Angola (2002) | French Guiana (2006) | |
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 (overseas department of France) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.3% (male 2,318,326; female 2,272,726)
15-64 years: 53.9% (male 2,904,595; female 2,806,430) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 131,316; female 159,778) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 28.9% (male 29,540/female 28,210)
15-64 years: 64.8% (male 69,302/female 59,980) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 6,350/female 6,127) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry |
Airports | 244 (2001) | 11 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 32
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 211
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 80 (2002) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2006) |
Area | total: 1,246,700 sq km
land: 1,246,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Indiana |
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. The death of insurgent leader Jonas SAVIMBI in 2002 and a subsequent cease fire with UNITA may bode well for the country. | First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. |
Birth rate | 46.18 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 20.46 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $928 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $963 million |
revenues: $135.5 million
expenditures: $135.5 million; including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
Capital | Luanda | name: Cayenne
geographic coordinates: 4 56 N, 52 20 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April) | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 1,600 km | 378 km |
Constitution | 11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, 6 March 1991, and 26 August 1992 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
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: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
Currency | kwanza (AOA) | - |
Death rate | 24.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 4.88 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $10.4 billion (2001 est.) | $800.3 million (2003) |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher William DELL
embassy: number 32 Rua Houari Boumedienne (in the Miramar area of Luanda), Luanda mailing address: international mail: Caixa Postal 6468, Luanda; pouch: American Embassy Luanda, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2550 telephone: [244] (2) 445-481, 447-028, 446-224 FAX: [244] (2) 446-924 |
none (overseas department of France) |
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: Houston and New York |
none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | none | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) in French Guiana |
Economic aid - recipient | $383.5 million (1999) | $NA |
Economy - overview | Angola is an economy in disarray because of a quarter century of nearly continuous warfare. 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 natural resources - gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola will need to end its conflict and continue reforming government policies. Internal strife discourages investment outside of the petroleum sector, which is producing roughly 800,000 barrels of oil per day. While Angola made progress in bringing inflation down further, from over 300% in 2000 to about 110% in 2001, the government has failed to make sufficient progress on reforms recommended by the IMF, such as increasing foreign exchange reserves and promoting greater transparency in government spending. Angola's GDP could be among the world's fastest growing in 2002 if oil production from the Girassol field, which began production in December 2001, reaches 200,000 barrels per day as expected. | The economy is tied closely to the much larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.107 billion kWh (2000) | 432.6 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 1.19 billion kWh (2000) | 465.2 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 40%
hydro: 60% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morro de Moco 2,620 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 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 | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
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 or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% |
Exchange rates | kwanza per US dollar - 32.8716 (January 2002), 22.058 (2001), 10.041 (2000), 2.791 (1999), 0.393 (1998), 0.229 (1997); note - in December 1999 the kwanza was revalued with six zeroes dropped off the old value | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
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; Fernando de Piedade Dias DOS SANTOS was appointed Prime Minister on 6 December 2002, but this is not a position of real power cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by universal ballot for a NA-year term; 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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Jean-Pierre LAFLAQUIERE (since 19 July 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Pierre DESERT (since 26 March 2004); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
Exports | $7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | crude oil 90%, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing |
Exports - partners | US 44.5%, EU 17.3%, China 22.7%, South Korea 8.1% (2000) | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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) | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $13.3 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 70% services: 24% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: NA% 6.6%
industry: NA% 15.6% services: NA% 77.8% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,330 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.4% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 18 30 E | 4 00 N, 53 00 W |
Geography - note | Cabinda is separated from rest of country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent |
Highways | total: 76,626 km
paved: 19,156 km unpaved: 57,470 km (1997) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | used as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for Western Europe and other African states | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe |
Imports | $2.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals |
Imports - partners | EU 47.4%, South Korea 16%, South Africa 15.9%, US 11.3%, Brazil 5.5% (2000) | France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2004) |
Independence | 11 November 1975 (from Portugal) | none (overseas department of France) |
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 | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | 191.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 11.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 110% (2001 est.) | 1% (2003) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 750 sq km (1998 est.) | 20 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Tribunal da Relacao (judges are appointed by the president) | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) |
Labor force | 5 million (1997 est.) | 62,630 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 85%, industry and services 15% (1997 est.) | agriculture: 18.2%
industry: 21.2% services: 60.6% (1980) |
Land boundaries | total: 5,198 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of discontiguous Cabinda Province), Republic of the Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zambia 1,110 km |
total: 1,240.4 km
border countries: Brazil 730.4 km, Suriname 510 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.41%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 97.19% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.13%
permanent crops: 0.04% other: 99.83% (90% forest, 10% other) (2005) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages | French |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; recently modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets | French legal system |
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 General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held in March 2000 (next to be held March 2006); Regional Council - last held 21 and 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - (second election results) percent of vote by party - PS 37.24%, UMP 31.58%, FDG/Walwari 31.18%; seats by party - PS 17, UMP 7, FDG/Walwari 7 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 38.87 years
male: 37.62 years female: 40.18 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 77.27 years
male: 73.95 years female: 80.75 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42% male: 56% female: 28% (1998 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname |
Map references | Africa | South America |
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/63,528 DWT
ships by type: cargo 8, petroleum tanker 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Police Force | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.2 billion (FY97) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 22% (1999) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,532,469 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,272,509 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 103,807 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 11 November (1975) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Angolan(s)
adjective: Angolan |
noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
Natural hazards | locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding |
Natural resources | petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 4.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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 [interim leader: Paulo Lukamba "GATO"], 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 [Secretary General: Jorge VALENTIM], party officially reunited with UNITA in October 2002
note: about a dozen minor parties participated in the 1992 elections but only won a few seats and have little influence in the National Assembly |
Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Alix LABBE]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Georges HABRAN-MERY]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (includes RPR) [Remi Louis DUBOC]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] |
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 | 10,593,171 (July 2002 est.) | 199,509 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.18% (2002 est.) | 1.96% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ambriz, Cabinda, Lobito, Luanda, Malongo, Mocamedes, Namibe, Porto Amboim, Soyo | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 21, FM 6, shortwave 7 (2000) | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) |
Radios | 815,000 (2000) | - |
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 est.) |
- |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.) | Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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: NA
domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 72,000 (1998) | 51,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 25,800 (2000) | 98,000 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (2000) | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains |
Total fertility rate | 6.43 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.98 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.) | 19.2% (December 2003) |
Waterways | 1,295 km | 3,760 km
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2003) |