Angola (2007) | Burundi (2001) | |
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 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.7% (male 2,706,276/female 2,654,338)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 3,339,114/female 3,225,121) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 149,414/female 189,333) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
46.82% (male 1,472,618; female 1,441,548) 15-64 years: 50.37% (male 1,541,131; female 1,593,743) 65 years and over: 2.81% (male 71,984; female 102,873) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides |
Airports | 232 (2007) | 4 (2000 est.) |
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 (2007) |
total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 201
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: 69 (2007) |
total:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 1,246,700 sq km
land: 1,246,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
27,830 sq km land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Angola is 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. While President DOS SANTOS had pledged to hold legislative elections in 2007, he has since announced that legislative elections will be held in 2008, with Presidential elections planned for 2009. A specific election timetable has yet to be established. | Between 1993 and 2000, wide-spread, often intense ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions in Burundi created hundreds of thousands of refugees and left tens of thousands dead. Although some refugees have returned from neighboring countries, continued ethnic strife has forced many others to flee. Burundian troops, seeking to secure their borders, have intervened in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. |
Birth rate | 44.51 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 40.13 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $14.07 billion
expenditures: $10.78 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues:
$125 million expenditures: $176 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Luanda
geographic coordinates: 8 50 S, 13 14 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Bujumbura |
Climate | semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April) | equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; wet seasons from February to May and September to November, and dry seasons from June to August and December to January |
Coastline | 1,600 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | adopted by People's Assembly 25 August 1992 | 13 March 1992; provided for establishment of a plural political system; supplanted on 6 June 1998 by a Transitional Constitution which enlarged the National Assembly and created two vice presidents |
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 Burundi conventional short form: Burundi local long form: Republika y'u Burundi local short form: Burundi former: Urundi |
Currency | - | Burundi franc (BIF) |
Death rate | 24.81 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 16.36 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $10.66 billion (2006 est.) | $1.12 billion (1999 est.) |
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:
Ambassador Mary Carlin YATES embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura telephone: [257] 223454 FAX: [257] 222926 |
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 Thomas NDIKUMANA chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574 FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578 |
Disputes - international | many Cabindan separatists have returned to the province from exile since the 2006 ceasefire and peace agreement; concerns from international experts and local populations over the Okavango Delta ecology in Botswana and human displacement scuttled Namibian plans to construct a hydroelectric dam at Popavalle (Popa Falls) along the Angola-Namibia border | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $441.8 million (2005) | $1.344 billion (1999 est.) |
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, 19% growth in 2005, and nearly 14% growth in 2006. 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 most of the people, 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 were completed in 2006. The central bank in 2003 implemented an exchange rate stabilization program using foreign exchange reserves to buy kwanzas out of circulation. This policy became more sustainable in 2005 because of strong oil export earnings; it has significantly reduced inflation. Although consumer inflation declined from 325% in 2000 to about 13% in 2006, the stabilization policy has put 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 implement government reforms and to reduce corruption. The government has made little progress on reforms recommended by the IMF, such as promoting greater transparency in government spending, and continues to be without a formal monitoring agreement with the institution. Corruption, especially in the extractive sectors, is a major challenge facing Angola. | Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with roughly 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Its economic health depends on the coffee crop, which accounts for 80% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports therefore rests largely on the vagaries of the climate and the international coffee market. Since October 1993 the nation has suffered from massive ethnic-based violence which has resulted in the death of perhaps 250,000 persons and the displacement of about 800,000 others. Only one in four children go to school, and one in nine adults has HIV/AIDS. Foods, medicines, and electricity remain in short supply. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.201 billion kWh (2005) | 160.1 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 29 million kWh
note: supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1999) |
Electricity - production | 2.585 billion kWh (2005) | 141 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
0.71% hydro: 99.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morro de Moco 2,620 m |
lowest point:
Lake Tanganyika 772 m highest point: Mount Heha 2,670 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 | soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and the expansion of agriculture into marginal lands; deforestation (little forested land remains because of uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel); habitat loss threatens wildlife populations |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22% | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 |
Exchange rates | kwanza per US dollar - 80.4 (2006), 88.6 (2005), 83.541 (2004), 74.606 (2003), 43.53 (2002) | Burundi francs per US dollar - 782.36 (January 2001), 720.67 (2000), 563.56 (1999), 477.77 (1998), 352.35 (1997), 302.75 (1996) |
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); 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 in 2009) 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 Pierre BUYOYA (interim president since 27 September 1996, officially sworn in 11 June 1998), First Vice President Frederic BAMVUGINYUMVIRA (since NA June 1998), Second Vice President Mathias SINAMENYE (since NA June 1998); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Pierre BUYOYA (interim president since 27 September 1996, officially sworn in 11 June 1998), First Vice President Frederic BAMVUGINYUMVIRA (since NA June 1998), Second Vice President Mathias SINAMENYE (since NA June 1998); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president elections: NA; current president assumed power following a coup on 25 July 1996 in which former President NTIBANTUNGANYA was overthrown |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $32 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides |
Exports - partners | US 38%, China 34.2%, Taiwan 5.8%, France 4.9%, Chile 4.1% (2006) | Germany 17%, Belgium 14%, US 8%, France 6%, Switzerland 4% (1999) |
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) | divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and bottom) and green panels (hoist side and outer side) with a white disk superimposed at the center bearing three red six-pointed stars outlined in green arranged in a triangular design (one star above, two stars below) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9.6%
