Angola (2001) | Virgin Islands (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 18 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire | none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three islands at the second order; Saint Croix, Saint John, Saint Thomas |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
43.31% (male 2,266,870; female 2,222,262) 15-64 years: 53.98% (male 2,847,089; female 2,748,091) 65 years and over: 2.71% (male 127,798; female 153,921) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 23.1% (male 12,676/female 12,421)
15-64 years: 66.2% (male 34,069/female 37,918) 65 years and over: 10.7% (male 5,125/female 6,499) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish | fruit, vegetables, sorghum; Senepol cattle |
Airports | 247 (2000 est.) | 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
31 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
216 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 96 under 914 m: 83 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
1,246,700 sq km land: 1,246,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 352 sq km
land: 349 sq km water: 3 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | twice the size of Washington, DC |
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. | During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848. |
Birth rate | 46.54 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.2 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$928 million expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $963 million (1992 est.) |
revenues: $560
expenditures: NA (2003) |
Capital | Luanda | Charlotte Amalie |
Climate | semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April) | subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season September to November |
Coastline | 1,600 km | 188 km |
Constitution | 11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, 6 March 1991, and 26 August 1992 | Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Angola conventional short form: Angola local long form: Republica de Angola local short form: Angola former: People's Republic of Angola |
conventional long form: United States Virgin Islands
conventional short form: Virgin Islands former: Danish West Indies |
Currency | kwanza (AOA) | - |
Death rate | 24.68 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $10.8 billion (2000 est.) | NA |
Dependency status | - | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between the Virgin Islands and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph G. SULLIVAN embassy: number 32 Rua Houari Boumeddienne, Luanda mailing address: international mail: Caixa Postal 6484, Luanda; pouch: American Embassy Luanda, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2550 telephone: [244] (2) 345-481, 346-418 FAX: [244] (2) 346-924 |
none (territory of the US) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Josefina Perpetua Pitra DIAKIDI chancery: 1615 M Street, NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258 consulate(s) general: New York |
none (territory of the US) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $493.1 million (1995) | NA |
Economy - overview | Angola is an economy in disarray because of a quarter century of nearly continuous warfare. Despite its abundant natural resources, output per capita is among the world's lowest. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for 85% of the population. Oil production and the supporting activities are vital to the economy, contributing about 45% to GDP and 90% of exports. Violence continues, millions of land mines remain, and many farmers are reluctant to return to their fields. As a result, much of the country's food must still be imported. To fully take advantage of its rich resources - gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola will need to end its conflict and continue reforming government policies. Despite the increase in the pace of civil warfare in late 1998, the economy grew by an estimated 5% in 2000. The government introduced new currency denominations in 1999, including 1 and 5 kwanza notes. Internal strife discourages investment outside of the petroleum sector, which is producing roughly 800,000 barrels of oil per day. Angola has entered into a Staff Monitored Program (SMP) with the IMF. Continued growth depends on sharp cuts in inflation, further economic reform, and a lessening of fighting. | Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for 80% of GDP and employment. The islands normally host 2 million visitors a year. The manufacturing sector consists of petroleum refining, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and watch assembly. The agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported. International business and financial services are a small but growing component of the economy. One of the world's largest petroleum refineries is at Saint Croix. The islands are subject to substantial damage from storms. The government is working to improve fiscal discipline, to support construction projects in the private sector, to expand tourist facilities, to reduce crime, and to protect the environment. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.372 billion kWh (1999) | 962.6 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.475 billion kWh (1999) | 1.035 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
32.2% hydro: 67.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Morro de Moco 2,620 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Crown Mountain 474 m |
Environment - current issues | overuse of pastures and subsequent soil erosion attributable to population pressures; desertification; deforestation of tropical rain forest, in response to both international demand for tropical timber and to domestic use as fuel, resulting in loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to water pollution and siltation of rivers and dams; inadequate supplies of potable water | lack of natural freshwater resources |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and Native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22% | black 76.2%, white 13.1%, Asian 1.1%, other 6.1%, mixed 3.5% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | kwanza per US dollar - 17,910,800 (January 2001), 10,041,000 (2000), 2,790,706 (1999), 392,824 (1998), 229,040 (1997), 128,029 (1996); note - in December 1999 the kwanza was revalued with six zeroes dropped off the old value | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: President DOS SANTOS originally elected (in 1979) without opposition under a one-party system and stood for reelection in Angola's first multiparty elections 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held NA) election results: DOS SANTOS 49.6%, Jonas SAVIMBI 40.1%, making a run-off election necessary; the run-off was not held and SAVIMBI's National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) repudiated the results of the first election; the civil war resumed |
chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (since 5 January 1999) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held November 2006) election results: Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL reelected governor; percent of vote - Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (Democrat) 50.5%, John de JONGH 24.4% |
Exports | $7.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | crude oil 90%, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton | refined petroleum products |
Exports - partners | US 54%, South Korea 14%, Benelux 11%, China 7%, Taiwan 6% (1999) | US, Puerto Rico |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle) | white, with a modified US coat of arms in the center between the large blue initials V and I; the coat of arms shows a yellow eagle holding an olive branch in one talon and three arrows in the other with a superimposed shield of vertical red and white stripes below a blue panel |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.1 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
