Africa

Angola

Angola is situated on the west coast of Africa, and is bordered on the north by Congo and north and northeast by Zaire, on the Southeast by Zambia and on the south by Namibia and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean.

The country’s landscape consists mainly of broad tablelands varying from 3,000 to 5,000ft in altitude...More Information on Angola.

Full country name: Republic of Angola
National name: Republica de Angola
Area: 481,351 sq mi (1,246,700 sq km)
Population: 11,190,786 (growth rate: 1.9%); birth rate: 44.6/1000; infant mortality rate: 191.2/1000; life expectancy: 36.6; density per sq mi: 23
Capital City: Luanda, 2,297,200
Language: Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages
Ethnicity/race: Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and Native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22%
Religion: Indigenous 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.)
Literacy rate: 42% (1998 est.)
Government: Angola underwent a transition from a one-party socialist state to a nominally multiparty democracy in 1992.
Head of State: Jose Eduardo dos Santos (1979)
Head of Government: Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos (2003)

Also Read: A Short Background of Angola

History of Angola

In 1482, when the Portuguese first landed in what is now northern Angola, they encountered the Kingdom of the Congo, which stretched from modern Gabon in the north to the Kwanza River in the south. Mbanza Congo, the capital, had a population of 50,000 people. South of this kingdom were various important states, of which the Kingdom of Ndongo, ruled by the ngola (king), was most significant. Modern Angola derives its name from the king of Ndongo. The Portuguese gradually took control of the coastal strip throughout the 16th century by a series of treaties and wars. The Dutch occupied Luanda from 1641-48, providing a boost for anti-Portuguese states. In 1648, Brazilian-based Portuguese forces re-took Luanda and initiated a process of military conquest of the Congo and Ndongo states that ended with Portuguese victory in 1671. Full Portuguese administrative control of the interior did not occur until the beginning of the 20th century...More on Angola's History.

Overview of Angola's Economy

GDP: $23.17 billion
GDP per capita: $2,100
Annual Growth: 11.7%
Inflation: 43.8%.
Major Industries: petroleum; diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, bauxite, uranium, and gold; cement; basic metal products; fish processing; food processing; brewing; tobacco products; sugar; textiles, ship repair.
Major Trading Partners: U.S., China, Taiwan, France, Portugal, South Africa, Netherlands, Brazil, UK (2003).
Natural resources: petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium.
Member of EU: No

Also Read: A short note on Economy of Angola

Political System of Angola

- Government and Political Conditions
- Military and Defence
- Foreign Relations of Angola
- U.S.-Angolan Relations

Climate, Vegetation and Fauna

Angola is located in southwestern part of Africa and is surrounded by Congo, Burundi, Zambia and Namibia. The narrow coastal plain rises abruptly into vast interior plateau. The Democratic Republic of Congo separates Cabinda from the rest of Angola. A rocky desert covers the south. Angola has many rivers and more than 900 miles of coastline. About 65% of the country is at an altitude of 1000-1600m...more on flaura and fauna in Angola.


Geography: Angola is located on the South Atlantic Coast of West Africa between Namibia and the Republic...more.

Languages: Although Portuguese was Angola’s official language, the great majority of Angolans...more.

Education: The education system in the country is practically non-existent...more.

Culture: Angola could be called the Latin side of Africa because of its people’s...more.

People of Angola: Angola has three main ethnic groups, each speaking a Bantu language...more.

Religion: A large number of Angolans are either Roman Catholic or Christian...more


Facts for the Traveler

Travel Documents needed: A passport valid for 6 months or more with 2 blank pages is required. All except those on transit requires visas. Those travelling via Angola require a transit visa. If you have confirmed documents proving you are travelling to another country via Angola, it is easy to obtain a transit visa. Exit permits are required by all visitors and will be issued to you by the same consulate that issued you the entry visa. Always carry copies of your Travel Documents along while you are in the country because the local police, known for their impatience, may stop you if you do not have proper identification.

What to bring: First of all, it is important to remember that winter is from April to September in Angola. It can get cool in the evenings in winter, so bring lightweight warm clothes. If you’re visiting in summer and journeying to south Angola, lightweight cotton and linen clothing should be enough to get you through your visit. For those travelling to the north of the country, it gets very hot in summer so pack clothing suitable for the tropics, especially a sun hat. Waterproof clothing is a must if you are travelling to Angola during the rains (October to March). Lightweight suits are appropriate for business meetings.

Health & Safety: Health care and medical evacuation insurance are two essential things, which should be obtained before you visit Angola. Health care is free but unreliable, so it is advisable to bring your own medicine and first aid kits.

