   #copyright

Angola

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: African Countries;
Countries

   SOS Children works in Angola. For more information see SOS Children in
   Angola, Africa
             República de Angola
   Republic of Angola

   Flag of Angola Coat of arms of Angola
   Flag           Coat of arms
   Motto: "Virtus Unita Fortior"  ( Latin)
   "Unity Provides Strength"
   Anthem: Angola Avante!  (Portuguese)
   "Forward Angola!"
   Location of Angola
   Capital
   (and largest city) Luanda
                      8°50′S 13°20′E
   Official languages Portuguese
   Government         Multi-party democracy
    - President       José E. dos Santos
    - Prime Minister  Fernando da Piedade
                      Dias dos Santos
      Independence    from Portugal
    - Date            November 11, 1975
                     Area
    - Total           1,246,700 km² ( 23rd)
                      481,354 sq mi
    - Water (%)       negligible
                  Population
    - 2005 estimate   15,941,000 ( 61st)
    - 1970 census     5,646,166
    - Density         13/km² ( 199th)
                      34/sq mi
       GDP ( PPP)     2005 estimate
    - Total           $43.362 billion ( 82nd)
    - Per capita      $2,813 ( 126th)
      HDI  (2004)     0.439 (low) ( 161st)
        Currency      Kwanza ( AOA)
       Time zone      WAT ( UTC+1)
    - Summer ( DST)   not observed ( UTC+1)
      Internet TLD    .ao
      Calling code    +244

   Angola is a country in south-central Africa bordering Namibia, the
   Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia, and with a west coast
   along the Atlantic Ocean. The exclave province Cabinda has a border
   with Republic of the Congo. A former Portuguese colony, it has
   considerable natural resources, among which oil and diamonds are the
   most significant. The country is nominally a democracy and is formally
   named the Republic of Angola (Portuguese: República de Angola,
   pronounced IPA: [ʁɛ'publikɐ dɨ ɐ̃'gɔlɐ]).

History

   Queen Nzinga in peace negotiations with the Portuguese governor in
   Luanda, 1657.
   Enlarge
   Queen Nzinga in peace negotiations with the Portuguese governor in
   Luanda, 1657.

   The earliest inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers.
   They were largely replaced by Bantu tribes during Bantu migrations. In
   present-day Angola, Portugal settled in 1483 at the river Congo, where
   the Kongo State, Ndongo and Lunda existed. The Kongo State stretched
   from modern Gabon in the north to the Kwanza River in the south. In
   1575 Portugal established a colony at Luanda based on the slave trade.
   The Portuguese gradually took control of the coastal strip throughout
   the 16th century by a series of treaties and wars forming the colony of
   Angola. The Dutch occupied Luanda from 1641- 1648, providing a boost
   for many African states opposed to the Portuguese.

Colonial era

   In 1648 Portugal retook Luanda and initiated a process of reconquest of
   lost territories, which restored the preoccupation possessions of
   Portugal by 1650. Treaties regulated relations with Kongo in 1649 and
   Njinga's Kingdom of Matamba and Ndongo in 1656. The conquest of Pungo
   Andongo in 1671 was the last great Portuguese expansion, as attempts to
   invade Kongo in 1670 and Matamba in 1681 failed.

   Portugal expanded its territory behind the colony of Benguela in the
   eighteenth century, and began the attempt to occupy other regions in
   the mid-nineteenth century. The process resulted in few gains until the
   1880s. Full Portuguese administrative control of the interior didn't
   occur until the beginning of the 20th century. In 1951 the colony was
   restyled as an overseas province, also called Portuguese West Africa.

   Portugal had had a colonial presence in Angola for nearly 500 years,
   and the population's initial reaction to calls for independence was
   mixed.

Independence

   After the overthrow of fascist Portugal's government by a
   socialist-inspired military coup, Angola's nationalist parties began to
   negotiate for independence in January 1975. An agreement was reached
   with the Portuguese government, with independence to be declared in
   November 1975. Almost immediately, a civil war broke out between MPLA,
   UNITA and FNLA, exacerbated by foreign intervention. Upon independence
   from Portugal in 1975, Angola's capital and nominal government came
   under the one-party rule of the Popular Liberation Movement.

