{{Infobox Economy
|country=Angola
|image=AGO006.JPG
|width=200px
|caption=
|currency=[[Angolan kwanza]] (AOA)
|year=Calendar year
|organs=[[African Union|AU]], [[World Trade Organization|WTO]]
|rank=82nd
|gdp=$51.95 billion ([[As of 2006|2006]])
|growth=14%<ref name="factbook">[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ao.html Angola] [[CIA World Factbook]]</ref>
|per capita=$4,300 ([[As of 2006|2006]])
|sectors=[[agriculture]] (9.6%), [[industry]] (65.8%), [[Service (economics)|services]] (24.6%) ([[As of 2005|2005]])
|inflation=13.2% ([[As of 2006|2006]])
|poverty=70% ([[As of 2003|2003]])
|labor=70% ([[As of 2003|2003]])
|occupations=[[agriculture]] (85%), [[industry]] and [[Service (economics)|services]] (15%) ([[As of 2003|2003]])
|unemployment="extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population"<ref name="factbook"/> ([[As of 2001|2001]])
|industries="[[petroleum]], [[diamond]]s, [[iron ore]], [[phosphates]], [[feldspar]], [[bauxite]], [[uranium]], [[gold]], [[cement]], basic [[metal]] products, [[fish]] processing, food processing, brewing, [[tobacco]] products, [[sugar]], [[textiles]], and [[ship]] repair"<ref name="factbook"/>
|exports=$35.53bn ([[As of 2006|2006]])
|export-goods="crude [[petroleum|oil]], [[diamond]]s, refined [[petroleum]] products, [[gas]], [[coffee]], [[sisal]], [[fish]] and [[fish]] products, [[timber]], [[cotton]]"<ref name="factbook"/>
|export-partners=[[United States|U.S.]] 39.8%, the [[People's Republic of China]] 29.6%, [[France]] 7.8%, [[Chile]] 5.4%, [[Taiwan]] 4.4% [[As of 2005|2005]])
|imports=$10.21bn ([[As of 2006|2006]])
|import-goods="[[machinery]] and [[electrical]] equipment, [[vehicles]] and spare parts, [[medicines]], food, [[textiles]], [[military]] goods"<ref name="factbook"/>
|import-partners = [[South Korea]] 20.5%, [[Portugal]] 13.4%, [[US]] 12.5%, [[South Africa]] 7.4%, [[Brazil]] 7%, [[France]] 5.1%, the [[People's Republic of China]] 5% ([[As of 2005|2005]])
|debt=32.7% of GDP ([[as of 2006|2006]])
|revenue=$10.98bn ([[As of 2006|2006]])
|expenses=$9.7bn ([[As of 2006|2006]])
|aid=$383.5 million ([[As of 1999|1999]])
|cianame=ao
}}
The '''Economy of Angola''' is the fastest-growing [[economy in Africa]],<ref name="fastest">Birgitte Refslund Sørensen and Marc Vincent. ''Caught Between Borders: Response Strategies of the Internally Displaced'', 2001. Page 17.</ref> but is still recovering from [[Angolan Civil War|the civil war]] that plagued Angola from [[Alvor Agreement|independence in 1975]] until 2002. Despite abundant natural resources, output per capita remains among the world's lowest. Subsistence agriculture and dependence on humanitarian food assistance sustain the large majority of the population. Little industry exists.

==History==
The [[Portugal|Portuguese]] discovered [[petroleum]] in Angola in 1955. Production began in the [[Cuanza basin]] in the 1950s, in the [[Congo basin]] in the 1960s, and in the [[exclave]] of [[Cabinda (province)|Cabinda]] in 1968. The government granted operating rights for Block Zero to the Cabinda Gulf Oil Company, a subsidiary of [[ChevronTexaco]], in 1955.<ref name="opec"/> Oil production surpassed the exportation of [[coffee]] as Angola's largest export in 1973, producing 172,000 b/d in 1974. Angolans produced 490,000 b/d in 1991, 635,000 b/d in 1995,<ref name="oilhistory">Tvedten, Inge. ''Angola: Struggle for Peace and Reconstruction'', 1997. Page 82.</ref> 800,000 b/d (127,000 m³) in 2001,<ref name="fastest"/> and 1.46 million b/d in 2006.<ref name="oilview">OECD, International Energy Agency. ''Angola: towards an energy strategy'', 2006. Page 19.</ref>

