28 Jan, 2020

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Angola

Angola was the 61st largest economy in the world by nominal GDP in 2018 and the sixth largest in Africa. Its GDP per capita was $3,432 USD. Its economy is dominated by the oil industry with the fourth largest reserves in Africa: 8.4 bn barrels in 2018. It was ranked 147th in the World Bank's Human Capital Index and 117th in the Economic Complexity Index in 2017. It is a member of the African Union and OPEC. Services was the largest economic sector in 2017 (46.8 percent of GDP), followed by manufacturing (6.58 percent), and agriculture (10 percent). In 2017, the largest export sectors were minerals (88.6 percent), stones (6.68 percent), and services (2.77 percent). The largest individual exports were crude oil (83.75 percent), diamonds (6.67 percent), petroleum gasses (4.01 percent), and travel and tourism (2.48 percent). Its largest export partners were China (56.89 percent), India (11.32 percent), the USA (7.38 percent), and Taiwan (4.07 percent). The largest goods imports were electrical transformers (4.67 percent), refined petroleum (3.32 percent), parts of use with hoists and excavation machinery (2.65 percent), poultry (2.38 percent), and cars (2.23 percent). The Portuguese began to establish ports along the coast from the 16th century but did not gain control over the interior until the 19th century. The country played an important role in the Atlantic slave trade. After the abolition of slavery, coffee and diamonds became the main exports. They were replaced by oil in the 1960s which continues to dominate the economy. Between 1961 and 1974, several factions fought the War for Independence against the Portuguese. Independence was gained in 1975, but fighting among the three main factions led to a civil war that lasted until 2002. The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), a Marxist group, led the country supported by oil revenues, the Soviet Union, and Cuba. By 1990 it had embraced capitalism. It won the war in 2002 after the death of UNITA's leader. In 27 years of fighting, an estimated 1.5 million people died and much of the country's infrastructure was destroyed. Since the end of the civil war the government has restored macroeconomic stability and the economy grew strongly because of the resource boom in the 2000s. Corruption remains a problem but President João Lourenço (elected in 2017) has introduced new stronger measures. Since the 2000s, Angola has also benefitted from Chinese loans and investment in mining and infrastructure.