Angola Quick Facts
Population: 12.8 million
Languages: Portuguese (official), and several African languages.
Main Religions: Indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15%
Capital: Luanda
Currency: Angola Kwanza (1 USD = 85 AOA)
Size: 1,246,700 sq. km. It is slightly less than twice the size of Texas or almost twice the size of France.
Neighbors: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Namibia and Zambia.
Location: Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean.
Terrain: Narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau
Coastline: 1,600 km
Climate: Semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April).
Angola is celebrating Independence Day today. It became independent from Portugal on November 11, 1975.
Angola has a beautiful coast, great beaches, rain forests, mountains, waterfalls many spectacular sceneries and has potential to become a great eco-tourism destination. It is in the process of a re-birth as the country is finally entering an era of peace and stability.
But the country is still recommended mainly for those who prefer to explore the less traveled paths and value adventure ahead of comfort and security. Unfortunately Angola was ravaged by a 27 year old civil war after its independence. The country is still suffering from poverty, rampant corruption, land mines, crime and weak infrastructure.
Although a Travel Warning is currently not in effect against traveling to Angola, the U.S State Department warns about safety risks for visitors: “Americans are advised to undertake only essential travel to Lunda North and South provinces.”
“…Americans should still exercise caution when traveling in Angola. Although the war has ended, ground travel throughout Angola can be problematic due to land mines, which were used extensively during the war.”… “ Americans located in, or planning to visit, the northern province of Cabinda should be aware of threats to their safety outside of Cabinda city. In 2007 and 2008 armed groups specifically targeted and attacked expatriates in Cabinda; these armed attacks resulted in the rape, robbery and murder of a small number of expatriates working in Cabinda. Those responsible have declared their intention to continue attacks against expatriates”…
Click on the YouTube movie below to see a short clip – Driving destroyed roads in war torn Angola:
