Angola

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

The Angolan landscape is relatively diverse. Its coastline mainly exists of lower land while its landscape changes to a mountainous terrain with several plateaus in its inland area. Angola shares its largest border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo which spans more than 2500 km or 1500 miles.  

Angola, also known as the Land of the Ndongo or the Republic of Angola, is the second largest sub-Saharan state in Africa. Located in central West Africa, Angola borders the Congo to the north Zambia to the east Namibia to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It is thought that the first inhabitants were African tribes that spoke the Khoisan language. A present Angola is a resource rich state with large oil reserves as well as rare earth metals.  It has become a trading hub since 1482, when Portuguese explorers discovered the first parts of the Angolan mainland. Since the establishment of the trading hub, it has become an essential part of the Portuguese Empire spanning from the West Indies to Portugal.  

Because it is the second largest sub-Saharan state of Africa it is only slightly larger than Mali and slightly smaller than Niger. It is the 22nd largest state in the world with a surface area of more than 1.2 million km2 or more than 483.000 square miles. 

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

It is unknown how Large the share of water is in Angola due to its fluctuation in rainfall. 

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

It is known that Angola is rich in water resources.  These water resources flow from the mountainous area to the low-level areas around the coast. The quality of drinking water in Angola is questionable. This is because of corruption between the governments and the water treatment plant operators as well as poor sanitation. As a result, the people of Angola are more susceptible to waterborne diseases.  

With an average temperature of 21.4 degrees Celsius or 70.4 degrees Fahrenheit, Angola is one of the warmest states in the world. Due to its proximity to the equator, Angola is known to have only two seasons, summer and winter. The month with the most precipitation is April while its warmest months are June and July. 

Temperature

During is warmest months the average temperature is 27.5 degrees Celsius or 81.5 degrees Fahrenheit. This ranks Angola as the 93rd warmest state globally. 

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

During its coldest months the average lowest temperature is 15.4 degrees Celsius or 59.7 degrees Fahrenheit. This ranks Angola is the 95th coldest States in the world. 

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Precipitation mainly occurs in the months of October to May and creates a warm and humid climate.  It is ranked as the 19th state with the most precipitation in the world with an average rainfall of 99 cm or 39 inches.  

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Its capital Luanda is home to more than 2.3 million people. The capital that is furthest removed from Luanda is South Tarawa located in Kiribati with a distance of 10.979 miles or 17.668 kilometers. The capital that is closest to Luanda is Brazzaville located in Congo Brazzaville with a distance of 556 kilometers or 346 miles. 

Angola's main products of exports are petroleum related goods, diamonds, coffee and fish. Due to its large oil reserves Angola has become one of the larger oil exporters of Africa. It has become a member of OPEC in 2006 and has seen an economic growth as well as a stabilization in its inflation in recent years due to the increase of oil prices. This makes the Angolan economy highly dependent on oil prices, which account for approximately 80% of its GDP. However, as a result of a civil war, much of its essential infrastructure still needs to be restored. The Angolan economy is mainly controlled by the Angolan state. Some challenges to its economy are the corruption that takes place between in government officials and external parties within its petroleum sector.  

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

 

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Angola is to a member of 11 international economic organizations. This ranks Angola as the 116th most interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations: 

  • Alliance for Financial Inclusion 
  • African development Bank 
  • International Monetary Fund 
  • OPEC   Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries  
  • World Bank Group 
  • World Customs Organization 
  • World Trade Organization 
  • Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States 
  • Southern African Development Community 
  • International Renewable Energy Agency 
  • Group of 77 

The Angolan GDP is close to 90 billion US dollars which represents a share of 0.1% of the global GDP and ranks the Angolan GDP as the 68th highest in the world.  

Its GDP per capita puts the Angolan citizen in the bottom half of the world. With a GDP per capita of $2,850, Angola is ranked 134th. 

The figure below displays the average amount that inhabitant of other states earn for every 1$ that an average Dominican citizen makes.

In terms of GDP per area size Angola ranks as the 157th with a GDP of 71.500 US dollars per square kilometer or 185.000 US dollars per square mile. 

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

This rank also applies to it purchasing power parity per capita which comes down to approximately $7,000. 

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of the Dominican Republic with the rest of the world.

 

 

 

The graph on the left displays the purchasing power parity of the rest of the world in relation to the purchasing power of 1$ in the Dominican Republic. 

Due to its Portuguese colonial history, the majority of Angolan Citizens speak Portuguese.  This is also the official language of Angola. Other languages which are related to the Niger-Congo languages are not uncommon in Angola, representing approximately 30%. With more than 31 million inhabitants Angola is ranked as the 47th most populous state with approximately 65% of its people living in urban areas.  

Population

Population density

It is ranked as the 154th most densely populated state with a population of 64 people per square mile for 25 people per square kilometers. 

Emigration

Due to a large population growth as well as low salaries, large number of Angolan citizens are looking abroad for better living and working conditions. As a result, this creates problems for the Angolan economy which experiences a so-called brain drain which further enhances the bad working and living conditions within Angola. It is estimated that around 660.000, or around 2.25% of Angolans, have emigrated. This ranks Angola as the 95th state with highest number of emigrants and represents around 0.26% of global emigration.  

