Note: The menu shows the 36 African countries where Africare has worked, not the other African countries.

 

Angola (Map courtesy of The World Factbook)

Angola

REGION: Southern Africa
CAPITAL CITY: Luanda
POPULATION: 15,490,000
LAND AREA: Twice the size of Texas

Angola was at war for more than 30 years. Nearly a decade of war for independence from Portugal, won in 1975, gave way to a civil war that continued with only brief interruptions until the ceasefire agreement of 2002. Up to a million Angolans died, several million were displaced and other forms of damage were extensive. Angola now has one of the highest concentrations of landmines, and landmine amputees, in the world. Today, as postwar recovery continues, the priorities include de-mining, resettling war refugees and displaced persons, rebuilding the physical infrastructure, reviving food production and addressing critical shortages of health care. Angola is a major oil producer and is rich in other mineral resources, yet the Angolan people struggle daily just to survive.

 

Country Stats

Life Expectancy: 41.7 years (USA: 77.9)

Under-5 child mortality: 260/1,000 live births (USA: 7/1,000)

HIV prevalence, ages 15-49: [2.3 - 5.3]% (USA: [0.4 - 1.0]%)

Physicians per 100,000 people: 8 (USA: 256)

People undernourished: 35% (USA: 0%)

People with access to safe drinking water: 53% (USA: 100%)

Adult literacy: 67.4% (USA: 99%)

Annual income, one way to look at it (GDP per capita, PPP US$): $2,335 (USA: $41,890)

Annual income, another way to look at it (GDP per capita): $2,058 (USA: $41,890)

People living on less than $1 a day: Not available (USA: 0%)

(HIV prevalence statistics, UNAIDS. All other statistics, 2007/2008 Human Development Report, UNDP)

 

(Updated, Dec. 18, 2007)