About Angola

Official name: Republic of Angola
Capital: Luanda
Head of state: Jose Eduardo dos Santos
State: transitional government, nominally a multi-party democracy with a strong presidential system
Population: 13, 3 million
Independence: from Portugal in 1975
Languages: Portuguese (official) around 60 other languages spoken including Umbundu, Kimbundu, Kikongo, Tchokwe and Ovambo.
Religion: African traditional 47%, Catholicism 38%, Protestant Christian 15%
Currency: New Kwanza
Media: Ebonet Noticias at ebonet

Legal wise

Status of homosexuality: same sex male - illegal
Age of consent: not maintained
Laws covering homosexual activity:
According to The Pink Agenda homosexual acts in Angola are described in law as being, "Offences against public morality."
Background information and government attitudes: Voted against ILGA having consultative status at the UN on April 30, 2002.

Angola's 27-year-long civil war ended in April 2002, after Jonas Savimbi - leader of the armed rebel movement National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) since its creation in 1966 - was killed in a government ambush.

A peace agreement was signed in 1991 and multiparty elections held in 1992; UNITA lost, claimed fraud, and returned the country to war. A further agreement signed in 1994 (the Lusaka Protocol) was similarly unsuccessful in halting the war. While the war was not primarily fought for profit but for power, Angola's exceptionally vast natural resources (primarily oil and diamonds) funded the military efforts of both sides and has kept Angola on the global political radar.

Peace has brought a gradual easing in the general political climate. Over the period 2003-2004, these trends have continued in most areas. Antigovernment protests and demonstrations are increasingly widespread, and the media are wide-ranging in their criticisms. The number of cases of detention and abuses of journalists and opposition figures has decreased, although incidents continue to be reported. Economic and financial transparency has broadly increased and Angola has signed on to international initiatives including the Kimberley Process and the African Union Peer Review Mechanism.

Government accountability to the Angolan population remains weak. Citizens have few opportunities for legal redress against perceived injustice or abuse, and localized corruption is still endemic. The legitimacy of the government itself remains questionable because elections have not taken place since Angola's first democratic vote, in 1992. The ending of the war, which should lead to a decrease in currently high levels of military expenditure, has not yet been followed by increased dedication of resources to broad socio-economic development.

Angola ranked 166th out of 175 countries in the UNDP's 2004 Human Development Index, falling two places since 2003. NGOs and international organizations continue to provide health services, food, and agricultural support to large segments of the population, with around 1 million people (of a total of around 13 million) still deemed vulnerable by the World Food Programme.

From Freedom House's Countries at the Crossroads: 2005 A Survey of Democratic Governance freedomhouse

Communication

Mainline telephones: 62, 000 (1999)
Cellular telephones: 7, 052 (1999)
Internet country code: .ao
Internet service providers: 1 (2000)
Internet users: 12, 000 (1999)