   In order to defend the 1,376-kilometer Angolan border with its South
   West Africa possession against infiltration by South West Africa
   People's Organization (SWAPO) guerrillas based in Angola, South African
   forces cleared a one-kilometer-wide strip in Angola along nearly half
   the border's length. Zaire, which had provided support to FNLA
   guerrillas, soon began to furnish support for UNITA as well. In turn,
   the Soviet Union began to significantly increase military aid to MPLA,
   providing armored vehicles, aircraft, and advisors, while large numbers
   of Cuban troops were airlifted by Soviet transport planes into Angola
   in an undisguised effort to tip the military balance in favour of the
   MPLA. By October 1975, MPLA and Cuban forces took control of Luanda,
   and much of the country's infrastructure, forcing UNITA forces to
   revert to guerrilla actions. The MPLA declared itself unilaterally to
   be the de facto government of the country when independence was
   formally declared in November, with Agostinho Neto as the first
   President.

   In 1976, the FNLA was defeated by Cuban troops, leaving the MPLA and
   UNITA (now backed by the United States and South Africa) to fight for
   power. Since 1979, Jose Eduardo dos Santos has been in control of the
   country's political leadership. Despite the introduction of a
   multi-party system in 1991, the Popular Liberation Movement-Labour
   Party has remained in power.

Civil war

   The conflict between MPLA and UNITA raged on in the countryside,
   fuelled by the geopolitics of the Cold War and by the ability of both
   parties to access Angola's natural resources. The MPLA drew upon the
   revenues of off-shore oil resources, while UNITA accessed alluvial
   diamonds that were easily smuggled through the region's very porous
   borders (LeBillon, 1999).

   In 1991, the factions agreed to the Bicesse Accords which were intended
   to convert Angola from a one-party authoritarian government into a
   multiparty state with democratic elections in 1992. President dos
   Santos led the first round of the election with more than 49% of the
   vote to Jonas Savimbi's 40%. After claims of fraud, civil war again
   broke out, and the final runoff election never took place.

   A 1994 peace accord (Lusaka protocol) between the government and UNITA
   provided for the integration of former UNITA insurgents into the
   government. A national unity government was installed in 1997, but
   serious fighting resumed in late 1998, rendering hundreds of thousands
   of people homeless. President dos Santos once again suspended moves
   towards a unity government. Despite the promise of a
   democratically-elected government and a multi-party system, the Popular
   Liberation Movement-Labour Party has remained in power.

Ceasefire with UNITA

   On February 22, 2002, Jonas Savimbi, the leader of UNITA, was killed in
   combat with government troops, and a cease-fire was reached by the two
   factions. UNITA gave up its armed wing and assumed the role of major
   opposition party. Although the political situation of the country began
   to stabilize, President dos Santos has so far refused to institute
   regular democratic processes. Among Angola's major problems are a
   serious humanitarian crisis (a result of the prolonged war), the
   abundance of minefields, and the actions of guerrilla movements
   fighting for the independence of the northern exclave of Cabinda (
   Frente para a Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda).

   Angola, like many sub-Saharan nations, is subject to periodic outbreaks
   of infectious diseases. In April 2005, Angola was in the midst of an
   outbreak of the Marburg virus which was rapidly becoming the worst
   outbreak of a haemorrhagic fever in recorded history, with over 237
   deaths recorded out of 261 reported cases, and having spread to 7 out
   of the 18 provinces as of April 19, 2005.

Politics

   Angola's motto is "Virtus Unita Fortior", a Latin phrase meaning "Unity
   Provides Strength".

