ANGOLA - HISTORY OF ANGOLA - HISTORY WAVE

                                                         
                                                        ANGOLA 
Basisc Info: 
Population 2017(millions)                                                                    29,310,273
GDP per capita 2017 (PPI, US$)...                                                            6,800
GDP 2017 (Atlas method, US$ billions)                                            192
Unemployment 2017                                                                            6.6%
   
Total Area                                                                                            2,381,741 sq. km
Urban Population                                                                                    65.5%
Life expectancy at birth (years)                                                            60.2
Mortality rate, (per 1,000 live births)                                                    67.6
Illiteracy (% of population age 15+)                                                    28.9%

History:

Angola's land has been inhabited by Bantu tribes for thousands of years. The Portuguese arrived in 1575 and began an enormous slave trade from Angola to Brazil that took over 3 million people into slavery over the course of 3 centuries. By the late 19th century, Angola was a colony of Portugal, with Portuguese in control of the local government, commerce, and agriculture. But by the 1950s, there was a call for independence, led by the National Front. Guerilla activity soon ensued. The Portuguese ultimately fled and independence was declared on November 11, 1975. Peace did not arrive, however, with civil war erupting between the MPLA and UNITA factions. Though the MPLA set up a Marxist regime, many parts of the country were actually under UNITA control. Fighting continued through the 1980s and it was not until 1991 that a cease-fire was obtained between the government and UNITA. It was short-lived, however, since renewed fighting began after the results of the 1992 elections (the first in the country since 1975). The MPLA won but UNITA's Jonas Savimbi did not accept the election outcome. Though the United Nations tried for 4 years to get the situation under control, the conflict continues and has taken at least 100,000 lives since the 1970s.

Government:

Government type:

presidential republic

Capital:

name: Luanda

geographic coordinates: 8 50 S, 13 13 E

time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

18 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Kwando Kubango, Kwanza Norte, Kwanza Sul, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire

Independence:

11 November 1975 (from Portugal)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 11 November (1975)

Constitution:

history: previous 1975, 1992; latest passed by National Assembly 21 January 2010, adopted 5 February 2010

amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or supported by at least one-third of the National Assembly membership; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly subject to prior Constitutional Court review if requested by the president of the republic

Legal system:

civil legal system based on Portuguese civil law; no judicial review of legislation

International law organization participation:

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship:

citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Angola

dual citizenship recognized: no

residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Joao Manuel Goncalves LOURENCO (since 26 September 2017); Vice President Bornito De Sousa Baltazar DIOGO (since 26 September 2017); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government: President Joao Manuel Goncalves LOURENCO (since 26 September 2017); Vice President Bornito De Sousa Baltazar DIOGO (since 26 September 2017)

cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections/appointments: the candidate of the winning party or coalition in the last legislative election becomes the president; president serves a 5-year term (eligible for a second consecutive or discontinuous term); last held on 23 August 2017 (next to be held in 2022)

election results: Joao Manuel Goncalves LOURENCO (MPLA) elected president by the winning party following the 23 August 2017 general election

Legislative branch:

description: unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats; members directly elected in a single national constituency and in multi-seat constituencies by closed list proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)

elections: last held on 23 August 2017 (next to be held in August 2022)

election results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 61.1%, UNITA 26.7%, CASA-CE 9.5%, PRS 1.4%, FNLA .9%, other 0.5%; seats by party - MPLA 150, UNITA 51, CASA-CE 16, PRS 2, FNLA 1

Judicial branch:

highest court(s): Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (consists of the court president, vice president, and a minimum of 16 judges); Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional (consists of 11 judges)

judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the president upon recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council, an 18-member body chaired by the president; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Court judges - 4 nominated by the president, 4 elected by National Assembly, 2 elected by Supreme National Council, 1 elected by competitive submission of curricula; judges serve single 7-year terms

subordinate courts: provincial and municipal courts

Political parties and leaders:

Broad Convergence for the Salvation of Angola Electoral Coalition or CASA-CE [Abel CHIVUKUVUKU]

National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA; note - party has two factions; one led by Lucas NGONDA; the other by Ngola KABANGU

National Union for the Total Independence of Angola or UNITA [Isaias SAMAKUVA] (largest opposition party)

Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA [Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS] (ruling party in power since 1975)

Social Renewal Party or PRS [Benedito DANIEL].