[[Mobutu Sese Seko]], the [[President of Zaire]], met with [[António de Spínola]], the transitional [[President of Portugal]], on [[September 15]], 1974 on Sal island in the [[Cape Verdes]], crafting a plan to empower [[Holden Roberto]] of the [[National Liberation Front of Angola]], [[Jonas Savimbi]] of [[UNITA]], and [[Daniel Chipenda]] of the [[MPLA]]'s eastern faction at the expense of MPLA leader [[Agostinho Neto]] while retaining the facade of national unity. Mobutu and Spínola wanted to present Chipenda as the MPLA head, Mobutu particularly preferring Chipenda over Neto because Chipenda supported autonomy for [[Cabinda (province)|Cabinda]]. The Angolan [[exclave]] has immense petroleum reserves estimated at around 300 million tons which Zaire, and thus the Mobutu government, depended on for economic survival.<ref name="petroleum">Erik P. Hoffmann amd Frederic J. Fleron. ''The Conduct of Soviet Foreign Policy'', 1980. Page 524.</ref>

The Angolan government created [[Sonangol]], a state-run oil company, in 1976. Two years later Sonangol received the rights to oil exploration and production in all of Angola.<ref name="opec">[http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Angola/pdf.pdf Angola] Energy Information Administration</ref>

===1990s===
[[History of United Nations peacekeeping missions#Angola|United Nations Angola Verification Verification Mission III]] and [[MONUA]] spent [[USD]] $1.5 billion overseeing implementation of the [[Lusaka Protocol]], a 1994 peace accord that ultimately failed to end the civil war. The protocol prohibited UNITA from buying foreign arms, a provision the [[United Nations]] largely did not enforce, so both sides continued to build up their stockpile. UNITA purchased weapons in 1996 and 1997 from private sources in [[Albania]] and [[Bulgaria]], and from [[Zaire]], [[South Africa]], [[Republic of the Congo]], [[Zambia]], [[Togo]], and [[Burkina Faso]]. In October 1997 the UN imposed travel sanctions on UNITA leaders, but the UN waited until July 1998 to limit UNITA's exportation of diamonds and freeze UNITA bank accounts. While the U.S. government gave USD $250 million to UNITA between 1986 to 1991, UNITA made $1.72 billion between 1994 and 1999 exporting diamonds, primarily through Zaire to Europe. At the same time the Angolan government received large amounts of weapons from the governments of [[Belarus]], [[Brazil]], Bulgaria, the [[People's Republic of China]], and [[South Africa]]. While no arms shipment to the government violated the protocol, no country informed the U.N. Register on Conventional Weapons as required.<ref name="lusaka">Vines, Alex. ''Angola Unravels: The Rise and Fall of the Lusaka Peace Process'', 1999. Human Rights Watch.</ref>

Despite the increase in civil warfare in late 1998, the economy grew by an estimated 4% in 1999. The government introduced new currency denominations in 1999, including a 1 and 5 kwanza note.{{Fact|date=July 2007}}

===2000s===
An economic reform effort was launched in 1998.{{Fact|date=July 2007}} The Angolan economy ranked 160 out of 174 nations in the [[United Nations Human Development Index]] of 2000.<ref name="fastest"/> In April 2000 Angola started an International Monetary Fund (IMF) Staff-Monitored Program (SMP). The program formally lapsed in June 2001, but the IMF remains engaged. In this context the Government of Angola has succeeded in unifying exchange rates and has raised fuel, electricity, and water rates. The Commercial Code, telecommunications law, and Foreign Investment Code are being modernized. A privatization effort, prepared with [[World Bank]] assistance, has begun with the [[BCI]] bank. Nevertheless, a legacy of fiscal mismanagement and corruption persists.{{Fact|date=July 2007}} The civil war [[Internally displaced person|internally displaced]] 3.8 million people, 32% of the population, by 2001.<ref name="fastest"/> The security brought about by the 2002 peace settlement has led to the resettlement of 4 million displaced persons, thus resulting in large-scale increases in agriculture production.{{Fact|date=July 2007}}

Angola produced over 3 Mct of diamonds in 2003.<ref name="threemct">[http://www.mbendi.co.za/indy/ming/dmnd/af/p0005.htm Africa: Mining - Diamond Mining] Mbendi</ref> In 2004 China's Eximbank approved a $2 billion line of credit to Angola to rebuild infrastructure.<ref name="eximbank">[http://www.iie-angola-us.org/full_headlines.php?id=440 China grants additional USD 2 billion loan] National Private Investment Agency</ref> The economy grew 18% in 2005 and growth was expected to reach 26% in 2006 and stay above 10% for the rest of the decade.{{Fact|date=July 2007}}

