Angola Student Travel
Angola, formerly Portuguese West Africa, officially Republic
of Angola, independent state in southwestern Africa, bounded on
the north and east by the Republic of Zaire, on the east by
Zambia, on the south by Namibia, and on the west by the Atlantic
Ocean. A small exclave, Cabinda, is located some 30 km (19 miles)
to the north and is bounded on the north by the Republic of the
Congo, on the east and south by Zaire, and on the west by the
Atlantic Ocean. Angola has a coastline of more than 1650 km
(1025 miles) and a total area of 1,246,700 sq km (481,354 sq
miles).
Land and Resources
Angola is the seventh largest country in Africa, covering an
area more than twice as large as France and the Low Countries
combined.
Physiographic Regions
The country can be divided into three major regions. They are,
from west to east, the coastal plain, a transition zone, and a
vast inland plateau. The low-lying coastal plain varies from
about 50 to 150 km (about 30 to 90 miles) in width. The transition
zone, which consists of a series of terraces or escarpments, is
about 150 km (about 90 miles) wide in the north, but diminishes to
about 30 km (19 miles) in the center and south. To the east of this
zone is the vast Angolan plateau, which covers approximately
two-thirds of the country and has an average elevation of 1000
to 1520 m (3300 to 5000 ft). Higher elevations are reached in
the mountains of the central section, which culminate in Mount Moco (2620 m/8597 ft), the country's highest point.
Rivers and Lakes
Most of the country's rivers rise in the central mountains. Of
the many rivers that drain to the Atlantic Ocean, the Cuanza and
Cunene are the most important. Other major streams include the
Cuango (Kwango) River, which drains north to the Congo River
system, and the Kwando (Cuando) and Cubango rivers, both of
which drain generally southeast to the Okavango Swamp. Angola
has no sizable lakes.
Climate
Angola has a tropical climate, with a dry season that lasts from
September to April. The cool Benguela Current offshore moderates
the temperatures of the coastal region and reduces the
precipitation, especially in the south. Annual rainfall at
Luanda is 338 mm (13 in) and only 51 mm (2 in) at Namibe, which
borders the Namib Desert. In the cooler central plateau,
rainfall decreases from 1500 mm (about 60 in) in the north to
750 mm (about 30 in) in the south.
Mineral Resources
Angola is rich in mineral resources, and further geological
exploration is likely to add to the list of known mineral
reserves. Among the most notable resources are petroleum,
diamonds, iron ore, manganese, copper, uranium, phosphates, and
salt.
Vegetation and Animal Life
Vegetation varies with the climate. Thick tropical rain forests
are found in the north and in the Cabinda exclave. To the south
the rain forests give way to savanna, lands of mixed trees and
grasses, which in turn grade into grasslands on the south and
east. Palm trees are found on much of the coast, and sparse
desert vegetation grows south of Namibe. Wildlife is as diverse
as the vegetation and includes many of the larger African
mammals, such as elephant, rhinoceros, giraffe, hippopotamus,
zebra, antelope, lion, and gorilla. Also found are crocodile and
a diversity of birdlife and insects.
Population
The population of Angola is made up of more than 90 ethnic
groups. Despite this diversity, the four most important groups
represent about three-fourths of the total population. These are
the Mbundu in central and southern Angola, the Bakongo, or Kongo,
in the northwest, the Kimbundu in the north and center, and the
Chokwe-Lunda in the east. Prior to independence in 1975, Angola
had a community of approximately 400,000 Portuguese; more than
90 percent of these have since departed for Portugal.
Population Characteristics
The total population of Angola, including Cabinda, is 9,545,235
(1993 estimate). The overall population density is only about 8
people per sq km (about 20 per sq miles). Distribution, however, is
uneven, with about 70 percent of the population concentrated in
the north and along the coast. The natural rate of population
increase was about 3 percent annually in the late 1980s. The
population is overwhelmingly rural; only about one-third of the
people live in urban areas.
