Africa’s richest woman, a rediscovered antelope and an immense waterfall are among the most interesting facts about Angola.
Fast facts
Official name: Republic of Angola
Capital city: Luanda
Population: 37,625,068
Area: 1,246,700 sq km
Major languages: Portuguese, Umbundu, Kikongo, Kimbundu, Chokwe
Time zone: UTC+1 (West Africa Time)
Interesting facts about Angola
1. Located in Southwestern Africa, Angola is known to have been inhabited by agricultural cultures from around 1000 to 500 BCE.
2. Angola was once part of the central and west African Kingdom of Kongo. Founded in the 14th century, the kingdom incorporated much of present-day northern Angola as well as parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo and Southern Gabon.
3. The name Angola derives from the word ngola which was the title given to Ndongo kings – the historical African kingdom of the Mbundu people founded around the late 15th or early 16th century.
4. In 1482, Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão became the first European to explore the region.
5. Luanda, the capital of Angola, has repeatedly been ranked as one of the world’s most expensive cities for expatriate employees to live in.
6. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Angola was a significant Portuguese slave-trading base. Between 1580 and 1680, over a million slaves were transported to Brazil.
7. In 1975, following a revolution in Portugal, Angola gained full independence. Portugal’s entire colonial empire collapsed which also included Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe.
8. Angola then fell into a 27-year civil war dominated by foreign intervention, which included the USA, Cuba and South Africa. By the time peace came in 2002, over a million people had died.
9. The Angolan flag is horizontally striped red and black. In the center is a yellow emblem featuring a star signifying internationalism and progress, a cogwheel for industrial workers and a machete for agricultural labourers. The ensemble is similar to the hammer, sickle and star of the old Soviet flag.
See how Angola’s flag compares to other African flags.
10. The enclave of Cabinda is separated from the rest of Angola by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The enclave is oil-rich but is also plagued by poverty and ongoing conflicts with rebel separatist groups.
11. Angolan businesswoman, Isabel dos Santos, is Africa’s richest woman. She is the daughter of the former Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos and is estimated to have a fortune of $2.2bn.
12. Dos Santos is currently the subject of a criminal investigation in Angola and has been charged with 12 crimes, including embezzlement, tax fraud, and money laundering.
13. Angola is Africa’s second-biggest crude oil producer (after Nigeria) and the world’s 14th-biggest.
14. Oil accounts for at least 88% of the country’s total exports. Petroleum exports significantly contribute to Angola’s position as the second-largest trading partner of the United States.
15. Angola is Africa’s seventh-largest country by land area and the world’s 22nd.
16. The giant sable antelope, which is endemic to Angola, was thought to be extinct since 1982. However, the antelope was ‘rediscovered’ in 2006 but remains endangered.
17. Angola is home to one of Africa’s largest waterfalls (possibly second-largest), the Kalandula Falls. The falls are 105m high and 400m wide and considered one of the largest waterfalls by volume in Africa.
18. Angola is still struggling to clear landmines leftover from its civil war. Members of the British Royal Family, Princess Diana, and Prince Harry, visited Angola to raise awareness of the issue in 1997 and 2019.
19. Angola has one of the youngest populations in the world, with a median age of just 15.9. Only Niger and Uganda have younger populations.
20. Angola also has the world’s seventh-highest fertility rate, with an average of five births per woman.
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Caitriona Maria is an education writer and owner of The Facts Institute. With seven years of teaching experience and a background in educational content, she specialises in creating clear reference resources about countries, geography and global topics.