Demographics of Angola
Encyclopedia
This article is about the demographic
features of the population
of Angola
, including population density
, ethnicity
, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Ethnically, three main groups have to be distinguished, each speaking a Bantu language: the Ovimbundu who represent 37% of the population, (Ambundu) with 25%, and the Bakongo
13%. Other numerically important groups include the closely interrelated Chokwe and Lunda, the Ganguela
and Nhaneca-Humbe, in both cases classification terms which stand for a variety of small groups, the Ovambo, the Herero, the Xindonga
and scattered residual groups of Khoisan
. In addition, mixed race (European and African) people amount to about 2%, with a small (1%) population of whites, mainly ethnically Portuguese
(as a former overseas territory of Portugal
until 1975, the Portuguese make up currently the largest non-African population, with certainly more than 100,000, a number that has been constantly increasing from the 2000s, because of Angola's growing demand for qualified human resources. Besides the Portuguese, significant numbers of people from other European and from diverse Latin American countries (especially Brazil) can be found. From the 2000s many Chinese have settled and started up small businesses, while at least as many have come as workforce for large (construction or other) enterprises. Observers claim that the Chinese community in Angola might include as many as 300,000 persons at the end of 2010, but nothing near to reliable statistics are at this stage available on this point. In 1974/75, up to 250,000 Cuba
n soldiers arrived in Angola to help the MPLA forces during the decolonisation conflict. Once this was over, a massive development cooperation in the field of health and education brought in numerous civil personnel from Cuba. However, only a very small percentage of all these people has remained in Angola, either for personal reasons (intermarriage) or as professionals (e.g. medical doctors).
The largest religious denomination is Roman Catholicism, to which adheres about half the population. Roughly 26% are followers of traditional forms of Protestantism
(Congregationals, Methodists, Baptista, Lutherans, Reformed), but over the last decades there has in addition been a growth of Pentecostal communities and African Initiated Church
es. In 2006, one out of 221 people were Jehovah's Witnesses
. Blacks from Mali, Nigeria and Senegal are mostly Sunnite Muslims, but do not make up more than 1 - 2% of the population. By now few Angolans retain African traditional religion
s following different ethnic faiths.
However, the results of the voters' registration of 2007-2008, 8,256,000 adults (from 18 years onwards) combined with the data from 2000/2001 that show that only about 45% of the population is of adult age (Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey, INE/UNICEF), give a total population of at least 18.3 million in 2008.The population of the capital Luanda is about 5.3 million.
The population is growing by 2.184% annually. There are 44.51 births and 24.81 deaths per 1,000 citizens. The net migration rate is 2.14 migrants per 1,000 citizens. The fertility rate of Angola is 5.97 children born per woman as of 2011. The infant mortality rate is 184.44 deaths for every 1,000 live births with 196.55 deaths for males and 171.72 deaths for females for every 1,000 live births. Life expectancy at birth is 37.63 years; 36.73 years for males and 38.57 years for females.
, 25% are Ambundu, 13% are Bakongo, 2% are mestiço, 1-2% are Portuguese or other white people, and other ethnicities make up 22% of Angola's population.
is the official language of Angola, but Bantu and other African languages are also widely spoken. Literacy is quite low, with 67.4% of the population over the age of 15 able to read and write in Portuguese. 82.9% of males and 54.2% of women are literate as of 2001.
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
features of the population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, including population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
, ethnicity
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Ethnically, three main groups have to be distinguished, each speaking a Bantu language: the Ovimbundu who represent 37% of the population, (Ambundu) with 25%, and the Bakongo
Kongo people
The Bakongo or the Kongo people , also sometimes referred to as Kongolese or Congolese, is a Bantu ethnic group which lives along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire to Luanda, Angola...
13%. Other numerically important groups include the closely interrelated Chokwe and Lunda, the Ganguela
Ganguela
Ganguela or Nganguela is the name of a small ethnic group living in Angola, but since colonial times the term has been applied to a number of peoples East of the Bié Plateau...
and Nhaneca-Humbe, in both cases classification terms which stand for a variety of small groups, the Ovambo, the Herero, the Xindonga
Xindonga
Xindonga is an ethnological term created as a common label for four small ethnic groups existing in the extreme Southeast of Angola: the Cusso, the Dilico , the Sambio and the Maxico. These peoples live in that region, which today is the Cuando Cubango Province, together with other small groups,...
and scattered residual groups of Khoisan
Khoisan
Khoisan is a unifying name for two ethnic groups of Southern Africa, who share physical and putative linguistic characteristics distinct from the Bantu majority of the region. Culturally, the Khoisan are divided into the foraging San and the pastoral Khoi...
