Angola (2003) | Oman (2004) | |
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 | 5 regions (manaatiq, singular - mintaqat) and 3 governorates* (muhaafazaat, singular - muhaafaza) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat*, Musandam*, Zufar* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.5% (male 2,363,829; female 2,317,610)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 2,941,999; female 2,842,923) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 134,330; female 165,780) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.4% (male 628,078; female 603,829)
15-64 years: 55.1% (male 955,765; female 643,687) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 38,761; female 33,045) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish |
Airports | 243 (2002) | 135 (2003 est.) |
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: 6
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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: 130
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 52 914 to 1,523 m: 34 under 914 m: 35 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 1,246,700 sq km
land: 1,246,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Kansas |
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. | In 1970, QABOOS bin Said Al Said ousted his father and has ruled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world and has preserved a long-standing political and military relationship with the UK. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries. |
Birth rate | 45.57 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 37.12 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $928 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $963 million (1992 est.) |
revenues: $8.218 billion
expenditures: $7.766 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Luanda | Muscat |
Climate | semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April) | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south |
Coastline | 1,600 km | 2,092 km |
Constitution | 11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, 6 March 1991, and 26 August 1992 | none; note - on 6 November 1996, Sultan QABOOS issued a royal decree promulgating a basic law considered by the government to be a constitution which, among other things, clarifies the royal succession, provides for a prime minister, bars ministers from holding interests in companies doing business with the government, establishes a bicameral legislature, and guarantees basic civil liberties for Omani citizens |
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: Sultanate of Oman
conventional short form: Oman local long form: Saltanat Uman local short form: Uman former: Muscat and Oman |
Currency | kwanza (AOA) | Omani rial (OMR) |
Death rate | 25.83 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 3.91 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $9.9 billion (2002 est.) | $5.973 billion (2003 est.) |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard Lewis BALTIMORE III
embassy: Jameat A'Duwal Al Arabiya Street, Al Khuwair area, Muscat mailing address: P. O. Box 202, P.C. 115, Madinat Al-Sultan Qaboos, Muscat telephone: [968] 24-698989 FAX: [968] 24-699771 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Josefina Perpetua Pitra DIAKIDI
chancery: 2108 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258 consulate(s) general: Houston and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Muhammad bin Ali bin Thani al-KHUSSAIBY
chancery: 2535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-1980 through 1981, 1988 FAX: [1] (202) 745-4933 |
Disputes - international | gives shelter to thousands of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo while thousands of Angolan refugees still remain in neighboring states as a consequence of the protracted civil wars in both states | boundary agreement signed and ratified with UAE in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah enclaves |
Economic aid - recipient | $383.5 million (1999) | $76.4 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Angola has been an economy in disarray because of a quarter century of nearly continuous warfare. 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. 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 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. While Angola made progress in bringing inflation down further, from 325% in 2000 to about 106% in 2002, 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. Increased oil production should bring about 6% GDP growth in 2003. | Oman is a small, well-off middle Eastern economy with large oil and gas resources, a substantial trade surplus, and low inflation. The government is moving ahead with privatization of its utilities, the development of a body of commercial law to facilitate foreign investment, and increased budgetary outlays. Oman continues to liberalize its markets and joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in November 2000. In order to reduce unemployment and limit dependence on foreign countries, the government is encouraging the replacement of expatriate workers with local people, i.e., the process of Omanization. Training in information technology, business management, and English support this objective. Industrial development plans focus on gas resources. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.348 billion kWh (2001) | 8.625 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.45 billion kWh (2001) | 9.274 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 36.4%
hydro: 63.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morro de Moco 2,620 m |
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 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 | rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
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% | Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African |
Exchange rates | kwanza per US dollar - 43.53 (2002), 22.06 (2001), 10.04 (2000), 2.79 (1999), 0.39 (1998); note - in December 1999 the kwanza was revalued with six zeroes dropped off the old value | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (2003), 0.3845 (2002), 0.3845 (2001), 0.3845 (2000), 0.3845 (1999) |
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: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles |
Exports - partners | US 41.2%, China 13.7%, France 8%, Belgium 6.3%, Taiwan 6.3%, Japan 4.9%, Spain 4.3% (2002) | South Korea 18.7%, China 18.5%, Japan 16.2%, Thailand 12.2%, UAE 7.8%, Iran 4.1% (2003) |