Principal Cities
The capital and chief city is Luanda, with a population of 1.2
million (1988 estimate). Other major cities are (1983 estimate)
Huambo (203,000), Benguela (155,000), the port of Lobito
(150,000), and Lubango (105,000).
Language and Religion
Portuguese is the official language. More than 90 percent of the
population speaks Bantu languages, the most important of which
are Kimbundu, Umbundu, and Kikongo (see AFRICAN LANGUAGES: THE
NIGER-KORDOFANIAN FAMILY). Before independence an estimated 2.2
million Roman Catholics, including most of the 400,000
Portuguese, lived in the country, as well as a smaller number of
Protestants. By the late 1980s about 53 percent of the
population was Christian, and the remainder adhered to
traditional religions.
Education
In principle, education is free and compulsory for children
between the ages of 7 and 15. Each year in the mid-1980s
approximately 930,000 pupils were enrolled in primary schools,
157,000 were enrolled in secondary schools, and 4500 were
enrolled at the country's one university, the University
Agostinho Neto (1976) in Luanda. The government has pledged a
campaign to drastically reduce the illiteracy rate, but is
hampered by the lack of teachers and ongoing civil conflict.
Education was not well served under colonial rule; only about 20
to 30 percent of the adult population is literate.
Economy
Angola's economy has suffered severe setbacks since
independence. The shortage of skilled workers after the
departure of the Portuguese, and the devastation of the civil
war (1975-1976) along with continuing guerrilla activity, halted
economic growth. Production of nearly all goods except crude
petroleum either remained stagnant or declined. An upsurge of
guerrilla activity in the 1980s and early 1990s severely
disrupted agricultural production.
National Output and Labor
In the late 1980s Angola had an annual gross domestic product
(GDP) of $4.7 billion; the annual GDP per capita was about $600.
The total labor force in the mid-1980s was estimated at 3.7
million, of which more than 70 percent was engaged in
agriculture.
Agriculture
Arable land constitutes only about 2.8 percent of Angola's total
area. Less than one-sixth of this land is under permanent
cultivation. The leading export crop, coffee, is grown in the
northern part of the country; annual output in the late 1980s
was about 15,000 metric tons. The leading subsistence crop is
cassava, or manioc (2 million metric tons). Other major crops
include sugarcane (330,000 metric tons), bananas (280,000), and
corn (270,000). Also important are vegetables, cotton, palm
products, and sisal. Livestock raising, mostly in the south,
remains a subsistence activity and suffers from the presence of
the tsetse fly.
Forestry and Fishing
The rich rain forests of Cabinda and the northwest furnished
about 5.1 million cu m (about 180 million cu ft) a year of
roundwood for fuel and industrial purposes in the late 1980s.
Because of the cool Benguela Current, the waters off the coast
of Angola are particularly rich in marine life. Fishing has thus
been a traditionally important activity; in the late 1980s the
total yearly catch was about 81,000 metric tons, primarily
mackerel and sardines. Namibe and Lobito are the principal
fishing ports.
Mining
Petroleum accounts for some 90 percent of national exports by
value. Most production is from the offshore fields of Cabinda,
which were first worked in the 1960s. The total annual output of
crude petroleum in the mid-1980s was 11.4 million metric tons.
Diamonds remain the second most important mineral; annual output
in the late 1980s was 240,000 carats. Iron ore, formerly the
third most important mineral, has not been produced commercially
since 1975 because the mines were destroyed during the civil
war. Production of salt and natural gas has continued, despite
the disruption of the war.
Manufacturing
The development of the industrial sector has been limited. The
principal manufactured products are beverages and processed
foods, such as refined sugar, fishmeal, flour, and beer. Other
products include textiles, cement, glass, and chemicals.
Petroleum refineries are located in Cabinda and at Luanda.