industry: 65.8% services: 24.6% (2005 est.) |
agriculture:
50% industry: 18% services: 32% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $720 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 16.1% (2006 est.) | 1.8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 18 30 E | 3 30 S, 30 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 | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed |
Highways | - | total:
14,480 km paved: 1,028 km unpaved: 13,452 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
3.4% highest 10%: 26.6% (1992) |
Illicit drugs | used as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for Western Europe and other African states, particularly South Africa | - |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $110 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 15.3%, Portugal 15%, South Korea 10.1%, China 8.8%, Brazil 8.2%, South Africa 6.7%, France 6.2% (2006) | Belgium 20%, Zambia 11%, Kenya 8%, South Africa 5%, France 4% (1999) |
Independence | 11 November 1975 (from Portugal) | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 13.5% (2004) | 6.3% (1999 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; ship repair | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 184.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 196.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 171.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
70.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 13.3% (2006 est.) | 22% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, CPLP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OPEC, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 800 sq km (2003) | 140 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court and separate provincial courts (judges are appointed by the president) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal (there are three in separate locations); Tribunals of First Instance (17 at the province level and 123 small local tribunals) |
Labor force | 6.444 million (2006 est.) | 1.9 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 85%
industry and services: 15% (2003 est.) |
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:
974 km border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.65%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 97.12% (2005) |
arable land:
44% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 36% forests and woodland: 3% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) |
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 German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; 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 in September 2008) 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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (121 seats; note - new Transitional Constitution expanded the number of seats from 81 to 121 in 1998; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 29 June 1993 (next was scheduled to be held in 1998, but suspended by presidential decree in 1996) election results: percent of vote by party - FRODEBU 71.04%, UPRONA 21.4%, other 7.56%; seats by party - FRODEBU 65, UPRONA 16, various other parties 40 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 37.63 years
male: 36.73 years female: 38.57 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
46.06 years male: 45.15 years female: 46.99 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.4% male: 82.9% female: 54.2% (2001 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 35.3% male: 49.3% female: 22.5% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 6,865 GRT/8,825 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Spain 1) registered in other countries: 6 (Bahamas 6) (2007) |
- |
Military branches | Angolan Armed Forces (FAA): Army, Navy (Marinha de Guerra, MdG), Angolan National Air Force (FANA) (2007) | Army (includes naval and air units), paramilitary Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $57 million (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.7% (2006) | 6.1% (FY97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,394,273 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
728,326 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 16 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
79,360 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 11 November (1975) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Angolan(s)
adjective: Angolan |
noun:
Burundian(s) adjective: Burundi |
Natural hazards | locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau | flooding, landslides, drought |
Natural resources | petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 2.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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 [Holden ROBERTO]; National Union for the Total Independence of Angola or UNITA (largest opposition party) [Isaias SAMAKUVA]; Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA (ruling party in power since 1975) [Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS]; Social Renewal Party or PRS [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 |
Two national, mainstream governing parties are: Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Luc RUKINGAMA, president]; Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Jean MINANI, president]
note: A multiparty system was introduced after 1998, included are: Burundi African Alliance for the Salvation or ABASA [Terrence NSANZE]; Rally for Democracy and Economic and Social Development or RADDES [Joseph NZENZIMANA]; Party for National Redress or PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA]; People's Reconciliation Party or PRP [Mathias HITIMANA] |
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 ended after BEMBE's faction signed a peace accord in August 2006; other factions have since demobilized under provisions of the accord, although the two main faction leaders have not acceded to the accord |
Loosely organized Tutsi militias, often affiliated with Tutsi extremist parties |
Population | 12,263,596 (July 2007 est.) | 6,223,897
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (2003 est.) | 36.2% (1990 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.184% (2007 est.) | 2.38% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bujumbura |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 21, FM 6, shortwave 7 (2001) | AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 440,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 2,761 km
narrow gauge: 2,638 km 1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2006) |
0 km |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.) | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.035 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.789 male(s)/female total population: 1.021 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment: system inadequate; fewer than one fixed-line per 100 persons; combined fixed line and mobile telephone density approached 20 telephones per 100 persons in 2006
domestic: state-owned telecom had monopoly for fixed-lines until 2005; demand outstripped capacity and prices were high and services poor; Telecom Namibia, through an Angolan company, became the first private licensed operator in Angola's fixed-line telephone network; Angola Telecom established mobile-cellular service in Luanda in 1993 and the network has been extended to larger towns; a privately-owned, mobile-cellular service provider began operations in 2001 international: country code - 244; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations - 29 (2007) |
general assessment:
primitive system domestic: sparse system of open wire, radiotelephone communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 98,200 (2006) | 16,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.264 million (2006) | 619 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (2000) | 1 (1999) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains |
Total fertility rate | 6.27 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 6.16 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 1,300 km (2007) | Lake Tanganyika |