Country of Angola South Africa

Angola is a large state on Africa's southwest coast, flanked by Namibia to the south, Zambia to the east and Zaire to the north. The coastal enclave of Cabinda is divided from the rest of Angola by a strip of Zaire, and borders Congo to the north. Until 1974 Angola was an overseas colony of Portugal, and since independence in 1975 it has been wracked by civil war.

From the narrow coastal plains, the land rises to an extensive tableland that covers most of the country. The uplands are fairly level in the south, but become mountainous in southwestern and central Angola, where the highest point is Mount Moco. In the north the plateau becomes more fragmented; the valleys and coastal plains are broader toward the mouth of the Zaire river and in the Cabinda enclave beyond. A network of rivers fans out from the central highlands; some flow into the Atlantic, while others feed the rivers of adjoining countries. The climate is generally hot except in the central highlands and along the coast, where temperatures are moderated by the cold Benguela Current that flows north from the calder southern oceans. Rainfall varies widely across the country and according to the season. The north receives heavy rains over a seven-month period, whereas the west and south are subject to long droughts.

The vegetation varies according to climate, from dense tropical rainforest in Cabinda and the north to savanna woodland and then more arid grassland, dotted with euphorbia, acacia and baobab trees. Along the southwest coast a strip of pure desert extends north from Namibia. Angola has a rich variety of African wildlife: cheetahs, leopards, elephants and rhinoceroses. Many of these are threatened by the destruction of their habitats for farming land, by the disruptions of civil war and by the illicit trade in ivory and rhinoceros horns. National parks exist, but conservation measures have so far been ineffective.

The earliest inhabitants of Angola, hunter-gatherers related to the Khoisanspeaking San (Bushmen) of present-day Namibia, were displaced by the influx of Bantu peoples from the north, who introduced cereal agriculture and ironworking to the area. By the time the Portuguese arrived in the 16th century, the Bantu had established a number of kingdoms, some of which were highly organized. The largest, that of the Kongo, included the northwest of modern Angola, while the Ndongo kingdom occupied the south. The Portuguese called the country Angola after the name Ngola, which the Ndongo gave to their kings. At first the Bantu kingdoms enjoyed friendly relations with the Portuguese, exploiting the slave trade in order to expand their own power. Nevertheless, the Kongo kingdom was overrun by a neighboring group in 1568. Meanwhile, the Ndongo thrived until the Portuguese decided on a policy of subjugation. Despite this they were not finally conquered until a century later.

Angola became the slave center for the main European powers, leaving the area largely depopulated and with no chance of thriving even as a colony. Slavery was abolished in the early 19th century, only to be replaced by indentured labor. Portugal established its right to colonize the whole area, and initiated projects such as railroads and diamond mines, but the borders of Angola were not formally drawn until as late as 1926. No rights were granted to indigenous Africans, who continued to remain impoverished, often as forced laborers.

Growing nationalist feeling in the 1960s gave rise to three different guerrilla campaigns: the primarily Marxist-oriented Angolan People's Liberation Movement (Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola; MPLA), the Kongo-led Angolan National Liberation Front (Frente Nacional de Libertacao de Angola; FNLA), and in the south the National Union for Total Angolan Independence (Uniao Nacional para a Independencia Total de Angola; UNITA). All three were fiercely resisted by the Portuguese. In 1974, however, the new regime in Lisbon abruptly withdrew the Portuguese troops, paving the way for full independence the following year.

War immediately broke out. UNITA and FNLA, with South African backing, confronted the Soviet-backed MPLA, supported by Cuban troops. The MPLA took over the government, creating a one-party republic. However, the war continued for many years, with large areas under UNITA control. The withdrawal of Cuban troops (and of Soviet backing) in 1989 opened the way for peace negotiations, which were concluded in 1995 by the signing of a peace accord which provided for a power-sharing with U ITA. UN peace-keeping troops arrived later in 1995. Portuguese is the official language, although spoken only by a minority; the status of the native Bantu languages is being improved. The largest of the various ethnic groups are the Ovimbundu in the central highlands, the Mbundu along the coast around the capital, Luanda, and the Kongo in the north. There was a nominal Roman Catholic majority until independence; most Angolans now profess traditional beliefs.

Despite many years of incessant civil war, Angola's economy has begun to improve in some respects, thanks partly to abundant natural resources. A wide variety of crops are grown, especially in the more fertile north. The main cash crops are coffee, sugar cane, cotton and oil palm. Maize is the main staple, together with cassava, yams and millet. The hardwoods of the Cabinda forests are also an important source of revenue, and the coastal fisheries bring in mackerel and sardines. Up until the 1960s diamonds were the only mineral resource to be exploited. Since then substantial deposits of iron and other metal ores have been opened up. Extensive petroleum and natural-gas fields, mostly off the coast of Cabinda, now provide the main source of foreign income, and are the only energy source apart from hydroelectricity. The main manufacturing industries are petroleum and steel processing.

Other concerns are on a smaller scale, and are mostly for domestic markets; products include food, textiles, building materials and plastics. Petroleum products account for the vast majority of exports, together with diamonds and food products; the main imports include machinery and chemicals. The road system remains poor, and railroads are used mainly for transporting freight and raw materials. Health and welfare services are in theory available to all, but there is little provision in rural areas, where disease and malnutrition are rife. Primary education is free, but has been hampered by the civil war. However, literacy levels are rising thanks to the greater use of African languages.