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) | three horizontal bands of white, red, and green of equal width with a broad, vertical, red band on the hoist side; the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is centered near the top of the vertical band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $18.36 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $36.7 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 67% services: 25% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 42.1% services: 54.8% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $13,100 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 9.4% (2002 est.) | 1.1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 18 30 E | 21 00 N, 57 00 E |
Geography - note | the province of Cabinda is an exclave, separated from the rest of the country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo | strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil |
Heliports | - | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 51,429 km
paved: 5,349 km unpaved: 46,080 km (1999) |
total: 34,965 km
paved: 9,673 km (including 550 km of expressways) unpaved: 25,292 km (2001) |
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 | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants |
Imports - partners | Portugal 20.2%, US 13.9%, South Africa 12.4%, France 6.7%, Brazil 5.8%, Belgium 5.3%, Netherlands 4% (2002) | UAE 21.6%, Japan 17.1%, US 6.2%, UK 5.6%, Germany 4.4%, India 4.4% (2003) |
Independence | 11 November 1975 (from Portugal) | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1% | 0.2% (2003 est.) |
Industries | petroleum; diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, bauxite, uranium, and gold; cement; basic metal products; fish processing; food processing; brewing; tobacco products; sugar; textiles | crude oil production and refining, natural gas production, construction, cement, copper |
Infant mortality rate | total: 193.82 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 206.26 deaths/1,000 live births female: 180.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 20.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 106% (2002 est.) | -0.3% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, SADC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 750 sq km (1998 est.) | 620 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Tribunal da Relacao (judges are appointed by the president) | Supreme Court
note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has judges who practice secular and Sharia (Islamic) law |
Labor force | 5 million (1997 est.) | 920,000 (2002 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 85%, industry and services 15% (1997 est.) | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA |
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: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.41%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 97.19% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.12%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 99.74% (2001) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects |
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 English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
bicameral Majlis Oman consists of an upper chamber or Majlis al-Dawla (58 seats; members appointed by the monarch; has advisory powers only) and a lower chamber or Majlis al-Shura (83 seats; members elected by universal suffrage for four-year term; body has some limited power to propose legislation, but otherwise has only advisory powers)
elections: last held 4 October 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 36.96 years
male: 36.13 years female: 37.83 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 72.85 years
male: 70.66 years female: 75.16 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42% male: 56% female: 28% (1998 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 75.8% male: 83.1% female: 67.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 30,311 GRT/48,924 DWT
ships by type: cargo 7, petroleum tanker 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 15,430 GRT/6,360 DWT
by type: passenger 2 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Police Force | Royal Omani Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $222.7 million (FY02) | $242.07 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.4% (FY02) | 11.4% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,568,082 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 796,792 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,290,884 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 443,006 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 109,752 (2003 est.) | males: 31,274 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 11 November (1975) | Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940) |
Nationality | noun: Angolan(s)
adjective: Angolan |
noun: Omani(s)
adjective: Omani |
Natural hazards | locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 214 km; liquid natural gas 14 km; liquid petroleum gas 30 km; oil 845 km; refined products 56 km (2003) | gas 3,754 km; oil 3,212 km (2004) |
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]
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 |
none |
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 |
none |
Population | 10,766,471 (July 2003 est.) | 2,903,165
note: includes 577,293 non-nationals (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.97% (2003 est.) | 3.35% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ambriz, Cabinda, Lobito, Luanda, Malongo, Mocamedes, Namibe, Porto Amboim, Soyo | Matrah, Mina' al Fahl, Mina' Raysut |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 21, FM 6, shortwave 7 (2000) | AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) |
Railways | total: 2,761 km
narrow gauge: 2,638 km 1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2002) |
- |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.) | Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu |
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: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.49 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.17 male(s)/female total population: 1.27 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | in Oman's most recent Majlis al-Shura elections in 2003, suffrage was universal for all Omanis over age 21 except for members of the military and security forces; the next Majlis al-Shura elections are scheduled for 2007 |
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 consisting of open-wire, microwave, and radiotelephone communication stations; limited coaxial cable
domestic: open-wire, microwave, radiotelephone communications, and a domestic satellite system with 8 earth stations international: country code - 968; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 72,000 (1998) | 233,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 25,800 (2000) | 464,900 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (2000) | 13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south |
Total fertility rate | 6.38 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 5.9 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.) | NA |
Waterways | 1,295 km | - |