Energy
Angola has great hydroelectric potential in the numerous streams
that descend from the central plateau. Hydroelectric plants have
been constructed on the Cuanza, Cunene, Dande, and Catumbela
rivers. The total production of electric energy in the late
1980s was 1.8 billion kilowatt-hours, of which some 75 percent
was generated from hydroelectric plants. At present Angola's
power production exceeds its needs.
Currency and Banking
The basic unit of currency is the kwanza, which replaced the
Angolan escudo in 1977 and was devalued in 1991 (35,000 kwanza
equal U.S.$1; 1993). The National Bank of Angola is the central
bank and bank of issue and functions as the state treasury. All
commercial and foreign banks were nationalized in 1975.
Foreign Trade
In the late 1980s yearly imports totaled $1.4 billion and annual
exports $2 billion. The chief imports were textiles, foodstuffs,
heavy machinery, and iron and steel. Petroleum accounted for
some 90 percent of the exports, which have traditionally
included coffee, diamonds, sisal, fish, and palm oil. Since
Angola's independence, Portugal has been replaced as the
country's leading trading partner by the United States, Cuba,
Brazil, and the republics of the former Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics (USSR).
Transportation
Angola's road system consists of about 73,900 km (about 45,900
miles) of roads, of which 51 percent are paved. The road network is
inadequate for so large an area and is supplemented by a
relatively well-developed internal air service, provided by the
country's national airline. Total railroad trackage is about
2800 km (about 1740 miles). The principal line, the Benguela
Railroad, links mineral-rich Zambia and the Shaba province of
Zaire with the Atlantic port of Lobito. Because of guerrilla
activity, it was closed to international traffic from 1975 to
1980 and has since operated sporadically. The country's chief
ports are the cities of Lobito, Luanda, and Namibe.
Government
Under a constitution promulgated in 1975 and subsequently
amended, Angola was a single-party republic governed by the
Popular Liberation Movement of Angola-Labor Party (Movimento
Popular de Libertação de Angola-Partido de Trabalho), generally
referred to as MPLA. Legislative powers were nominally exercised
by the indirectly elected National People's Assembly, but the
MPLA was the government's major policymaking body, and its
chairman served as president of the republic. Under a 1991 peace
accord between the MPLA and the guerrilla organization opposing
the government, the National Union for the Total Independence of
Angola (União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, or
UNITA), Angola held multiparty elections for president and for a
new 220-seat parliament in September 1992.
Local Government
Angola is divided into 18 provinces, which are further divided
into councils and communes. Each level of local government has a
direct representative of the MPLA. However, large areas of the
country are controlled by UNITA.
Political Parties
The country's dominant political party originated in 1956 as the
Popular Liberation Movement of Angola (MPLA). In 1977 it was
reorganized as a Marxist-Leninist party and renamed the Popular
Liberation Movement of Angola-Labor Party; in April 1991 it
formally renounced its Marxist orientation. Its rival, founded
in 1966, is UNITA, which has waged guerrilla warfare against the
MPLA ever since 1975, when Angola became independent.
History
About all that is known of the early history of Angola is that
the Stone Age hunters and gatherers of the region were replaced
by metalworking Bantu as early as the 7th century AD. The
country was on the migration routes of peoples from the north
and east, which resulted in considerable admixture of
populations. Thus, the culture of the Lunda, on the Kasai River
in the east, affected the Chokwe to the extent that they are now
known as the Lunda-Chokwe; similarly, the Kongo, at the time of
their migration into northern Angola, put their stamp on the
preexisting local chiefdoms.
