The World Factbook (1982)/Angola

by the Central Intelligence Agency

ANGOLA

(See reference map VII)

LAND

1,245,790 km² ; 1% cultivated, 44% forested, 22% meadows and pastures, 33% other (including fallow)

Land boundaries: 5,070 km

WATER

Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 20 nm (fishing 200 nm)

Coastline: 1,600 km

PEOPLE

Population: 7,000,000, including Cabinda (July 1982), average annual growth rate 2.5%; Cabinda, 117,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 3.3%

Nationality: noun—Angolan(s); adjective—Angolan

Ethnic divisions: 93% African, 5% European, 1% mestizo

Religion: about 84% animist, 12% Roman Catholic, 4% Protestant

Language: Portuguese (official); many native dialects

Literacy: 10-15%

Labor force: 2.6 million economically active (1964); 531,000 wage workers (1967)

Organized labor: approx. 65,000 (1967)

GOVERNMENT

Official name: People's Republic of Angola

Type: republic; achieved independence from Portugal in November 1975; constitution promulgated 1975; government formed after civil war which ended in early 1976

Capital: Luanda

Political subdivisions: 17 provinces including the coastal exclave of Cabinda

Legal system: formerly based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; being modified along "socialist" model

National holiday: Independence Day, 11 November

Branches: the official party is the supreme political institution

Government leader: José Eduardo DOS SANTOS, President

Suffrage: to be determined

Elections: none held to date

Political parties and leaders: Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola-Labor Party (MPLA-Labor Party), led by dos Santos, only legal party; National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) and National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), defeated in civil war, carrying out insurgencies

Member of: FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), ICAO, ILO, IMCO, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UNICEF, UPU, WHO, WMO

ECONOMY

GDP: $3.9 billion (1980 est.), $591 per capita, 0.0% real growth (1980)

Agriculture: cash crops—coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, sugar, manioc, and tobacco; food crops—cassava, corn, vegetables, plantains, bananas, and other local foodstuffs; largely self-sufficient in food

Fishing: catch 106,073 metric tons (1979)

Major industries: mining (oil, diamonds), fish processing, brewing, tobacco, sugar processing, textiles, cement, food processing plants, building construction

Electric power: 600,000 kW capacity (1980); 1.4 billion kWh produced (1980), 206 kWh per capita

Exports: est. $1,900 million (f.o.b., 1980); oil, coffee, diamonds, sisal, fish and fish products, iron ore, timber, corn, and cotton; exports down sharply 1975-77

Imports: est. $1,350 million (f.o.b., 1980); capital equipment (machinery and electrical equipment), wines, bulk iron and ironwork, steel and metals, vehicles and spare parts, textiles and clothing, medicines; military deliveries partially offset drop in imports in 1975-77

Major trade partners: Cuba, USSR, Portugal, and US

Budget: (1975) balanced at about $740 million by former Portuguese administration; budget not yet published by new government

Monetary conversion rate: 27.6 kwanza=US$1 as of September 1981

Fiscal year: calendar year

COMMUNICATIONS

Railroads: 3,189 km total; 2,879 km 1.067-meter gauge, 310 km 0.600-meter gauge

Highways: 73,828 km total; 8,577 km bituminous-surface treatment, 28,723 km crushed stone, gravel, or improved earth, remainder unimproved earth

Inland waterways: 1,165 km navigable

Ports: 3 major (Luanda, Lobito, Mocamedes), 5 minor

Pipelines: crude oil, 179 km

Civil air: 26 major transport aircraft

Airfields: 389 total, 367 usable; 27 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,660 m, 9 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 100 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: fair system of wire and radio relay; troposcatter/radio-relay system under construction; HF used extensively for military/Cuban links; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station; 29,100 telephones (0.5 per 100 popl); 15 AM and 5 FM stations; 1 TV station

DEFENSE FORCES

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,536,000; 773,000 fit for military service; 62,000 reach military age (20) annually