected National Assembly (223
seats). Judicial--Supreme Court (also functions as
Constitutional Court).
Administrative subdivisions: Province, municipality, commune.
Political parties: 123 with legal status; in 1992, 12 won seats in
the National Assembly. Pro-government--Popular Movement for
the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). Opposition--National Union
for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), Social Renewal Party (PRS),
National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), Party for
Democratic Progress - Angola National Alliance (PDP-ANA), Democratic
Renewal Party (PRD), Party of the Alliance of Youth, Workers, and
Peasants (PAJOCA), Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), Democratic
Alliance (AD), Angolan Democratic Forum (FDA), Social Democratic
Party (PSD), and the Angolan National Democratic Party (PNDA).
Suffrage: Universal age 18 and over.
Economy
GDP (2005 est. using purchasing power parity): $45.9 billion.
GDP (2005 est. using Atlas method): $22.8 billion.
Annual real GDP growth rate (2005 est.): 19.1%.
Per capita GDP (2005 est. using purchasing power parity): $3,210.
Per capita GDP (2005 est. using Atlas method): $1,590.
Avg. inflation rate (2005): 23.5%.
Natural resources: Petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates,
bauxite, uranium, gold, granite, copper, feldspar.
Agriculture: Products--bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal,
corn, cotton, manioc, tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock;
forest products; fisheries products.
Industry: Types--petroleum drilling and refining, mining,
cement, basic metal products, fish processing, food processing,
brewing, tobacco products, sugar refining, textiles.
Trade: Exports (2005)--$20 billion. 2004 exports consisted
of petroleum and derivatives (91.92%), diamonds (7.45%), fish
(0.11%), scrap metal (0.05%), coffee, sisal, timber, cotton.
Major markets (2004)--U.S. (37.70%), China (35.6%), France
(6.4%), South Korea (2.95%). Imports (2005 est.)--$9
billion: machinery, electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts,
medicines, food, textiles. Major sources (2004)--Portugal
(13.04%), U.S. (9.3%), South Africa (7.4%), Japan (4.8%), South
Korea (28.3%), Brazil (5.6%).
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