Angola is rebuilding its country after the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002. Fighting between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, followed independence from Portugal in 1975. Peace seemed imminent in 1992 when Angola held national elections, but fighting picked up again by 1996. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost - and 4 million people displaced - in the quarter century of fighting. SAVIMBI's death in 2002 ended UNITA's insurgency and strengthened the MPLA's hold on power. President DOS SANTOS held legislative elections in September 2008 and, despite promising to hold presidential elections in 2009, has since made a presidential poll contingent on the drafting of a new constitution.

Population: 12,799,293 (July 2009 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 43.5% (male 2,812,359/female 2,759,047)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 3,496,726/female 3,382,440)
65 years and over: 2.7% (male 153,678/female 195,043) (2009 est.)
Birth Rate: 43.69 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Death Rate: 24.08 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
Infant mortality Rate:
total: 180.21 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 1
male: 192.24 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 167.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life Expectancy:
total population: 38.2 years
country comparison to the world: 224
male: 37.24 years
female: 39.22 years (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 2.1% (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 190,000 (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 11,000 (2007 est.)
Ethnic Groups:
Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22%
Religions: indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.)
Languages: Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages
Literacy:
total population: 67.4%
male: 82.9%
female: 54.2% (2001 est.)
Government Type: republic; multiparty presidential regime
Capital: Luanda
Geographic coordinates: 8 50 S, 13 14 E
Time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Independence: 11 November 1975 (from Portugal)
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Currency: Kwanza (AOA)
Population below poverty line: 40.5% (2006 est.)

Transnational Issues:

Disputes - international:
Cabindan separatists continue to return to the Angolan exclave from exile in neighboring states and Europe since the 2006 ceasefire and peace agreement

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 12,615 (Democratic Republic of Congo)
IDPs: 61,700 (27-year civil war ending in 2002; 4 million IDPs already have returned) (2007)

Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Angola is a country of origin for women and children trafficked internally for the purpose of domestic servitude and young men trafficked for the purpose of forced agricultural labor; women and children, primarily, are trafficked to South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, and Portugal; young boys are trafficked to Namibia to herd cattle; children are also forced to act as couriers in cross-border trade between Namibia and Angola as part of a scheme to skirt import fees
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Angola is placed on Tier 2 Watch List because it does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; despite these overall significant efforts, the Government of Angola has not investigated, prosecuted, or convicted any trafficking offenders; Angola does not have a comprehensive law that specifically prohibits trafficking in persons, which constrained its anti-trafficking efforts; interagency cooperation on trafficking issues increased, however, as have the government's efforts to raise the public's awareness of the dangers of trafficking (2009)

Illicit drugs:
used as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for Western Europe and other African states, particularly South Africa

**Information retreived from CIA - The World Factbook: www.cia.gov