Angola (2006) | Palau (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 | 16 states; Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur, Hatohobei, Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard, Ngarchelong, Ngardmau, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngeremlengui, Ngiwal, Peleliu, Sonsorol |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.7% (male 2,678,185/female 2,625,933)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 3,291,954/female 3,195,688) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 148,944/female 186,367) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.3% (male 2,789/female 2,622)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 7,664/female 6,549) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 453/female 502) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish | coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; fish |
Airports | 244 (2006) | 3 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 31
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 213
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 81 (2006) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2006) |
Area | total: 1,246,700 sq km
land: 1,246,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 458 sq km
land: 458 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Angola is slowly rebuilding its country after the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002. Fighting between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, followed independence from Portugal in 1975. Peace seemed imminent in 1992 when Angola held national elections, but UNITA renewed fighting after being beaten by the MPLA at the polls. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost - and 4 million people displaced - in the quarter century of fighting. SAVIMBI's death in 2002 ended UNITA's insurgency and strengthened the MPLA's hold on power. DOS SANTOS has pledged to hold legislative elections in 2006. | After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independence in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year, when the islands gained independence. |
Birth rate | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 18.03 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $8.5 billion
expenditures: $10 billion; including capital expenditures of $963 million (2005 est.) |
revenues: $72.07 million
expenditures: $72.43 million; including capital expenditures of $12.98 million (FY98/99 est.) |
Capital | name: Luanda
geographic coordinates: 8 48 S, 13 14 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Melekeok
geographic coordinates: 7 29 N, 134 38 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 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 and humid; wet season May to November |
Coastline | 1,600 km | 1,519 km |
Constitution | 11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, 6 March 1991, and 26 August 1992; note - a new constitution will likely be passed following the next legislative election | 1 January 1981 |
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: Republic of Palau
conventional short form: Palau local long form: Beluu er a Belau local short form: Belau former: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Palau District |
Death rate | 24.2 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 6.8 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $9.401 billion (2005 est.) | $0 (FY99/00) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Cynthia EFIRD
embassy: number 32 Rua Houari Boumedienne (in the Miramar area of Luanda), Luanda mailing address: international mail: Caixa Postal 6468, Luanda; pouch: US Embassy Luanda,US Department of State, 2550 Luanda Place, Washington, DC 20521-2550 telephone: [244] (222) 64-1000 FAX: [244] (222) 64-1232 |
chief of mission: US ambassador to the Philippines is accredited to Palau
embassy: Koror (no street address) mailing address: P. O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940 telephone: [680] 488-2920, 2990 FAX: [680] 488-2911 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Josefina Perpetua Pitra DIAKITI
chancery: 2108 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258 consulate(s) general: Houston, New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Hersey KYOTA
chancery: 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 452-6814 FAX: [1] (202) 452-6281 consulate(s) general: Honolulu consulate(s): Tamuning (Guam) |
Disputes - international | many Cabinda exclave secessionists have sought shelter in neighboring states | border delineation disputes being negotiated with Philippines, Indonesia |
Economic aid - recipient | $383.5 million (1999) | $19.6 million; note - the Compact of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, provides Palau with up to $700 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities |
Economy - overview | Angola's high growth rate is driven by its oil sector, with record oil prices and rising petroleum production. Oil production and its supporting activities contribute about half of GDP and 90% of exports. Increased oil production supported 12% growth in 2004 and 19% growth in 2005. A postwar reconstruction boom and resettlement of displaced persons has led to high rates of growth in construction and agriculture as well. Much of the country's infrastructure is still damaged or undeveloped from the 27-year-long civil war. Remnants of the conflict such as widespread land mines still mar the countryside even though an apparently durable peace was established after the death of rebel leader Jonas SAVIMBI in February 2002. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for half of the population, but half of the country's food must still be imported. In 2005, the government started using a $2 billion line of credit from China to rebuild Angola's public infrastructure, and several large-scale projects are scheduled for completion by 2006. The central bank in 2003 implemented an exchange rate stabilization program using foreign exchange reserves to buy kwanzas out of circulation, a policy that was more sustainable in 2005 because of strong oil export earnings, and has significantly reduced inflation. Consumer inflation declined from 325% in 2000 to about 18% in 2005, but the stabilization policy places pressure on international net liquidity. To fully take advantage of its rich national resources - gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola will need to continue reforming government policies and to reduce corruption. The government has made sufficient progress on reforms recommended by the IMF such as promoting greater transparency in government spending but continues to be without a formal monitoring agreement with the institution. | The economy consists primarily of tourism, subsistence agriculture, and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. Business and tourist arrivals numbered 63,000 in 2003. The population enjoys a per capita income twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the key tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific, the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries, and the willingness of foreigners to finance infrastructure development. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.9 billion kWh (2004) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | - |
Electricity - production | 2.24 billion kWh (2004) | - |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morro de Moco 2,620 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Ngerchelchuus 242 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 | inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral dredging, illegal fishing practices, and overfishing |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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% | Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 69.9%, Filipino 15.3%, Chinese 4.9%, other Asian 2.4%, white 1.9%, Carolinian 1.4%, other Micronesian 1.1%, other or unspecified 3.2% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | kwanza per US dollar - 88.6 (2005), 83.541 (2004), 74.606 (2003), 43.53 (2002), 22.058 (2001) | 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; Fernando de Piedade Dias DOS SANTOS was appointed Prime Minister on 6 December 2002 cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by universal ballot for a five-year term (eligible for a second consecutive or discontinuous term) under the 1992 constitution; 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 September 2006 or 2007) election results: Jose Eduardo 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 leaving DOS SANTOS in his current position as the president |
