Angola is located on the Atlantic Coast in the South-Western part of Africa.
It is bordered in the South by the republics of Namibia and Zambia and in the East and in the North by the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the West Angola has 1,600 km-long of coastline on the Atlantic Ocean.
Land Area:
486,213 square miles
Population:
12 million (Year 2000 estimate)
Capital City:
Luanda
Climate:
Tropical in the north and subtropical in the south
Languages:
The main African languages also called national languages are Kikongo, Umbundu, Kimbundu, Tchokwe, Ovambo.
There are over 60 other Bantu-group languages.
Portuguese is the official language.
Brief historical facts:
Angola gained its independence from Portugal in 1975 amid civil war between the three main nationalist groups
fuelled by external interventions.
Once independent, the new Angola quickly fell victim of the cold war and became a hot spot showcase for superpower rivalry.
The civil war persisted for almost three decades during which many attempts to settle the conflict failed.
Very recently, in 2002 the warring parties signed a cease-fire agreement.
However, as many as one million people have died in the fighting since 1975, and the
country's infrastructure has yet to recover from the effects of the warfare.
Learn more:
More facts and data on Angola can be found on the Internet. Here are some suggestions:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angola - A General Overview
2. http://www. memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/aotoc.html
ANGOLA - A Country Study commissioned
by the Federal Research Division - Library of Congress 1989
3. http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/section/angola_history.asp - Nice short historical
account until 2002
4. http://www.oxfam.co.uk - search for Angola for more recent info on the humanitarian
front and more.
5. http://www.bbc.co.uk - search for Angola for more recent info in general.
Aurora
Africa Trust
36, Plant Close
Telford, TF4 2GT
United Kingdom