Advent of Europeans
When the Portuguese arrived in 1483, seeking the legendary
kingdom of Prester John, as well as precious metals, they found
the realm of the Kongo well established. The ruler of the state
welcomed the newcomers, and in 1491 Portuguese traders and
missionaries bearing gifts were sent to the court of Manikongo
(“king”) Nzinga Nkuwu (reigned about 1482-1505), who converted
to Christianity, as did the succeeding manikongo, Afonso I
(reigned 1505-1543), who also accepted Portuguese guidance in
the administration of his realm. The Portuguese, however, were
more interested in profit from a booming trade in slaves than in
either missionary work or spreading European civilization. The
slave traffic, aided by local chiefs, gradually undermined the
authority of the manikongo, and 25 years after Afonso's death
the state succumbed to the onslaught of the Jaga, a fierce group
of nomads from the east.
Native Resistance
The Portuguese, meanwhile, had extended their reach southward to
the area around and south of present Luanda, over which they
soon claimed colonial authority; it was the title of the local
ruler, ngola, that became the name of the country. Portugal
appointed royal governors who tried to impose their will on the
population, but foreign rule was stubbornly resisted. Prolonged
warfare ensued, while slave raids helped to keep the country in
continuous turmoil. In addition, the Jaga overran the area after
they had devastated the Kongo, and in the middle of the 17th
century, Luanda, founded by the Portuguese in 1575, was
temporarily taken by the Dutch. Practically no European
settlement was attempted during this time, owing to the much
greater profits to be made in the slave trade; by 1845 there
were still only 1800 Europeans in all of Angola. The slave trade
went on almost uninterrupted throughout the 19th century. By
that time an estimated 3 million people had been exported.
Portugal did not gain full control over the country's interior
until the early 20th century. After that it was governed under
the so-called regime do indigenato, an invidious system of
economic exploitation, educational neglect, and political
repression that remained in force until 1961. In 1951 Angola's
official status was changed from colony to overseas province;
soon after, a policy of accelerated European settlement was
adopted—the futile attempt of the colonial power to stave off
the inevitable. During the 1950s a nationalist movement grew
rapidly, and in 1961 a guerrilla war against the Portuguese was
initiated.
War and Independence
The nationalists, however, were split into three rival groups:
the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (Frente Nacional
de Libertação de Angola, or FNLA), the Popular Liberation
Movement of Angola (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola,
or MPLA), and the National Union for the Total Independence of
Angola (União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, or
UNITA). All three had armed forces in the field, but none made
much headway until the revolution in Portugal in April 1974.
After that, the whole Portuguese colonial empire began to fall
apart. The new Lisbon regime agreed to a transfer of power, and
on November 11, 1975, Angola became independent. Two governments
claimed to represent the new nation, one formed by the MPLA in
Luanda, the other by UNITA in Huambo. The ensuing civil war
assumed international overtones: the MPLA was armed by the USSR
and aided by Cuban troops, while some Western powers and South
Africa allied themselves with UNITA and its leader, Jonas
Savimbi. By early 1976 the MPLA had gained the upper hand, and
its government, with MPLA leader Agostinho Neto as president,
was gradually recognized throughout the world.
Neto died in 1979, and leadership of the nation was assumed by
José Eduardo dos Santos. Guerrilla warfare continued, often
bolstered by South African forces that forayed into Angola in
pursuit of Namibian insurgents. In August 1988 negotiators for
Angola, South Africa, and Cuba agreed to a comprehensive peace
plan that included independence for Namibia. In May 1991 the
last Cuban troops left Angola and the central government signed
a cease-fire agreement with UNITA, to be supervised by United
Nations (UN) peacekeepers. In the multiparty elections held in
September 1992 the MPLA won 129 of 220 seats in a newly
constituted parliament, and UNITA won 70. Pending a runoff, dos
Santos led in presidential voting over Savimbi. UNITA rejected
the election results, however, and renewed its guerrilla
campaign. In early 1993, after the fighting between government
and UNITA forces intensified, more than 1 million refugees fled
their homes, and the UN threatened to withdraw its peacekeeping
force. Peace negotiations between the government and UNITA,
begun in Zambia early in 1994, have failed to resolve the
conflict, which remains one of the world's deadliest civil wars.
