Angola
- Capital:
- Luanda
- Continent:
- Africa
- Region(s):
- Middle Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa
- Largest Cities:
- Luanda, N'dalatando, Huambo
- Abbreviation:
- AGO
* As of 6/9/2025
1 birth
Every 22.1 seconds
1 death
Every 2.0 minutes
1 emigrant
Every 2.4 hours
1 person
Every 27.1 seconds
Formerly a colony of Portugal, Luanda has a rather diverse demographic in everything from food to religion. Although the inhabitants are from varying African tribe heritages, the most common language is Portuguese. In recent years, a significant Chinese populous has formed. There are about 259,000 temporary Chinese migrants in the country.
Angola completed a census in 2014, the first since 1970, and it gave the first accurate look at the country’s demographics in more than 40 years. According to the census, the country’s ethnic groups include: Ovimbundu (37%), Ambundu (25%), Bakongo (13%) and 32% other, including to Ovambo, Mbunda and Chokwe. About 2% of the population is mesticos, or mixed African and European, 1% is European and 1.4% is Chinese.
Angola previously had a large population of Congolese migrants, although over 400,000 have been expelled over the last decade. Before it gained independence, Angola had more than 350,000 Portuguese. It was recently discovered that about 200,000 Portuguese are still living in the country.
Religious affiliations in Angola tend toward that of Catholicism and of the protestant faith; some ascribe to the Pentecostal sect of Christianity. Islamic faith has a following of an estimated 500,000.
The oil industry dominates the Angolan economy, and despite efforts to regulate this there seem to be too many political and financial ties to truly make a change. Monopolies are common in many industries and it is very difficult for most any kind of small business to survive in Angola. Only around 10% of Angolans have bank accounts.
Angola has been run by a Marxist government from the 1950s until the 1990s and has resulted in a poor business environment and lingering communism-related issues. Things have stabilized somewhat post-Marxism, but Angola didn’t write a new constitution and begin holding democratic elections until 2010.
Minefields from past conflicts scatter throughout the country, causing issues for all regime that is are constantly mining for Angola’s mineral resources and drilling for oil. This has displaced many Angolans and put them in really bad economic conditions.
There was a drought in 2016 that caused 1.4 million to go hungry. Food prices and malnutrition remain prominent and cause serious food insecurity for many families and children.