Region: Middle Africa

Capital: Luanda

Population: 13 600 000 (2003 estimates)

Surface area: 1 246 700 square km

Currency: readjusted kwanza

GDP per capita: US$1,900 (2004 estimates)

Background:
Civil war has been the norm in Angola since independence from Portugal in 1975. A 1994 peace accord between the government and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) provided for the integration of former UNITA insurgents into the government and armed forces. A national unity government was installed in April of 1997, but serious fighting resumed in late 1998, rendering hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost in fighting over the past quarter century.

An apparently durable peace was established after the death of rebel leader Jonas SAVIMBI on February 22, 2002, but consequences from the conflict continue including the impact of wide-spread land mines.

Economy – overview:
Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for 85% of the population. Oil production and supporting activities are vital to the economy, contributing with about 45% to GDP and more than half of exports. Much of the country's food must still be imported. To fully take advantage of its rich natural resources - gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola will need to continue reforming government policies and to reduce corruption.

United Nations Membership date: 1 December 1976

New York Mission:
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Angola to the United Nations
125 East 73rd Street
New York, N.Y. 10021
Telephone: 212-861-5656 / 5789 / 6325
Fax: 212-861-9295