Angola (country)

A

Population Characteristics

The 2009 estimated population of Angola, including Cabinda, was 12,799,293. The population distribution, however, was uneven, with about 70 percent of the population concentrated in the north and along the coast. The rate of population increase was 2.1 percent annually in 2009. The population is overwhelmingly rural; only 37 percent of the people live in urban areas.

The war for independence and the civil war following independence took their toll on Angola’s population. Many people died of hunger. Others became refugees in other countries during the war for independence. Although many returned afterwards, others became exiles. The civil war displaced many Angolans, especially in the countryside. Many of them fled to the cities, which soon became overcrowded.

B

Principal Cities

Luanda, the capital, has a population (2003 estimate) of 2.6 million. Other major cities are Huambo, Benguela, the port of Lobito, and Lubango. Luanda is a major shipping port and the chief governmental, commercial, and banking center. Lobito is the terminus of the Benguela Railroad and a chief shipping port. Namibe and Benguela are fishing centers. Huambo, Malange, and Lubango serve as governmental, agricultural, and transport centers for the interior. The cities grew rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s as a result of the civil war waged in the countryside.

C

Language and Religion

Portuguese is the official language. More than 90 percent of the population speaks Bantu languages, the most important of which are Kimbundu, Umbundu, and Kikongo (see African Languages: The Niger-Congo Family). The Ovimbunda people, the country’s largest ethnic group, speak Umbundu. They are concentrated in the central plateau. The Mbundu people, who speak Kimbundu, live mainly in Luanda and its neighboring region. The Bakongo people speak Kikongo. Portuguese is spoken in Angola’s cities.

---

---

Before independence an estimated 2.2 million Roman Catholics, including most of the 400,000 Portuguese, lived in Angola, as well as a smaller number of Protestants. At the beginning of the 21st century more than three-fourths of the population professed Christian beliefs. Most Angolans also practiced traditional African religions.

D

Education

In principle, education is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 9 in the 2006 school year. By 1990 the literacy rate had been increased to 42 percent. The rate for men (56 percent) has been consistently higher than that for women. Schooling in African languages has also increased. A lack of teachers and effects of the long-running civil conflict have hindered further educational gains.

Until the late 1990s Angola had only one university: Agostinho Neto University, which was founded in 1963 and named for Angola’s first president after independence. Headquartered in Luanda, the university also has branches in other cities. The Catholic University of Angola was established in 1997 and the Jean Piaget University of Angola in 1998; both are in Luanda.

E

Culture

There are rich traditions of sculpture, dance, music, and theater in Angola’s indigenous cultures. A statue called The Thinker, by an anonymous Chokwe sculptor, is much reproduced and has become a widely recognized symbol of national culture. Luanda has a Museum of Anthropology, a Museum of Natural History, and a Slave Museum. Modern Angolan popular music is closely tied with Caribbean and Brazilian musical traditions, and there has been much influence back and forth across the Atlantic.

Traditional literature in Angola’s African languages was collected beginning in the 19th century. In the late 19th century Angolan newspapers published articles in both Portuguese and Kimbundu. In 1901 a manifesto entitled “The Voice of Angola Crying in the Wilderness” protested against Portuguese colonialism. The later development of Angolan nationalism was closely related to literary expression. The country’s first president, Agostinho Neto, was only one of many poets well known in Angola.

Under Portuguese rule Angolan writers sympathetic to the nationalist movement were often censored, exiled, or imprisoned. Most literature was published overseas or distributed secretly. After independence the Angolan Writers Union, founded while war was raging in 1975, sponsored publication of previously censored and new writing, including poems, short stories, and novels.

	More from Encarta
	•  Important Notice: MSN Encarta to be discontinued. Learn more. •  Presidential Myths Quiz •  Coffee break: Recharge your brain