chief of state: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Camsek CHIN (since 1 January 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Camsek CHIN (since 1 January 2005) cabinet: NA elections: president and vice president elected on separate tickets by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. reelected president; percent of vote - Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. 64%, Polycarp BASILIUS 33%; Elias Camsek CHIN elected vice president; percent of vote - Elias Camsek CHIN 70%, Sandra PIERANTOZZI 29% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $5.882 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton | shellfish, tuna, copra, garments |
Exports - partners | US 39.8%, China 29.6%, France 7.8%, Chile 5.4%, Taiwan 4.4% (2005) | US, Japan, Singapore (2004) |
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) | light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon) shifted slightly to the hoist side |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9.6%
industry: 65.8% services: 24.6% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: NA% 6.2%
industry: NA% 12% services: NA% 81.8% |
GDP - real growth rate | 19.9% (2005 est.) | 5.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 18 30 E | 7 30 N, 134 30 E |
Geography - note | the province of Cabinda is an exclave, separated from the rest of the country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo | westernmost archipelago in the Caroline chain, consists of six island groups totaling more than 300 islands; includes World War II battleground of Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands |
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 bbl/day | $107.3 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods | machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | South Korea 20.8%, Portugal 13.6%, US 12.7%, South Africa 7.5%, Brazil 5.6%, France 5.3%, China 5.1% (2005) | US, Singapore, Japan, South Korea (2004) |
Independence | 11 November 1975 (from Portugal) | 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 13.5% (2004) | 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; ship repair | tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making |
Infant mortality rate | total: 185.36 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 197.56 deaths/1,000 live births female: 172.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 14.46 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 23% (2005 est.) | 2.7% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, AsDB, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, IPU, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO |
Irrigated land | 800 sq km (2003) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court and separate provincial courts (judges are appointed by the president) | Supreme Court; National Court; Court of Common Pleas |
Labor force | 5.58 million (2005 est.) | 9,777 (2005) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 85%
industry and services: 15% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 20%
industry: NA% services: NA% (1990) |
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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.65%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 97.12% (2005) |
arable land: 8.7%
permanent crops: 4.35% other: 86.95% (2005) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages | Palauan 64.7% official in all islands except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official), Filipino 13.5%, English 9.4%, Chinese 5.7%, Carolinian 1.5%, Japanese 1.5%, other Asian 2.3%, other languages 1.5% (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 Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary 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 September 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 54%, UNITA 34%, other 12%; seats by party - MPLA 129, UNITA 70, PRS 6, FNLA 5, PLD 3, other 7 |
bicameral Parliament or Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) consists of the Senate (9 seats; members elected by popular vote on a population basis to serve four-year terms) and the House of Delegates (16 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008); House of Delegates - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (four new members elected); House of Delegates - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 16 (one new member elected) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 38.62 years
male: 37.47 years female: 39.83 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 70.42 years
male: 67.26 years female: 73.77 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 66.8% male: 82.1% female: 53.8% (2001 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92% male: 93% female: 90% (1980 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo | Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 4,343 GRT/4,643 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1 registered in other countries: 5 (Bahamas 5) (2006) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US; under a Compact of Free Association between Palau and the US, the US military is granted access to the islands for 50 years, but it has not stationed any military forces there (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (Marinha de Guerra, MdG), Air and Air Defense Forces (FANA) (2006) | no regular military forces; Palau National Police (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2 billion (2005 est.) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 8.8% (2005 est.) | NA |
National holiday | Independence Day, 11 November (1975) | Constitution Day, 9 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun: Angolan(s)
adjective: Angolan |
noun: Palauan(s)
adjective: Palauan |
Natural hazards | locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau | typhoons (June to December) |
Natural resources | petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium | forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals |
Net migration rate | 3.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 1.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 235 km; liquid petroleum gas 122 km; oil 867 km; oil/gas/water 5 km (2006) | - |
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 [Isaias SAMAKUVA] (largest opposition party); 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; they and the other 115 smaller parties 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's small-scale, highly factionalized armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province has largely ended |
NA |
Population | 12,127,071 (July 2006 est.) | 20,579 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.45% (2006 est.) | 1.31% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 21, FM 6, shortwave 7 (2000) | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2002) |
Railways | total: 2,761 km
narrow gauge: 2,638 km 1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2005) |
- |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.) | Roman Catholic 41.6%, Protestant 23.3%, Modekngei 8.8% (indigenous to Palau), Seventh-Day Adventist 5.3%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, Latter-Day Saints 0.6%, other religion 3.1%, unspecified or none 16.4% (2000 census) |
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: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.17 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.13 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: country code - 244; satellite earth stations - 29; fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia (2005) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 680; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 94,300 (2005) | 6,700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,094,100 (2005) | 1,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (2000) | 1 (cable) (2005) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau | varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs |
Total fertility rate | 6.35 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 2.46 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.) | 4.2% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | 1,300 km (2005) | - |