Angola (country)

I

Introduction

Angola (country), country in southwestern Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Until 1975 it was ruled by Portugal and was sometimes called Portuguese West Africa. Angola became independent in 1975 after almost 15 years of war waged by Angolans against Portuguese rule. A civil war between rival Angolan factions broke out soon after independence and continued until the early 2000s.

The name Angola was derived from the word ngola, the title once given to rulers of the Mbutu people in northern Angola. Today, the country is officially the Republic of Angola. Luanda is the capital and largest city. Portuguese remains Angola’s official language and is widely spoken in cities, although most Portuguese settlers have left the country. Most Angolans also speak one of the Bantu languages.

Angola is potentially one of the richest African countries, although poverty is widespread. The country has petroleum resources, as well as hydroelectric potential, fertile farmland, and diamonds and other mineral resources. However, the war for independence devastated Angola’s economy, and the civil war that followed independence diverted much of the country’s petroleum revenues. Prospects for peace and economic development improved after a ceasefire was signed in 2002, ending fighting in the civil war.

II

Land and Resources

Angola is roughly rectangular in shape. It is the seventh largest country in Africa, covering an area greater than France and Spain combined. Angola is bordered on the north and east by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire), on the east by Zambia, on the south by Namibia, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Also part of Angola is the territory of Cabinda, a small enclave located on the Atlantic coast north of the mouth of the Congo River and separated from the rest of Angola by a small strip of territory belonging to the DRC.

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A

Natural Regions

Lowland plains lie along Angola’s Atlantic coast. They range in width from 50 to 150 km (about 30 to 90 mi). The major geographic feature of Angola is a vast high plateau, which rises east of the plains through a series of terraces. The plateau covers approximately two-thirds of the country and has an average elevation of 1,000 to 1,520 m (3,300 to 5,000 ft). Higher elevations are reached in the mountains of the plateau’s central section, which culminate in Mount Môco, the country’s highest point. The plateau descends to lowlands in the east. To the south the plateau becomes barren desert.

B

Rivers and Lakes

Most of Angola’s rivers rise in the central mountains. Of the many rivers that drain to the Atlantic Ocean, the Cuanza and Cunene are the most important. Other major streams include the Kwango River, which drains north to the Congo River system, and the Kwando and Cubango Rivers, both of which drain generally southeast to the Okavango Delta in Botswana. As the land drops from the plateau, many rapids and waterfalls plunge downward in the rivers. Angola has no sizable lakes.

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