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General Information
Typical dwellings in Kwanza Sul
In 1975, 250,000 Cuban soldiers settled in Angola to
help the MPLA forces to fight for its independence.
These Cubans were of European and Asian (mostly
Chinese) descent, while others included those of
pure African and mulatto descent, who had ances-
tors in Angola. After conflicts were settled, a develop-
ment cooperation in the field of health and education
brought in additional civil personnel from Cuba. But
in 1989, almost all Cubans went out of the country
after a peace agreement had been signed between
Angola, Cuba, and South Africa. Only a very small
percentage remained in Angola, either for personal
reasons (intermarriage) or for professionals reasons.
Although Portuguese is Angola's official and pre-
dominant language, the great majority of Angolans
(more than 95% of the total population) uses lan-
guages of the Bantu family that are spoken by most
Africans living south of the Equator and by substan-
tial numbers north of it.
The indigenous languages with the largest usage
are Umbundu, Kimbundu, Kikongo, Kwanhama,
Yaneka, Tchokwe and Nganguela. In order to bridge
the learning gap of children whose mother tongue
is not Portuguese, the government of Angola an-
nounced in 2011, the introduction of these seven na-
tional languages in the curricula of basic education.
Angola's remaining indigenous peoples fell into two
disparate categories. A small number, all in south-
ern Angola, spoke so-called Click languages (af-
ter a variety of sounds characteristic of them) and
differed physically from local African populations.
These Click speakers shared characteristics, such
as small stature and lighter skin color, linking them to
the hunting and gathering bands of southern Africa
sometimes referred to as Bushmen. The second cat-
LANGUAGE
RELIGION
ANGOLAN ARTISTS
egory consisted of mestiços, largely urban and living
in western Angola. Most spoke Portuguese, although
some were also acquainted with African languages.
President and poet Agostinho Neto said
once that Angola is a multi-ethnical and
multicultural country, "a Nation made of
several nations". The diversity of Ango-
lan culture lies in the mixes of different influences
of socioeconomic, biological, cultural and linguistic
factors.
Between tradition and urban modernity
Culture has always been one of the best ambassa-
dors of any country, Angola does not make excep-
tion. Music and dance hold an important place in
Christianity is the religion of the vast majority of the
country's population, with Roman Catholicism as the
country's largest single denomination. The Roman
Catholic Church claims 5 million adherents. Reparti-
tion is estimated as follows: Roman Catholic 68%,
various Protestant 20%, indigenous beliefs 12%.
The major Protestant denominations also are pre-
sent, along with a number of Brazilian Christian
and indigenous African denominations. The largest
Protestant denominations, which include Method-
ists, Baptists, Congregationalists (United Church of
Christ), and Assemblies of God, claim to have 3 mil-
lion to 5 million adherents.
The largest syncretic religious group is the Kimban-
guist Church, whose followers believe that a mid-
20th century Congolese pastor named Joseph Kim-
bangu was a prophet. A small portion of the country's
rural population practices animism or traditional in-
digenous religions.
There is a small Islamic community, less than 1% of
the population, comprising mainly migrants fromWest
Africa. There are few declared atheists in the country.
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion,
and the Government generally respects this right in
practice. The Government at all levels strives to pro-
tect this right in full and does not tolerate its abuse,
either by governmental or private actors.