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General Information Area: 1,246,700 sq km (481,354 sq miles). Population: 10,593,171 (official estimate 2002). Population density: 8.5 per sq km. Capital: Luanda. Population: 2,002,000 (1995). GEOGRAPHY: Angola is bordered by the Democratic Republic of Congo to the north, Zambia to the east, Namibia to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Mountains rise from the coast, levelling to a plateau which makes up most of the country. The country is increasingly arid towards the south; the far south is on the edge of the Namib Desert. The northern plateau is thickly vegetated. Cabinda is a small enclave to the north of Angola proper, surrounded by the territories of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Congo. The discovery of large oil deposits off the coast of the enclave has led to it becoming the centre of Angola’s foreign business interests. The oil industry is based primarily at Malongo. Government: Republic. Gained independence from Portugal in 1975. Head of State: President José Eduardo dos Santos since 1979. Prime Minister Fernando Dias dos Santos since 2002. Language: The official language is Portuguese. African languages (Umbundu, Kimbundu, Kikongo and Chokwe being the most common) are spoken by the majority of the population. Religion: Mainly Roman Catholic (51 per cent). There are also other Christian minorities. Local Animist beliefs are held by a significant minority. Time: GMT + 1. Electricity: 220 volts AC, 60Hz. Plugs are of the European-style round two-pin type. Communications:   Telephone Until recently, all international calls had to be made through the operator, booking in advance. Direct calls to Luanda (although not to the rest of the country) are increasingly available. Country code: 244. Mobile telephone Unitel is the only mobile operator at present, with coverage restricted to areas around Luanda. Internet Local ISPs include EBONET (website: www.ebonet.net) and NETANGOLA (website: www.netangola.com). Internet roaming agreements exist. There are a few Internet cafes in Luanda. Telegram Services are fairly reliable, but are occasionally subject to delay. Fax Services are available at most major hotels. Post Airmail between Europe and Angola takes five to ten days. Surface mail between Europe and Angola takes at least two months. There is a fairly reliable internal service. Most correspondence is by telex. Press The daily newspaper is O Jornal de Angola (government controlled); Diário da República is the official government newsletter. There are some independent publications and journals. There are no English-language newspapers. BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change. BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice): MHz 21.47 12.10 11.94 6.005 Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov): MHz 15.58 11.98 6.035 0.909 From www.columbusguides.com, Copyright © 2004 Highbury Columbus Travel Publishing Terms and Conditions apply.