Angola

Guide to Angola

Angola which official name is Republic of Angola or Angola, is a country from Africa located at the Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Angola with 5,198 km sq km, limits with: 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; and is divided in 18 provinces . Angola's capital is Luanda which is the most populated city with about 2776125 inhabitants.

History of Angola

Angola's government is republic; multiparty presidential regime; a Republic with a Executive, with President José Eduardo dos Santos as head of state and Prime Minister Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos as head of government.

Other symbols of Angola are Angolan motto “ ”, Angolan anthem “Angola Avante (Forward Angola)” and Angolan flag.Angolan flag is composed by 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) .

Angola's history is quite long: 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.

Angolas geography

Guide to travel to Angola

If you are thinking on traveling to Angola, you will have to take in consideration some points like Angola's currency, Angola's weather, Angola's national holiday and Angola's transports.

The first thing you need to know for your travels abroad is country's currency. Angola`s currency is called kwanza ( Kz), which is divided in . For your consideration, kwanza's exchange rate is about per dolar.0.

Angola's weather is characterized to be semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April). So be sure of choosing the proper date to travel to Angola.
You can also consider to visit Angola on it's national holiday to get in Angola's culture. If you do so, Angola's national holiday is called Independence Day, 11 November.

Also, if you like natural wonders, don't forget to visit the highest point of Angola: Morro de Moco 2,620 m. And try also to get to Angola's lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 mBut if you prefer the city, you must visit Angola's tallest structure: ( ).
Don't be afraid to take a flight to Angola, with more than 244 airports and 0 airlines, you will get to Angola without problems. Once there, you can choose the transport type that better fits your needs. Angola has about2761 of railways, and also1300 of roadways, so is a good place for a car trip.

Angolan Culture

Angola is known by Angolans as Republica de Angola or Angola in the shortened way. Angolan, about 12263596 people, are composed by different ethnics: Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22%. And they also have different languages: Portuguese.

Another relevant point nowadays it's Angola's religion. Angolans are divided in indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.). So you can visit any of it's0 like 0.

But if want to know more about Angola's culture, the best way is by reading the most famous Angolan novelists' books like Mário Pinto de Andrade (1928–1990), Pepetela (Artur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos, 1941– ) José Eduardo Agualusa (1960– ).