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INTRODUCTION
HISTORY
The Republic of Angola is located in sub-Saharian
Africa and covers an area of 1,246,700 km, divided
in 18 provinces.
It is located on the South Atlantic coast between Na-
mibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC) and Republic of Congo on the north,
Zambia form the eastern boundary and Namibia on
the south. Cabinda is bounded by the Republic of the
Congo (Brazzaville) on the north and east and by the
D.R.C. on the south.
The country is divided into an arid coastal strip
stretching from Namibia to Luanda and offers a
variety of climates and compositions: a wet interior
highland, a dry savanna in the interior south and
southeast, rain forest in the north and in Cabinda,
desert in the south.
With 1,650 km of coast on the Atlantic Ocean and a
huge hydraulic network, tourism and nautical activi-
ties have enormous potential.
The climate is tropical arid but great variations are to
expect from south to north. The hot, humid rainy sea-
son generally lasts from November to April, followed
by a moderate dry season from May to October.
The Angolan population is estimated at 18 million
and is composed mainly of 3 ethnic groups (Umbun-
du 37%, Kimbundu 25%, and Kikongo 13%).
Portuguese is both the official and predominant
language but more than 42 languages are spoken
among which Umbundo, Kimbundo Oxikwanyama
and Mbunde predominate.
With a density of 12,8 inhabitants by km2, Angolan
population is 3 times smaller than France or United
Kingdom on area twice bigger than France or 3 times
bigger than Spain.
Angola is still a virgin country to explore, a paradise
for nature lovers and wide-open spaces amateurs.
The official currency is the Kwanza but you can pay
in USD in most supermarkets, hotels and restau-
rants.
By the time we produced this book, the average ex-
change rate was roughly:
1 US$ = 96 KZ and 1 € = 126 KZ.
A visa issued in the country of origin is required to
enter the country; it cannot be obtained upon arrival.
The Angolan territory has been inhabited since pre-
history, remains have been found in the provinces of
Luanda, Namibe and Benguela.
Khoisan hunters are some of the earliest known
modern human inhabitants of the area. They were
largely replaced by Bantu tribes during the Bantu mi-
grations that lasted centuries, forming kingdoms and
extending their influence in the interior of the country.
Bantu people easily dominated Khoisan, Bushmen
and other groups considerably less technologically
advanced than them. However, small numbers of
Khoisan remain in parts of southern Angola.
The Bakongo kingdoms of Angola established trade
routes with other trading cities and civilizations up
and down the coast of southwestern and West Africa
but engaged in little or no transoceanic trade.
When the Portuguese arrived in Angola in during late
XV century, they established relations with the king-
dom of Congoja Matamba and the Ndombomuita;
they entered the hinterland only from the XVII cen-
tury. At that time, the Congo State stretched from
Map of Angola