ECONOMICS:

Angola's economy is overwhelmingly driven by its oil sector. Oil production and its supporting activities contribute about 50% of GDP, more than 70% of government revenue, and more than 90% of the country's exports; Angola is an OPEC member and subject to its direction regarding oil production levels. Diamonds contribute an additional 5% to exports. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for most of the people, but half of the country's food is still imported.

Increased oil production supported growth averaging more than 17% per year from 2004 to 2008. A postwar reconstruction boom and resettlement of displaced persons led to high rates of growth in construction and agriculture as well. Some of the country's infrastructure is still damaged or undeveloped from the 27-year-long civil war. However, the government since 2005 has used billions of dollars in credit from China, Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Spain, and the EU to help rebuild Angola's public infrastructure. Land mines left from the war still mar the countryside, and as a result, the national military, international partners, and private Angolan firms all continue to remove them.

The global recession that started in 2008 stalled Angola’s economic growth and many construction projects stopped because Luanda accrued billions in arrears to foreign construction companies when government revenue fell. Lower prices for oil and diamonds also resulted in GDP falling 0.7% in 2016. Angola formally abandoned its currency peg in 2009 but reinstituted it in April 2016 and maintains an overvalued exchange rate. In late 2016, Angola lost the last of its dollar-clearing international correspondent banking relationships, further exacerbating hard currency problems. Since 2013 the central bank has consistently spent down reserves to defend the kwanza, gradually allowing a 40% depreciation since late 2014. Consumer inflation declined from 325% in 2000 to less than 9% in 2014, before rising again to above 30% from 2015-2017.

Continued low oil prices, the depreciation of the kwanza, and slower than expected growth in non-oil GDP have reduced growth prospects, although several major international oil companies remain in Angola. Corruption, especially in the extractive sectors, is a major long-term challenge that poses an additional threat to the economy.

1990 2000 2010 2016

GDP (current US$) (billions) 11.23 9.13 82.53 95.34

GDP growth (annual %) -3.5 3.1 3.5 -0.8

Inflation, GDP deflator (annual %) 14 418 22.4 27.7

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP) 16 6 .. ..

Industry (including construction), value added (% of GDP) 30 72 .. ..

Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) 30 90 62 30

Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) 30 63 43 29

Gross capital formation (% of GDP) 0 30 14 8

Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) .. 52.8 35.5 16.7

Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) .. 26.3 0.9 -6

States and markets

Time required to start a business (days) .. 83 66 36

Domestic credit provided by financial sector (% of GDP) .. -14.8 19.3 28.8

Tax revenue (% of GDP) .. 28.7 16.9 10.3

Military expenditure (% of GDP) 15.6 6.4 4.2 3

Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) 0 0.2 40.2 45.1

Individuals using the Internet (% of population) 0 0.1 2.8 13

High-technology exports (% of manufactured exports) .. .. .. ..

Statistical Capacity score (Overall average) .. .. 46 42

Global links

Merchandise trade (% of GDP) 49 120 82 42

Net barter terms of trade index (2000 = 100) 94 100 216 132

External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$) (millions) 8,592 9,763 16,949 35,365

Total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) 8.1 20.9 4.5 26.5

Net migration (thousands) 143 173 87 ..

Personal remittances, received (current US$) (millions) .. .. 18 4

Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) (millions) -335 879 -3,227 4,104

Net official development assistance received (current US$) (millions) 265.8 302.2 235.2 206.8

People:

Angolans come from a number of major tribes. They include Ovimbundu Mbundu, Bakongo, Lunda-Chokwe Nganguela, Ovambo, Nyaneka-Humbe, Herero, and others. The literacy rate in Angola is low, with illiteracy over 42%.

Tourism:

Angolan tourism is based on its varied national parks and beautiful beaches. In 2017 there were 800,000 visitors to the country. That number is slowly growing.

https://historywave.blogspot.com/