Angola-Jordan=)



** Background  ** - The early people were called San (Bushman) they speak a language with very distinct clicking sound in it. They were best known for their unique ability to track game and to live in total harmony with the land. They lived there in Angola for at least 2,000 years, but several 1,000 still live there today. They quickly grew overwhelmed by the Bantu-speaking people who moved to Angola from Central Africa. Some people think it was about A.D. 1300, and some other people think it was as early as A.D. 500. ** Capital-Luanda  ** **Government** **type**- Republic. **President**--José Eduardo dos Santos
 * Vice President**--Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos

** Location  ** - Southern Africa. ** Area  ** -1,248,000 km2 ** Climate  ** - Does not vary dramatically in temperature throughout the year but it does vary in large amounts of rain. The seasons are rainy and dry rather than hot and cold. The dry seasons (May –October) are called // cacimbo // and usually brings cold and foggy air. The rainy season is longest in the north, lasting sometimes as long as 7 months. **Borders**- Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia.

**Ethnic groups**: Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mixed racial 2%, European 1%.

**Religions**: Roman Catholic 68%, various Protestant 20%, indigenous beliefs 12%.

**Languages**: Portuguese (official), Umbundu, Kimbundu, Kikongo, and others.

**Education**: //Years compulsory//--8. //Enrollment// (combined gross enrollment for primary, secondary, and tertiary schools, 2004 est.)--26%. //Literacy// (total population over 15 that can read and write, 2004 est.)--67.4% (female 54.2%, male 82.9%). **Natural resources**: Petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, bauxite, uranium, gold, granite, copper, feldspar.

**Agriculture**: //Products//--bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc, tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fisheries products.

**Industry**: //Types//--petroleum drilling and refining, mining, cement, fish processing, food processing, brewing, tobacco products, sugar, textiles, ship repair. **Suffrage**- 18 years old, universal. **GDP per capita**-$8,400 (2009) **Imports**- machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods. **Terrain**- Angola has three principal natural regions: the coastal lowland, characterized by low plains and terraces; hills and mountains, rising inland from the coast into a great escarpment; and an area of high plains, called the high plateau ( // planalto // ), which extends eastward from the escarpment. Land use- ** Land **** use: ** arable land: ** ** 2.65% **Natural hazard**- fire and smoke. ** Environment - current issues: ** overuse of pastures and subsequent soil erosion attributable to population pressures; desertification; deforestation of tropical rain forest, in response to both international demand for tropical timber and to domestic use as fuel, resulting in loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to water pollution and siltation of rivers and dams; inadequate supplies of potable water.
 * permanent crops: ** 0.23%
 * other: ** 97.12% (2005)