Angola. Land and People

Angola forms part of the large inland plateau of southern Africa. The land gradually rises from the interior to the west, where it drops sharply to a narrow plain on the Atlantic coast.

Little vegetation grows on the coastal plain, but hilly grasslands cover most of the rest of the country. A rocky desert spans the south, while tropical forests cover the north.

Many rivers cross Angola. A few serve as waterways into the interior. Some, like the Cuango, flow north into the Congo River system. Others, like the Cuanza, flow west directly into the Atlantic Ocean.

Angola has 928 miles (1,493 kilometers) of coastline along the Atlantic. Railroads connect Angolan towns on the coast with the interior, providing an important link to the sea for neighboring Zambia and Congo (Kinshasa). Luanda, the capital and largest city of Angola, is a major African seaport. Fishing is also an important economic activity along the coast.

At a diamond mine, tons of rock must be mined and crushed to produce just one small stone. Diamonds are among the valuable mineral resources found in Angola. Angola also has vast deposits of iron ore and petroleum

However, the economy of Angola is based largely on agriculture. About 60 per cent of Angola's people live in rural areas and farm or herd for a living, often raising just enough food for their families. Their main food crops are bananas, cassava, corn, and sugar cane. Some grow coffee for export.

Mining is becoming increasingly important, however. Angola's land is rich in some mineral resources, especially diamonds, iron ore, and petroleum. Most of the petroleum comes from Cabinda, the small Angolan district that lies to the northwest, separated from the rest of the nation by the Congo River and part of Congo (Kinshasa).

Manufacturing is increasing in importance too. Angolan factory workers produce cement, chemicals, processed foods, and textiles. Foundries and sawmills have been built in Luanda.

Before Angola became independent, more than 400,000 Europeans and mestizos (people with both black African and European ancestors) lived in Angola. Most fled the country after 1975, during the civil war between the government and rebel troops. Most of those who stayed live in Angola's urban areas and run small businesses or hold other jobs that require technical and management skills.

Fishery workers prepare their catch tor market by drying it in the hot Angolan sun. Fishing is an important industry along Angola's coastline

Before 1975, Europeans and mestizos held most such jobs, and when they left, the country experienced a shortage of executives, professionals, and technicians. Today, however, training programs started by the government have enabled blacks to take over these jobs.

Almost all the people of Angola are black Africans. They belong to several different ethnic groups—the largest are the Ovimbundu, the Mbundu, the Kongo, and the Luanda-Chokwe.

Long ago, the Kongo people had a great kingdom that included part of Angola. Their capital, Mbanza, lay near what is now the northern Angolan town of Damba. The Kongo kingdom was weakened and eventually destroyed by the Portuguese slave trade.

Most of Angola's black Africans, including the Kongo, speak languages that belong to the Bantu language group, while Europeans, mestizos, and educated blacks speak Portuguese, the official language. Only about 40 per cent of the population can read and write in any language.

Dockside cranes tower over the Atlantic coast at Lobito, one of Angola's seaports. The city lies at the end of a railroad that has carried goods to and from neighboring Congo (Kinshasa) as well as the interior of Angola. But Angola's civil war severely disrupted the railroad's operations

After independence was won in 1975, civil war broke out between the government party, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).

MPLA was Angola's only legal political party until 1991, when other parties were legalized. In 1992, MPLA won a multiparty election. UNITA claimed fraud, and civil war erupted again. Both sides prevented the delivery of food to cities occupied by their enemies, and many people died of starvation. On Nov. 20, 1994, both sides signed a peace pact promising to end the war and rebuild the nation.