7% industry: 60% services: 33% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 19% services: 80% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17,200 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2000 est.) | 2% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 18 30 E | 18 20 N, 64 50 W |
Geography - note | Cabinda is separated from rest of country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo | important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the Caribbean |
Highways | total:
76,626 km paved: 19,156 km unpaved: 57,470 km (1997) |
total: 1,257 km
paved: 1,192 km unpaved: 65 km note: the only US possession where driving on the left side of the road is practiced (2003) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | increasingly used as a transshipment point for cocaine and heroin destined for Western Europe and other African states | - |
Imports | $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods | crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, building materials |
Imports - partners | South Korea 16%, Portugal 15%, US 13%, South Africa 10%, France 8% (1999) | US, Puerto Rico |
Independence | 11 November 1975 (from Portugal) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | petroleum; diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, bauxite, uranium, and gold; cement; basic metal products; fish processing; food processing; brewing; tobacco products; sugar; textiles | tourism, petroleum refining, watch assembly, rum distilling, construction, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics |
Infant mortality rate | 193.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 8.03 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.11 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 325% (2000 est.) | 2.2% (2003) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 750 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Tribunal da Relacao (judges are appointed by the president) | US District Court of the Virgin Islands (under Third Circuit jurisdiction); Territorial Court (judges appointed by the governor for 10-year terms) |
Labor force | 5 million (1997 est.) | 48,900 (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 85%, industry and services 15% (1997 est.) | agriculture 1%, industry 19%, services 80% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
5,198 km border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,511 km (of which 220 km is the boundary of discontiguous Cabinda Province), Republic of the Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zambia 1,110 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 23% forests and woodland: 43% other: 32% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 11.76%
permanent crops: 2.94% other: 85.3% (2001) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages | English 74.7%, Spanish or Spanish Creole 16.8%, French or French Creole 6.6%, other 1.9% (2000 census) |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; recently modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets | based on US laws |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats; members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held NA) election results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 54%, UNITA 34%, others 12%; seats by party - MPLA 129, UNITA 70, PRS 6, FNLA 5, PLD 3, others 7 |
unicameral Senate (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 6 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 10, ICM 2, independent 3 note: the Virgin Islands elects one non-voting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 6 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004); results - Donna M. CHRISTIAN-CHRISTENSON (Democrat) reelected |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
38.59 years male: 37.36 years female: 39.87 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.91 years
male: 75.08 years female: 82.96 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 42% male: 56% female: 28% (1998 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 39,305 GRT/63,067 DWT ships by type: cargo 8, petroleum tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Police Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.2 billion (FY97) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 22% (1999) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,480,016 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,246,224 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
103,807 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 11 November (1975) | Transfer Day (from Denmark to the US), 27 March (1917) |
Nationality | noun:
Angolan(s) adjective: Angolan |
noun: Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: Virgin Islander |
Natural hazards | locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau | several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes |
Natural resources | petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium | sun, sand, sea, surf |
Net migration rate | -0.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -8.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 179 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Analia de Victoria PEREIRA]; National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA [disputed leadership: Lucas NGONDA, Holden ROBERTO]; National Union for the Total Independence of Angola or UNITA [Jonas SAVIMBI], largest opposition party has engaged in years of armed resistance; Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA [Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS] ruling party in power since 1975; Social Renewal Party or PRS [disputed leadership: Eduardo KUANGANA, Antonio MUACHICUNGO]; UNITA-Renovada [Eugenio NGOLO "Manuvakola", leader]
note: about a dozen minor parties participated in the 1992 elections but won few seats and have little influence in the National Assembly |
Democratic Party [Arturo WATLINGTON]; Independent Citizens' Movement or ICM [Usie RICHARDS]; Republican Party [Gary SPRAUVE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC [N'zita Henriques TIAGO; Antonio Bento BEMBE]
note: FLEC is waging a small-scale, highly factionalized, armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province |
NA |
Population | 10,366,031 (July 2001 est.) | 108,708 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.15% (2001 est.) | -0.07% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ambriz, Cabinda, Lobito, Luanda, Malongo, Mocamedes, Namibe, Porto Amboim, Soyo | Charlotte Amalie, Limetree Bay |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 34, FM 7, shortwave 9 (1999) | AM 6, FM 17, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Radios | 630,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
2,771 km (inland, much of the track is unusable because of land mines still in place from the civil war) narrow gauge: 2,648 km 1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2000) |
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Religions | indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.) | Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%, other 7% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; note - island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections |
Telephone system | general assessment:
telephone service limited mostly to government and business use; HF radiotelephone used extensively for military links domestic: limited system of wire, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: modern system with total digital switching, uses fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay
domestic: full range of services available international: country code - 1-340; 2 submarine cable connections (Taino Carib, Americas-1); satellite earth stations - NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 62,000 (1997) | 69,400 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,052 (1997) | 41,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (1999) | 16 (2004) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau | mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land |
Total fertility rate | 6.48 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.19 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2000 est.) | 9.3% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 1,295 km | - |