   The executive branch of the government is composed of the President,
   the Prime Minister (currently Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos) and
   Council of Ministers. Currently, political power is concentrated in the
   Presidency. The Council of Ministers, composed of all government
   ministers and vice ministers, meets regularly to discuss policy issues.
   Governors of the 18 provinces are appointed by and serve at the
   pleasure of the president. The Constitutional Law of 1992 establishes
   the broad outlines of government structure and delineates the rights
   and duties of citizens. The legal system is based on Portuguese and
   customary law but is weak and fragmented, and courts operate in only 12
   of more than 140 municipalities. A Supreme Court serves as the
   appellate tribunal; a Constitutional Court with powers of judicial
   review has never been constituted despite statutory authorization.
   Critics have drawn an ironic comparison between Angola's current
   one-party rule and the authoritarian regime of António de Oliveira
   Salazar of Portugal, under whose rule Angolans began their revolt for
   independence so many years ago.

   The 27-year long Angolan Civil War ravaged the country's political and
   social institutions. The UN estimates of 1.8 million internally
   displaced persons (IDPs), while generally the accepted figure for
   war-affected people is 4 million. Daily conditions of life throughout
   the country and specifically Luanda (population approximately 4
   million) mirror the collapse of administrative infrastructure as well
   as many social institutions. The ongoing grave economic situation
   largely prevents any government support for social institutions.
   Hospitals are without medicines or basic equipment, schools are without
   books, and public employees often lack the basic supplies for their
   day-to-day work.

   The current government has announced an intention to hold elections in
   2006. These elections would be the first since 1992 and would serve to
   elect both a new president and a new National Assembly.

Administrative divisions

   Map of Angola with the provinces numbered

   Angola is divided into eighteen provinces (províncias) and 158
   municipalities (municípios). The provinces are:

   1 Bengo
   2 Benguela
   3 Bié
   4 Cabinda
   5 Cuando Cubango
   6 Cuanza Norte

                     7 Cuanza Sul
                     8 Cunene
                     9 Huambo
                   10 Huila
                   11 Luanda
                   12 Lunda Norte

                                 13 Lunda Sul
                                 14 Malanje
                                 15 Moxico
                                 16 Namibe
                                 17 Uige
                                 18 Zaire

Geography

   Map of Angola.
   Enlarge
   Map of Angola.
   Satellite image of Angola, generated from raster graphics data supplied
   by The Map Library
   Enlarge
   Satellite image of Angola, generated from raster graphics data supplied
   by The Map Library

   At 481,321  mi² (1,246,700  km² ), Angola is the world's twenty-third
   largest country (after Niger). It is comparable in size to Mali and is
   nearly twice the size of the US state of Texas.

   Angola is bordered by Namibia to the south, Zambia to the east, the
   Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north-east, and the South
   Atlantic Ocean to the west. The exclave of Cabinda also borders the
   Republic of the Congo to the north. Angola's capital, Luanda, lies on
   the Atlantic coast in the north-west of the country. Angola's average
   temperature on the coast is 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 °C) in the winter
   and 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 °C) in the summer.

Economy

   Angola's economy has undergone a period of transformation in recent
   years, moving from the disarray caused by a quarter century of war to
   being the fastest growing economy in Africa and one of the fastest in
   the world. In 2004, China's Eximbank approved a $2 billion line of
   credit to Angola. The loan is being used to rebuild Angola's
   infrastructure, though it has also limited the influence of the
   International Monetary Fund in the country. Growth is almost entirely
   driven by rising oil production which surpassed 1.4 million barrels per
   day in late-2005 and which is expected to grow to 2 million barrels per
   day by 2007. Control of the oil industry is consolidated in Sonangol
   Group, a conglomerate which is owned by the Angolan government. The
   economy grew 18% in 2005; growth is expected to reach 26% in 2006 and
   stay above 10% for the rest of the decade. The security brought about
   by the 2002 peace settlement has led to the resettlement of 4 million
   displaced persons, thus resulting in large-scale increases in
   agriculture production. With revenues booming from oil exports, the
   government has started to implement ambitious development programs in
   building roads and other basic infrastructure for the nation.

Culture

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angola"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