. In addition, mixed race (European and African) people amount to about 2%, with a small (1%) population of whites, mainly ethnically Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
(as a former overseas territory of Portugal
Angola (Portugal)
Angola is the common name by which the Portuguese colony in southwestern Africa was known across different periods of time...
until 1975, the Portuguese make up currently the largest non-African population, with certainly more than 100,000, a number that has been constantly increasing from the 2000s, because of Angola's growing demand for qualified human resources. Besides the Portuguese, significant numbers of people from other European and from diverse Latin American countries (especially Brazil) can be found. From the 2000s many Chinese have settled and started up small businesses, while at least as many have come as workforce for large (construction or other) enterprises. Observers claim that the Chinese community in Angola might include as many as 300,000 persons at the end of 2010, but nothing near to reliable statistics are at this stage available on this point. In 1974/75, up to 250,000 Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n soldiers arrived in Angola to help the MPLA forces during the decolonisation conflict. Once this was over, a massive development cooperation in the field of health and education brought in numerous civil personnel from Cuba. However, only a very small percentage of all these people has remained in Angola, either for personal reasons (intermarriage) or as professionals (e.g. medical doctors).
The largest religious denomination is Roman Catholicism, to which adheres about half the population. Roughly 26% are followers of traditional forms of Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
(Congregationals, Methodists, Baptista, Lutherans, Reformed), but over the last decades there has in addition been a growth of Pentecostal communities and African Initiated Church
African Initiated Church
An African Initiated Church is any of a number of Christian churches independently started in Africa by Africans and not by missionaries from another continent, in which they sometimes hold to one or more African tribal belief systems syncretised with Christianity.-Nomenclature:A variety of...
es. In 2006, one out of 221 people were Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
. Blacks from Mali, Nigeria and Senegal are mostly Sunnite Muslims, but do not make up more than 1 - 2% of the population. By now few Angolans retain African traditional religion
African Traditional Religion
The traditional religions indigenous to Africa have, for most of their existence, been orally rather than scripturally transmitted. They are generally associated with animism. Most have ethno-based creations stories...
s following different ethnic faiths.
CIA World Factbook demographic statistics
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.Population
There were 12,799,293 Angolan citizens in July 2009, which ranked 70th in the world.However, the results of the voters' registration of 2007-2008, 8,256,000 adults (from 18 years onwards) combined with the data from 2000/2001 that show that only about 45% of the population is of adult age (Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey, INE/UNICEF), give a total population of at least 18.3 million in 2008.The population of the capital Luanda is about 5.3 million.
Population distribution
The population is predominately quite young, with 43.7% between the ages of less than one and 14 years old, 2,678,185 males and 2,625,933 females. 53.5% of the population is between the ages of 15 and 64 years old, with 3,291,954 males and 3,195,688 females. 2.8% are 65 years and over, 148,944 males and 186,367 females as of 2006. The median age for males and females is 18 years old.Population growth
| Population in Angola | |
|---|---|
| Year | Million |
| 1971 | 6.2 |
| 1980 | 7.9 |
| 1990 | 10.7 |
| 2000 | 14.3 |
| 2009 | 18.5 |
The population is growing by 2.184% annually. There are 44.51 births and 24.81 deaths per 1,000 citizens. The net migration rate is 2.14 migrants per 1,000 citizens. The fertility rate of Angola is 5.97 children born per woman as of 2011. The infant mortality rate is 184.44 deaths for every 1,000 live births with 196.55 deaths for males and 171.72 deaths for females for every 1,000 live births. Life expectancy at birth is 37.63 years; 36.73 years for males and 38.57 years for females.
Age structure
- 0–14 years: 43.2% (male 2,910,981/female 2,856,527)
- 15–64 years: 54.1% (male 3,663,400/female 3,549,896)
- 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 157,778/female 199,959) (2011 est.)
Sex ratio
- At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
- Under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
- 15–64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
- 65 years and older: .79 male(s)/female
- Total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Health
The adult prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS infection is 3.9% as of 2003. There are 240,000 citizens living with AIDS and 21,000 die annually. The risk of contracting disease is very high. There are food and waterborne diseases, bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever; vectorborne diseases, malaria, African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness); respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis, and schistosomiasis, a water contact disease, as of 2005.Ethnic groups
37% of Angolans are OvimbunduOvimbundu
The Southern Mbundu, now generally called Ovimbundu , are an ethnic group who lives on the Bié Plateau of central Angola and in the coastal strip west of these highlands. As the largest ethnic group in Angola, they make up almost 40 percent of the country's population...
, 25% are Ambundu, 13% are Bakongo, 2% are mestiço, 1-2% are Portuguese or other white people, and other ethnicities make up 22% of Angola's population.
Religions
Angola is a majority Christian country, with 53% of citizens professing the religion. Most Angolan Christians are Roman Catholic, 38%, or Protestant, 15%. 46.8% of Angolans practice indigenous beliefs.Education
PortuguesePortuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
is the official language of Angola, but Bantu and other African languages are also widely spoken. Literacy is quite low, with 67.4% of the population over the age of 15 able to read and write in Portuguese. 82.9% of males and 54.2% of women are literate as of 2001.