Water should be considered contaminated and precautions need to be taken before consuming it. To stay safe from water borne diseases like cholera, hepatitis and diarrhoea boil water before you drink it. Dairy products must be avoided; the milk is unpasteurised so boiling it before consuming it is a must. If you swim in Angola then stick to the chlorinated hotel pools and beaches, because bilharzia is a serious problem.

It is also advised that you keep copies of important documents in an additional place, maybe even a safe deposit box of the hotel.

Post & Communications: It doesn’t take a whole lot of thinking to realize that the civil war has really hurt Angola internally and externally. Post and communication facilities are undependable and are practically non-existent. Surface mail between Angola and Europe takes two months and airmail takes five to ten days. Telegram facilities are fairly reliable but sometimes subject to inordinate delays. Until recently, one had to direct one’s international calls through an operator and it took at least six hours of waiting time. Direct calls to Luanda are becoming increasingly available. GSM Mobile networks don’t exist though people use cellular phones. Some internet cafes are there in Luanda, the capital.

Tipping: Tipping is not encouraged but it shouldn’t be more than 10% of your bill. Tipping can be in kind (such as cigarettes) in certain areas in Angola.

Also Read: Money & Costs | Warning about Angola | Transportation in Angola | Public holidays in Angola | Shopping in Angola | General Advice to travellers

When to Go

The best time to visit Angola is during the months from May to October. During these months it is winter in Angola and there’s a slight decrease in the temperature and rainfall. The rainy season is November to April.

Also Read: Getting Around in Angola | Getting There & Away

What to See in Angola

Other Tourist Attractions in Angola

more...

What to do in Angola

Water sports are available in the Mussolo Peninsula, south of Luanda. Swimming is great at Mussolo bay and fairly cold in Ilha de Luanda, Palmeirinhas and Ramiros. Fishing is good at Palmeirinhas and Santiago beach.

Events:

November the 2nd commemorates a holy day known as “all souls day". On this day, music bands and dance troops come together and have a big and colourful concert for the people. The head of state sets the ball rolling with a speech and then the celebration begins.

The earliest inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Bantu tribes during a series of migrations. The southern part of the country was named Matabeleland after the Ndebele tribe who occupied the area in the early 1800’s under a loose confederation of Ndebele-speaking tribes headed by the Khumalo tribe under [...]
Countries in Africa Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Cote d’Ivoire Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Republic of the Congo Rwanda Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
Religion in Africa Africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs, with Christianity and Islam being the most widespread. Approximately 40% of all Africans are Christians and another 40% Muslims. Roughly 20% of Africans primarily follow indigenous African religions. A small number of Africans also have beliefs from the Judaic tradition, such as the Beta Israel [...]
Culture of Africa Africa has a number of overlapping cultures. The most conventional distinction is that between sub-Saharan Africa and the northern countries from Egypt to Morocco, who largely associate themselves with Arabic culture. In this comparison, the nations to the south of the Sahara are considered to consist of many cultural areas, in particular [...]
Demographics of Africa Africans may be grouped according to whether they live north or south of the Sahara Desert; these groups are called North Africans and Sub-Saharan Africans, respectively. Afro-Asiatic speaking peoples predominate in North Africa, while Sub-Saharan Africa is dominated by a number of disparate populations grouped according to their diverse languages–Niger-Congo predominantly in West [...]
Economy of Africa Africa is the world’s poorest inhabited continent: the United Nations’ Human Development Report 2003 (of 175 countries) found that positions 151 (Gambia) to 175 (Sierra Leone) were taken up entirely by African nations. It has had (and in some ways is still having) a shaky and uncertain transition from colonialism, with increases in corruption [...]
Politics in Africa Colonial Africa Colonialism had a destabilizing effect on what had been a number of ethnic groups that is still being felt in African politics. Prior to European influence, national borders were not much of a concern, with Africans generally following the practice of other areas of the world, such as the Arabian peninsula, where [...]
History of Africa Africa is home to the oldest inhabited territory on earth, with the human race originating from this continent. During the mid 20th century, anthropologists discovered many fossils and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as 7 million years ago. The famous Leakey family, with ties to both Britain and Africa, discovered fossil [...]
Geography of Africa Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the main mass of the Earth’s surface. It includes within its remarkably regular outline an area, of c. 30,360,288 km² (11,722,173 mi²), including the islands. Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea, it is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the [...]
Etymology of Africa The name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra - “land of the Afri” (plural, or “Afer” singular) - for the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, corresponding to modern-day Tunisia. The Afri were a tribe - possibly Berber [...]

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