Introduction
Geography
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is located on the western coast of the southern coast of Africa, just below the Equator. It is the seventh largest country in Africa, 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.
The country is divided into 18 provinces, and Luanda is the capital of and the largest city of Angola. Within those 18 provinces, Cabinda, which is located north of the country is an exclave, separated from the rest of the country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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Black represents the color of the people of Africa. Red represents the blood of those who fought for Angola. The emblem is similar to the old USSR’S flag with the machete representing peasantry and agriculture, the half cogwheel representing industry, the star representing progress, and the color yellow representing the nation's wealth.
Languages
About 39 languages are spoken in Angola, Bantu and Portuguese being the most predominant ones. Portuguese became the official language of Angola in 1975, mainly because of the Portuguese colonial influence since the 1575. It is estimated that Portuguese is the mother tongue of 39% of the population and 71 percent of the 26 million inhabitants of Angola speak Portuguese at home. English and French remain foreign languages in Angola, but English is soon to be a requirement in schools because of the opportunities it offers economically.
Economy
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/4/6/124651069/published/rig-2251648-640.jpg?1551893449)
The economy of Angola thrives on its rich natural resources such as petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, gold, and uranium. The country's main exports are oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, and coffee, while the main imports consist of machinery, electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts, medicines, food, textiles, and clothing.
Angola used to produce a lot of agriculture but stopped in 1975 because it went into Civil War which lasted almost three decades. As a consequence, agriculture exports slowed down dramatically and over 91 million square meters of land was impacted by millions of landmines. On the other hand, oil represents about a third of Angola's GDP and over 95 percent of its exports. The province of Cabinda is very important for the economy of Angola because it produces and contains 60 percent of the country’s oil reserves. That said, when the prices of oil go down, the country goes into economic instability, forcing the government to boost economic activity which has resulted in high inflation and debt.
The Chevron Texaco corporation is an American oil company operating in Angola for over 40 years and it is the nations largest petroleum producer, averaging 600,000 barrels a day. This is the nation's largest oil industry employer with 80 percent of jobs held by Angolan nationals. It is important to point out that employees for the Chevron Texaco corporation need to be proficient in English.
The significant economic challenge for Angola relies in diversifying its economy and reducing its dependence on oil revenues
Angola used to produce a lot of agriculture but stopped in 1975 because it went into Civil War which lasted almost three decades. As a consequence, agriculture exports slowed down dramatically and over 91 million square meters of land was impacted by millions of landmines. On the other hand, oil represents about a third of Angola's GDP and over 95 percent of its exports. The province of Cabinda is very important for the economy of Angola because it produces and contains 60 percent of the country’s oil reserves. That said, when the prices of oil go down, the country goes into economic instability, forcing the government to boost economic activity which has resulted in high inflation and debt.
The Chevron Texaco corporation is an American oil company operating in Angola for over 40 years and it is the nations largest petroleum producer, averaging 600,000 barrels a day. This is the nation's largest oil industry employer with 80 percent of jobs held by Angolan nationals. It is important to point out that employees for the Chevron Texaco corporation need to be proficient in English.
The significant economic challenge for Angola relies in diversifying its economy and reducing its dependence on oil revenues
Politics
Angola’s political system type of regime is a democracy, and it is composed of three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive branch is composed by president Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco, vice vicepresident Bornito de Souza Baltazar Diogo, and the Council of Ministers. The Legislative branch is composed by the National Assembly, and the Judiciary branch by the Supreme Court.
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Religions
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/4/6/124651069/editor/angola-rel.jpg?1551895116)
Most of Angolans are Roman Catholic because the Portuguese introduced this religion early in the 1600's.
(Kelly, 2019.)
(Kelly, 2019.)
Demographics
The population of Angola is 28 million. The ethnic distribution of Angola is as follows:
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/4/6/124651069/editor/angola.jpg?1551895406)
(Kelly, 2019.)
Education
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A total of 71.1 percent of the population is literate, with males forming 82 percent of it and females 60.7 percent. The education system in Angola was not enforced by the Portuguese colonial system, and even after the Independence, most of the schools were established already by the Roman Catholic Church but attendance was disrupted because of the Civil War. Nevertheless, today the Angolan government provides free education for eight years. There is primary education, which begins at seven and continues for four years. Then there is secondary education which begins at age eleven, but it can be followed by a three year cycle. Lastly, there are higher education institutions such as Agostinho Neto University and the Catholic University of Angola.
Anderson, Brian (Winter 2019)