Angola, Africa
Angola, officially known as the Republic of Angola, is situated on the west-central coast of Southern Africa. It ranks as the second-largest Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) nation by both area and population, making it the seventh-largest country on the African continent. Angola shares its borders with Namibia to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Zambia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It also includes the exclave province of Cabinda, which is bordered by the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital and largest city is Luanda.
Human habitation in Angola dates back to the Paleolithic Age. Following the Bantu expansion, the region saw the formation of various states by the 13th century, organized into confederations. The Kingdom of Kongo emerged as a dominant power among these kingdoms by the 14th century, with Portuguese explorers establishing contact with Kongo in 1483. To the south were the kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba, while further south were the Ovimbundu kingdoms and the Mbunda Kingdom in the east.
The Portuguese initiated their colonization efforts along the coast in the 16th century. The Kingdom of Kongo engaged in three wars against the Portuguese, which culminated in the conquest of Ndongo. The abolition of the slave trade in the 19th century severely impacted Kongo's economy, and European settlers gradually extended their foothold into the interior. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that the Portuguese colony of Angola achieved its current borders, facing considerable resistance from indigenous groups such as the Cuamato, Kwanyama, and Mbunda. After a prolonged anti-colonial struggle from 1961 to 1974, Angola gained independence in 1975 as a one-party Republic but soon plunged into a devastating civil war, pitting the ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), backed by the Soviet Union and Cuba, against the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, initially a Maoist group later supported by the United States and South Africa. Additional conflicts involved the National Liberation Front of Angola, backed by Zaire, and the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda, which sought independence for the Cabinda exclave.
Following the civil war's end in 2002, Angola has transitioned into a relatively stable constitutional republic. Its economy is now among the fastest-growing globally, with China, the European Union, and the United States as its leading investment and trade partners. However, this economic growth is unevenly distributed, with a significant portion of the nation’s wealth held by a small segment of the population, resulting in many Angolans experiencing low living standards. Life expectancy is low, while infant mortality rates are among the highest in the world. Angola is a member of several international organizations, including the United Nations, the African Union, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, and the Southern African Development Community. As of 2023, the estimated population of Angola stands at 37.2 million. The culture of Angola reflects a rich tapestry that blends centuries of Portuguese influence—particularly through the predominance of the Portuguese language and the Catholic Church—with a diverse array of indigenous customs and traditions.
Luanda, Angola
Luanda, the capital and largest city of Angola, serves as the country's primary port and a major hub for industry, culture, and urban life. Situated along Angola's northern Atlantic coast, it functions as both the administrative center of the nation and the capital of Luanda Province. Luanda and its metropolitan area hold the distinction of being the most populous Portuguese-speaking capital city in the world and the largest Lusophone city outside Brazil, boasting a population exceeding 8.3 million as of 2020, representing about a third of Angola's total population.
Among Africa's oldest colonial cities, Luanda was established in January 1576 as São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda by the Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais. It has sometimes been referred to as "Leonda" or "St. Paul de Leonda" in non-Portuguese contexts. Historically, Luanda played a significant role as a center for the transatlantic slave trade to Brazil before the practice was abolished. The onset of the Angolan Civil War in 1975 led to the exodus of many white Portuguese residents, primarily to Portugal. Consequently, Luanda's population surged as internal refugees sought safety, resulting in a strain on the city’s infrastructure, which struggled to accommodate this rapid growth and contributed to the expansion of informal settlements known as musseques.
In the 21st century, Luanda is undergoing significant reconstruction and development efforts that are set to transform its urban landscape. The city's diverse industries include agricultural product processing, beverage manufacturing, textile production, cement, car assembly plants, construction materials, plastics, metallurgy, textiles, and footwear. Notably, Luanda is also recognized as a central hub for the oil industry, featuring a major refinery. Ranked among the most expensive cities in the world for expatriates, Luanda is predominantly inhabited by members of the Ambundu ethnic group. In recent decades, the population has also welcomed a growing number of ethnic Bakongo and Ovimbundu, alongside a notable community of ethnic Europeans, primarily Portuguese.
Source: Wikipedia
