Angola

Angola is a country in southwestern Africa bordering Namibia, Congo-Kinshasa, Congo-Brazzaville and Zambia. The capital city is Luanda. A former Portuguese colony, it has considerable natural resources, among which oil and diamonds are the most relevant.

República de Angola
Republic of Angola

Flag of Angola File:Coaofangola.jpg (In Detail) (Full size)
National motto: Virtus Unita Fortior (Latin: Unity provides Strength)
Official language	Portuguese
Capital	Luanda
President of the Republic	José Eduardo Dos Santos
Prime Minister	Fernando Dos Santos Nando
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 22th 1,246,700 km² Negligible
Population  - Total (July est.)  - Density	Ranked 71th 10,766,500 8.6/km²
Independence	1976
Currency	Kwanza
Time zone	UTC +1
National anthem	Angola Avante
Internet TLD	.AO
Calling Code	244

History

Main article: History of Angola

After a long war with Portuguese colonial forces, Angola became independent in 1975. Shortly after, a civil war broke out between MPLA, UNITA and FNLA. The later would retire from the conflict, leaving the marxist MPLA and the western backed UNITA to fight for power. In 1991, both factions agreed to turn Angola into a multiparty state but after the current president José Eduardo dos Santos of MPLA won UN supervised elections, UNITA claimed there was a fraud and fighting broke out again.

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 José Eduardo dos Santos suspended the regular functioning of democratic instances due to the conflict.

On February 22nd 2002, Jonas Savimbi, the leader of UNITA was shot dead 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 seems to be normalizing, president dos Santos still hasn't allowed regular democratic processes to occur. Among Angola's major problems are a serious humanitarian crisis (a result of the prolonged war), the abundance of mine fields, and the actions of guerrilla movements fighting for the independence of the northern enclave of Cabinda.

Provinces

Main Article: Provinces of Angola

Angola is divided into 18 provinces: Bengo, Benguela, Bié, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, and Zaire.

Other Topics

• Geography of Angola
• Demographics of Angola
• Politics of Angola
  • List of political parties in Angola
• Economy of Angola
• Communications in Angola
• Transportation in Angola
• Culture of Angola
• Military of Angola
• Foreign relations of Angola

Reference

• Much of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.

External links

• Library of Congress Portals on the World - Angola

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Countries of the world  |  Africa  | Community of Portuguese Language Countries