ANGOLA
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 1,246,700 km2; land area: 1,246,700 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries: 5,198 km total; Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km,
Zaire 2,511 km, Zambia 1,110 km
Coastline: 1,600 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 20 nm
Disputes: civil war since independence on 11 November 1975;
on 31 May 1991 Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos SANTOS
and Jonas SAVIMBI, leader of the National Union for the Total
Independence of Angola (UNITA), signed a peace treaty that calls for
multiparty elections between September and November 1992, an
internationally monitored cease-fire, and termination of outside
military assistance
Climate: semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has
cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to
April)
Terrain: narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior
plateau
Constitution: 11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11
August 1980, and 6 March 1991
Legal system: based on Portuguese civil law system and customary
law; recently modified to accommodate multipartyism and increased use of
free markets
National holiday: Independence Day, 11 November (1975)
Executive branch: president, chairman of the Council of Ministers,
Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Assembleia do
Povo)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Tribunal da Relacao)
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Jose Eduardo dos SANTOS (since 21
September 1979);
Head of Government--Fernando Jose Franca VAN DUNEM (since
21 July 1991)
Political parties and leaders: only one party exists--the
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola-Labor Party
(MPLA), Jose Eduardo dos SANTOS--although others are expected to
form as legalization of a multiparty system proceeds;
National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) lost to
the MPLA and Cuban military support forces in the immediate
postindependence struggle, but is to receive recognition as a legal party
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: first nationwide, multiparty elections to be held
between September and November 1992
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a
centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a
cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle)
ECONOMY
Overview: Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for
80 to 90% of the population, but accounts for less than 15% of GDP. Oil
production is the most lucrative sector of the economy, contributing
about 50% to GDP. In recent years, however, the impact of fighting an
internal war has severely affected the nonoil economy, and food has to be
imported. For the long run, Angola has the advantage of rich natural
resources, notably gold, diamonds, and arable land. To realize its
economic potential Angola not only must secure domestic peace but also
must reform government policies that have led to distortions and
imbalances throughout the economy.
GDP: $7.9 billion, per capita $925; real growth rate 2.0% (1990
est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 23.2% (1988)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $2.6 billion; expenditures $4.4 billion,
including capital expenditures of $963 million (1990 est.)
Exports: $3.8 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--oil,liquified petroleum gas, diamonds, coffee, sisal,
fish and fish products, timber, cotton;
partners--US, USSR, Cuba, Portugal, Brazil, France
Imports: $1.5 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--capital equipment (machinery and electrical
equipment), food, vehicles and spare parts, textiles and clothing,
medicines; substantial military deliveries;
partners--US, USSR, Cuba, Portugal, Brazil
External debt: $7.0 billion (1990)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for about 60%
of GDP, including petroleum output
Electricity: 506,000 kW capacity; 770 million kWh produced,
90 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: petroleum, diamonds, mining, fish processing, food
processing, brewing, tobacco, sugar, textiles, cement, basic metal
products
Agriculture: cash crops--coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, sugar,
manioc, tobacco; food crops--cassava, corn, vegetables, plantains,
bananas; livestock production accounts for 20%, fishing 4%, forestry
2% of total agricultural output; disruptions caused by civil war
and marketing deficiencies require food imports
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $265
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $1,005 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $1.3 billion
Currency: kwanza (plural--kwanza); 1 kwanza (Kz) = 100 lwei
Exchange rates: kwanza (Kz) per US$1--29.62 (fixed rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 3,189 km total; 2,879 km 1.067-meter gauge, 310 km
0.600-meter gauge; limited trackage in use because of insurgent attacks;
sections of the Benguela Railroad closed because of insurgency
Highways: 73,828 km total; 8,577 km bituminous-surface treatment,
29,350 km crushed stone, gravel, or improved earth, remainder unimproved
earth
Inland waterways: 1,295 km navigable
Pipelines: crude oil, 179 km
Ports: Luanda, Lobito, Namibe, Cabinda
Merchant marine: 12 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
66,348 GRT/102,825 DWT; includes 11 cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and
lubricants (POL) tanker
Civil air: 27 major transport aircraft
Airports: 315 total, 183 usable; 28 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runways over 3,659 m; 13 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 58 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: fair system of wire, radio relay, and
troposcatter routes; high frequency used extensively for military/Cuban
links; 40,300 telephones; stations--17 AM, 13 FM, 2 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth stations
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force/Air Defense, People's Defense
Organization and Territorial Troops, Frontier Guard
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 2,080,837; 1,047,500 fit for
military service; 92,430 reach military age (18) annually