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Angola
Country on the west coast of Southern Africa / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Angola,[lower-alpha 1] officially the Republic of Angola,[lower-alpha 2] is a country on the west-central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) country in both total area and population and is the seventh-largest country in Africa. It is bordered by Namibia to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Zambia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Angola has an exclave province, the province of Cabinda, that borders the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital and most populous city is Luanda.
Republic of Angola | |
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Motto:
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Anthem: "Angola Avante" (English: "Onwards Angola") | |
Capital and largest city | Luanda 8°50′S 13°20′E |
Official language | Portuguese |
National languages | |
Ethnic groups (2021)[1] | |
Religion (2020)[2] |
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Demonym(s) | Angolan |
Government | Unitary dominant-party presidential republic |
João Lourenço | |
Esperança da Costa[3] | |
Legislature | National Assembly |
Formation | |
11 November 1975 | |
22 November 1976 | |
21 January 2010 | |
Area | |
• Total | 1,246,700 km2 (481,400 sq mi) (22nd) |
• Water (%) | negligible |
Population | |
• 2023 estimate | 37,290,193[4] (41st) |
• Density | 24.97/km2 (64.7/sq mi) (157th) |
GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | ![]() |
• Per capita | ![]() |
GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | ![]() |
• Per capita | ![]() |
Gini (2018) | 51.3[6] high |
HDI (2022) | ![]() medium (150th) |
Currency | Angolan kwanza (AOA) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (WAT) |
Driving side | right |
Calling code | +244 |
ISO 3166 code | AO |
Internet TLD | .ao |
Angola has been inhabited since the Paleolithic Age. Its formation as a nation-state originates from the Kingdom of Kongo, the hegemonic state of a number of other Kikongo-speaking kingdoms that flourished in and after the 14th century. The Kingdom of Kongo became extremely wealthy and powerful through establishing the Atlantic slave trade with the Portuguese Empire. Its first explorers established relations with Kongo in 1483, and additional migrants gradually began building coastal settlements and trading posts.
The banning of the slave trade in the 19th century severely disrupted Kongo's undiversified economic system. European settlers gradually began to establish themselves in the interior. The Portuguese colony that became Angola did not achieve its present borders until the early 20th century. There had been strong resistance by native groups such as the Cuamato, the Kwanyama, and the Mbunda.
After a protracted anti-colonial struggle (1961-1974), Angola achieved independence in 1975 as a one-party Republic. But competing movements still struggled for power in the new nation. The country descended into a devastating civil war the same year, between the ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), backed by the Soviet Union and Cuba; the insurgent National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, an originally Maoist and later anti-communist group supported by the United States and South Africa; and the militant organization National Liberation Front of Angola, backed by Zaire.
The MPLA stayed in power. Since the end of the civil war in 2002, Angola has emerged as a relatively stable constitutional republic.