ChevronTexaco started pumping 50,000 b/d from Block 14 in January 2000, but production has decreased to 57,000 b/d as of 2007 due to the poor quality of the oil.<ref name="opec"/> Angola joined the [[Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries]] on [[January 1]], 2007.<ref name="opec"/>

Cabinda Gulf Oil Company found Malange-1, an oil reservoir in Block 14, on [[August 9]], 2007.<ref name="malfound">[http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=48798 Chevron's Block 14 Offshore Angola Finds Success Again] RigZone</ref>

==Overview==
[[Image:Africa by gdp.png|right|frame|National GDP per capita ranges from wealthier states in the north and south to poorer states in the east. These figures from the 2002 World Bank are converted to US dollars.]]
Despite its abundant natural resources, output per capita is among the world's lowest. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for 85% of the population. Oil production and the supporting activities are vital to the economy, contributing about 45% to GDP and 90% of exports. Growth is almost entirely driven by rising oil production which surpassed 1.4 million barrels per day in late-2005 and which is expected to grow to 2 million barrels per day by 2007. Control of the oil industry is consolidated in Sonangol Group, a conglomerate which is owned by the Angolan government. With revenues booming from oil exports, the government has started to implement ambitious development programs in building roads and other basic infrastructure for the nation.{{Fact|date=July 2007}}

In the last decade of the colonial period, Angola was a major African food exporter but now imports almost all its food. Because of severe wartime conditions, including extensive planting of landmines throughout the countryside, agricultural activities have been brought to a near standstill. Some efforts to recover have gone forward, however, notably in fisheries. [[Coffee]] production, though a fraction of its pre-1975 level, is sufficient for domestic needs and some exports. In sharp contrast to a bleak picture of devastation and bare subsistence is expanding oil production, now almost half of GDP and 90% of exports, at 800,000 barrels (127,000 m³) a day. Diamonds provided much of the revenue for [[Jonas Savimbi]]'s [[UNITA]] rebellion through illicit trade. Other rich resources await development: gold, forest products, fisheries, iron ore, coffee, and fruits.{{Fact|date=July 2007}}

This is a chart of trend of [[nominal]] [[gross domestic product]] of Angola (since unification) at market prices using International Monetary Fund data;<ref name="gdptrend">[http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2006/01/data/dbcoutm.cfm?SD=1995&ED=2005&R1=1&R2=1&CS=3&SS=2&OS=C&DD=0&OUT=1&C=614&S=NGDP-NGDPD&RequestTimeout=120&CMP=0 Report for Selected Countries and Subjects], April 2006. International Monetary Fund</ref> figures are in millions of units.
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Year||USD||Angolan kwanza
|-
|1995||5,066||14
|-
|2000||9,135||91,666
|-
|2005||28,860||2,515,452
|}

==Foreign trade==
{{Main|Angola-United States relations}}
[[Image:Angola USA Locator.png|right|400px]]
Exports in 2004 reached USD $10,530,764,911. The vast majority of Angola's exports, 92% in 2004, are petroleum products. $785 million worth of diamonds, 7.5% of exports, were sold abroad that year.<ref name="exports">[http://www.afrol.com/articles/16248 99.4% of Angola's exports are oil, diamonds] Afrol News</ref> Nearly all of Angola's oil goes to the United States, 526,000 b/d in 2006, making it the eighth largest supplier of oil to the United States, and to the [[People's Republic of China]], 477,000b/d in 2006. The rest of its petroleum exports go to [[Europe]] and [[Latin America]].<ref name="opec"/> U.S. companies account for more than half the investment in Angola, with Chevron-Texaco leading the way. The U.S. exports industrial goods and services, primarily oilfield equipment, mining equipment, chemicals, aircraft, and food, to Angola, while principally importing petroleum.{{Fact|date=July 2007}} Trade between Angola and [[South Africa]] exceeded [[USD]] $300 million in 2007.<ref name="safrica">[http://www.macauhub.com.mo/en/news.php?ID=3726 Angola-South Africa trade worth over US$ 300 million per year] MacauHub</ref>

==Resources==
===Petroleum===
Angolan petroleum production is second only to [[Nigeria]] in African oil production. By 2010 production is expected to double the 2006 output level with development of deep-water offshore oil fields. Oil sales generated [[USD]] $1.71 billion in tax revenue in 2004 and now makes up 80% of the government's budget, a 5% increase from 2003, and 45% of [[GDP]].<ref name="oilview"/><ref name="budgincrease">OECD (2006). Page 30.</ref>

