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 Angola Country Profile
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 Angola at a Glance| Location: | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo | | Climate: | semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April) | | Terrain: | narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau | | Resources: | petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium | | Hazards: | locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau | | Population: | 12,799,293 (July 2009 est.) |
A Brief Profile of AngolaAngola 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 announced plans to hold presidential elections in 2009.
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