About Angola

Location

Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo

Area

Total: 1,246,700 sq km

Land Boundaries

Total: 5,198 km
Border Countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Cabinda Province), Republic of the Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zambia 1,110 km

Climate

Semiarid in South and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April)

Natural Resources

Petroleum, Diamonds, Iron ore, Phosphates, Copper, Feldspar, Gold, Bauxite, Uranium

Administrative Divisions 

18 Provinces
Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando, Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire

Independence

11 November 1975 (from Portugal)

Electricity

Officially 220V 50Hz. Outlets are the European standard CEE-7/7 "Schukostecker" or "Schuko" or the compatible, but non-grounded, CEE-7/16 "Europlug" types.

Visa

All nationalities must get a visa prior to arrival. It is not possible to obtain a visa upon arrival. Your passport must be valid for another six months minimum and contain two blank pages. You also need a letter of invitation from a private individual, organization, or company stating that they will take responsibility for your stay.

Vaccinations

An international Yellow Fever vaccination certificate is required for entry, validity of these certificates is for ten years, this needs to be checked prior to arrival in Angola. The certificate is required to be presented in the arrivals hall at the international terminal, prior to passing the immigration check point, so ensure that you have it with you in your hand luggage.

Getting there

By Plane:
Luanda-4-de-Fevereiro airport is situated 4km outside Luanda. There are public phones and bank facilities at the airport.

TAAG Linhas Aereas de Angola has flights between Luanda and some states in Africa, for example to South Africa (Johannesburg), Namibia (Windhoek), Zimbabwe (Harare), Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa) and the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville). TAAG recently started to have two or three weekly flights to Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). South African Airways operates from Johannesburg to Luanda, Air France between Paris and Luanda and TAP Air Portugal flies from Lisbon to Luanda. Ethiopian Airways flies from Addis Ababa to Luanda.

By Car:
You can go in from Namibia at the border post near Oshikango(Namibia)/Ngiva(Angola).

Entering from the North was, as of 2002, via Luvo, a small town on the Kinshasa-Matadi 'road'. If you want to drive through Angola it's a real experience. Set off armed with the best route info you can glean from the net.

Places to go

In Luanda: The Mussulo Island for clean tropical beaches and water sports, the Benfica Market for handcrafts and souvenirs, the Ilha de Luanda for seaside dining and bars, Kissama National Park for animal and bird watching.

In Benguela: Baia Azul for beautiful desert beaches.

Language

A very low percentage of the local population can communicate in English. Traveling in Angola therefore requires a minimum knowledge of the Portuguese language. Also, due to the fact that lots of people migrate from neighboring countries to Angola, it is sometimes possible to use French.

Stay Healthy

Travelers should only drink mineral water or, in an emergency, boiled water, because water in Angola is untreated and therefore tap water is not safe. Because malaria is endemic to this, country travelers should also avoid mosquito bites by using insect repellent and repellent-impregnated bed nets.

Contact

The phone country code of Angola is +244.