[[Chevron Corporation]] produces and receives 400,000 b/d, 27% of Angolan oil. [[Elf Company|Elf Oil]], [[Texaco]], [[ExxonMobil]], [[Agip]], [[Petrobras]], and [[British Petroleum]] also operate in the country.<ref name="oilhistory"/>

Block Zero provides the majority of Angola's crude oil production<ref name="zero">OECD (2006). Page 132.</ref> with 370,000 b/d produced annually. The largest fields in Block Zero are Takula (Area A), Numbi (Area A), and Kokongo (Area B). [[ChevronTexaco]] operates in Block Zero with a 39.2% share. [[SONANGOL]], the state oil company, [[Total S.A.|Total]], and [[ENI-Agip]] own the rest of the block. ChevronTexaco also operates Angola's first producing deepwater section, Block 14, with 57,000 b/d.<ref name="opec"/>

The [[United Nations]] has criticized the Angolan government for using torture, rape, summary executions, arbitrary detention, and disappearances, actions which Angolan government has justified on the need to maintain oil output.<ref name="hroil">Omeje, Kenneth C. ''High Stakes And Stakeholders: Oil Conflict And Security in Nigeria'', 2006. Page 157.</ref>

Angola is the third-largest trading partner of the United States in Sub-Saharan Africa, largely because of its petroleum exports.<ref name="thirdlargest">United States Congress. ''Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations for 1998: Hearings'', 1997. Page 269.</ref> The U.S. imports 7% of its oil from Angola, about three times as much as it imported from [[Kuwait]] just prior to the [[Gulf War]] in 1991. The U.S. Government has invested USD $4 billion in Angola's petroleum sector.<ref name="kuwait">Vines, Alex. ''Angola Unravels: The Rise and Fall of the Lusaka Peace Process'', 1999. Human Rights Watch. Page 189.</ref>

===Diamonds===
Angola is the third largest producer of diamonds in Africa and has only explored 40% of the diamond-rich territory within the country, but has had difficulty in attracting foreign investment because of corruption, human rights violations, and diamond smuggling.<ref name="cfr">[http://allafrica.com/stories/200705071105.html Angola: U.S. Must Strengthen Ties to Protect Strategic Energy and Security Interests] Council on Foreign Relations via AllAfrica</ref> Production rose by 30% in 2006 and [[Endiama]], the national diamond company of Angola, expects production to increase by 8% in 2007 to 10 million carats annually. The government is trying to attract foreign companies to the [[Provinces of Angola|provinces]] of [[Bié (province)|Bié]], [[Malanje (province)|Malanje]] and [[Uíge (province)|Uíge]].<ref name="diaexploration">[http://africa.reuters.com/business/news/usnBAN637551.html Angola wants foreign investors for diamond sector], July 26, 2007. Reuters</ref>

The Angolan government loses $375 million annually from diamond smuggling. In 2003 the government began Operation Brilliant, an anti-smuggling investigation that arrested and deported 250,000 smugglers between 2003 and 2006. Rafael Marques, a journalist and human rights activist, described the diamond industry in his 2006 ''Angola's Deadly Diamonds'' report as plagued by "murders, beatings, arbitrary detentions and other human rights violations." Marques called on foreign countries to boycott Angola's "[[conflict diamonds]]."<ref name="marques">[http://www.afrol.com/articles/15888 Angola to double diamond production in 2006] Afrol News</ref>

===Iron===
Angola began mining [[iron]] in 1957, producing 1.2 million tons in 1967 and 6.2 million tons by 1971. In the 1970s 70% of Angola's iron exports went to [[Western Europe]] or [[Japan]].<ref name="diaexploration"/>

==Further reading==
*McCormick, Shawn H. ''The Angolan Economy: Prospects for Growth in a Postwar Environment'', 1994.
*OECD, International Energy Agency. ''Angola: Towards an Energy Strategy'', 2006.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.mbendi.co.za/land/af/an/p0005.htm MBendi overview of Angola]
*[http://www.mbendi.co.za/indy/ming/dmnd/af/an/p0005.htm MBendi profile of Angola's diamond mining]

{{OPEC}}{{WTO}}{{Africa in topic|Economy of}}

[[Category:African Union member economies|Angola]]
[[Category:Economy of Angola| ]]
[[Category:Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries|Angola]]
[[Category:WTO member economies|Angola]]

[[es:Economía de Angola]]
[[fr:Économie de l'Angola]]
[[gl:Economía de Angola]]
[[io:Ekonomio di Angola]]
[[he:כלכלת אנגולה]]
[[oc:Economia d'Angòla]]
[[pt:Economia de Angola]]
[[ro:Economia Angolei]]