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Country Profile: Angola
Fact File:CapitalLuandaOfficial languagePortugueseRecognised regional languagesKongo, Chokwe, South Mbundu (Umbundu), North Mbundu (Kimbundu)AreaTotal 1,246,700 km2Population16,941,000 (2009est)CurrencyKwanza |
Overview
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. Angola was a Portuguese overseas territory from the 16th century to 1975. The country is the second-largest petroleum and diamond producer in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the International Monetary Fund, more than $4 billion in oil receipts have disappeared from Angola's treasury in the 2000s.
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 second 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, and 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. In December 2006, Angola was admitted as a member of OPEC. The economy grew 18% in 2005, 26% in 2006 and 17.6% in 2007 and it's expected to 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.
Languages
Portuguese is spoken as a first language by 60% of the population, and as a second language by another 20%. The majority dominance of Portuguese over the native Mbundu and other African languages is due to a strong influence from Portugal and Brazil, as opposed to in Mozambique, which being more remote from the Lusosphere, retained a majority of Bantu language speakers.
Culture
Portugal ruled over Angola for 400 years and both countries share cultural aspects: language (Portuguese) and main religion (Roman Catholic Christianity). The Angolan culture is mostly native Bantu which was mixed with Portuguese culture. In the Moxico province more than 10,000 persons are Spanish-speaking due to the presence of Cuban troops during the civil war.
Future Outlook
Angola will seek to expand in the future, they are already one of the largest diamond producers in the world and they will continue to grow off of this aspect. Even with all of there current difficulties that they are facing, they are still one of the fasting growing economies in the world and they will continue to do so in the future.
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