Immigration

Immigration to Angola has been mainly motivated by foreign states that have an interest in the commodities that Angola has to offer.  It is estimated that more than 200.000 Chinese workers are active within the Angolan oil and diamond sector. The more permanent immigrants are mainly coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with over 90.000 immigrants and Guinea with the second highest share with just under 20.000 immigrants. The total amount of immigrants represents a share of 0.5 percent of the total population. This makes Angola the 111th state with the largest number of immigrants, representing 0.06 percent of the global immigration. 

Literacy

Angola has a large share of illiteracy. It is estimated that around one in three Angolans are illiterate. One of the main reasons for this is that a large share of children does not attend school even though education is free. This ranks Angola as the 160th most literate state in the world. 

Health

Even though Angola has a free and public Healthcare system, The quality of its healthcare has been one of the lowest globally. As a result of the emigration of skilled people as well as their underfunding and understaffing of medical workers, the available public Healthcare has been mainly situated in large urban areas.  Therefore, healthcare is virtually inaccessible in rural areas which are at risk to health hazards as well as the inability to obtain lifesaving treatments. The average life expectancy of the Angolan people is 62.2 years with women reaching 65.1 years and Men 59.5 years. This ranks Angola as the 180th state with the highest life expectancy in the world. 

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

As for religion, the Angolan state provides the right to practice religion freely. As a result, there has not been religious tensions between religious groups in Angola.  Angola is ranked as the 119th most multi religious state in the world. 

With the arrival of Portuguese colonists, Catholicism has begun to spread in Angola since 1490. At present there are several hundred religious communities which make up the majority of Angola. Many of these communities have had their own religion before the spread of Christianity.  As Christianity became the dominant religion within Angola, many of the original religions have merged with Christianity resulting in Christianity with local characteristics. Angola is ranked as the 23rd most Christian state in the world with a share of nearly 88% adhering to Christianity. 

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Islam is a minority religion in Angola. Even though the Angolan government recognizes Islam as well as its freedom to practice its religion, it does not do so formally. This has led to incidents where mosques have been closed by the government. Recent developments have shown that the Angolan government views Islam as incompatible with the Christian values that are present in the majority of Angolans. Other restrictions have also been placed by the Angolan government which demands that a religion is only recognized when more than 100.000 people adhere to this religion. A present the Muslim population does not meet this requirement with a representation of 0.5 percent of the total population. This puts Muslims in Angola in a difficult position.  

There are small numbers of Buddhist immigrants within Angola. Most of these are workers which represents approximately 0.06 percent of the total population. 

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Some members of the Hindu community practice their religion in Angola. This is mainly done by Indian residents and represents about 0.03 percent of the Angolan population. 

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

The presence of Judaism has been recorded with the introduction of the Portuguese in Angola. At present, there is a small minority of Jews that live in the capital Luanda as well as some Israeli citizens that do business elsewhere in Angola. Jews are estimated to be around 0.03 percent of the Angolan population. 

Other religions (share of the total population)

Due to the large amount of religious communities within Angola, as well as their historic religions, most Angolans have a variety of gods which are tailored towards the Christian religion.There is a small percentage that does not combine their religion with the Christian religion, and this is represented by 2.9 percent of the Angolan population.  

Non-religious (share of the total population)

It is estimated that around 3.4% of Angolan citizens adhere to atheism. The share of atheist Angolans has been declining due to its political sensitivity as well as its friction with religion within Angola. 

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

It is estimated that around 1.5 billion US dollars or 2.3% of its GDP is spend on its military. With a share of 0.076% of global military spending, Angola is ranked as the 70th largest military spender. 

The Angolan military is called the People's armed forces of liberation of Angola. These forces include the army the navy as well as the air Force. Its naval and air forces are relatively small in comparison to its land forces.

Military membership

Angola is also connected to four international military organizations this ranks Angola as the 97th most militarily interconnected states in the world. Angola is connected to the following organizations: 

  • South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone 
  • Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons 
  • International Atomic Energy Agency 
  • Non-Aligned Movement 

Military membership

International wars

Since its existence, Angola has fought four international Wars.  These are 

 

  • Angolan War of Independence 1961-1975 
  • South African Border War 1966-1989 
  • First Congo War 1996-1997 
  • Second Congo War 1998-2003 

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Internationally Angola that is ranked as the 170 most politically interconnected states in the world. It is a member of 8 international political organizations which are: 

 

  • Member states of the United Nations 
  • International Labour Organization 
  • African Union 
  • International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property 
  • Community of Portuguese Language Countries 
  • Interpol 
  • South Centre (organization) 
  • World Organization for Animal Health 

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Even though Angola is officially a democracy, it is ranked as the 109th most democratic state in the world. This is mainly due to the centralization of power as well as having a semi-authoritarian government. Reports from Angolan citizens show that there are limitations when it comes to freedom of speech as well as the right to demonstrate.  

Democracy/Dictatorship

Since its independence in 1975 Angola has been ruled by a single communist political party up until 1992. After 1992, a new constitution has been introduced as well as the introduction of parliamentary elections. As a result, power has been more centralized towards the president, which has gained more authoritarian powers.  

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