Angola is one of the largest countries in Africa with a surface area of 1 246 700km
Coastline: 1 600km
Capital: Luanda
Provinces: 18
Approximately 11 million people with between 3 and 5 million living in Luanda
Literacy rate: 42%
Religions: Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15%, Indigenous beliefs 47%
Portuguese
The Kwanza
Exports include: oil, diamonds, coffee, various minerals, fish, timber, sisal
Imports include: machinery, food, medicines, chemical products, vehicles and spare parts, textiles, military goods, electrical goods
Agricultural products produced include: tobacco, sugarcane, bananas, vegetables, livestock, fish, coffee
Date of Independence: 11 November 1975 from Portugal
President: President José Eduardo dos Santos
Main Political Parties: The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA)
Angola is one hour ahead of GMT.
Electric current is 220v. The type of plugs used are the round two prong types.
Luanda has a moderate climate.
The months of February, March and April are very hot with high humidity and its is also the time of the heaviest rain.
Temperatures seldom reach more than 38 degrees c. Luanda receives light rain during September/October the time of small rains ("pequenas chuvas")
The cool dusty season starts from mid-May to mid-August ("Cassimbo"), during this period the weather is nearly always overcast but with no rain.
Dust pollution during this period is very high.
This is also the so called "winter" season although temperatures never drop lower than 18 degrees c.
| Angolan Public Holidays | |
|---|---|
| New Years Day | 1 January |
| MPLA Anniversary | 4 February |
| Carnival Day | Feb/March* |
| Good Friday | Mar/ April* |
| Workers Day | 1 May |
| Agostinho Neto Day | 17 September |
| All Souls Day | 1 November |
| Angolan Independence Day | 11 November |
| Christmas Day | 25 December |
*Exact date depends on the Easter Holiday.
Credit Cards - The use of these is very limited here so always first confirm with a restaurant or hotel if they will accept it or not.
Housing - There is a shortage of good houses. Suitable apartments are hard to find. There are some housing camps on the outskirts of the city but these are far out and traffic into the city can be extremely congested especially in the rainy season. Rental of a standard family house will cost around $5 000 per month. Houses in and around the city vary in price according to the area. In a good neighbourhood a family house will cost anything from $6 000 to $10 000. Sometimes houses can be rented including the furniture for not much difference in the price.
Apartment rentals cost anything upward of $3 000.
Television - Angolan Television Network (TPA) only broadcasts in Portuguese. Satellite television is available on the C-band from South Africa's DSTV
Telephones - Landlines are sometimes hard to come by. Angola Telecom is the country's service provider. Local and International communications can sometimes be difficult in that connections are often lost and there can be a lot of interference.
There are two cell phone service providers, Telemovel and Unitel. In order to make a call to a cell phone from a landline one must first dial 091 or 092 depending on the service provider of the person you are trying to call.
Internet - There are a number of Internet service providers.