Median age:

Administrative divisions:

18 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, CuanzaSul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire

11 November 1975 (from Portugal)

24.08 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2

National holiday:

Independence Day, 11 November (1975)

adopted by People's Assembly 25 August 1992

Legal system:

based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; modified to accommodate political pluralism and increaseduse of free markets; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

18 Years of Age; universal

Executive branch:

Chief of State: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

Head of Government: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); Antonio Paulo KASSOMA was named prime minister by MPLA on 26 September 2008

Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president

Elections: president elected by universal ballot for a five-year term (eligible for a second consecutive or discontinuous term) under the 1992 constitution; President DOS SANTOS was selected by the party to take over after the death of former President Augustino NETO(1979) under a one-party system and stood for reelection in Angola's first multiparty elections 29-30 September 1992 (next were to be held in September 2009 but have been postponed)

Election results: Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS 49.6%, Jonas SAVIMBI 40.1%, making a run-off election necessary; the run-off was never held leaving DOS SANTOS in his current position as the president

Legislative branch:

Unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats; members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms) Elections: last held 5-6 September 2008 (next to be held in September 2012)
Election Results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 81.6%, UNITA 10.4%, PRS 3.2%, ND 1.2%, FNLA 1.1%, other 2.5%; seats by party - MPLA 191, UNITA 16, PRS 8, FNLA 3, ND 2

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court and separate provincial courts (judges are appointed by the president)

Political parties and leaders:

National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA [Ngola KABANGU]; National Union for the Total Independence ofAngola or UNITA (largest opposition party) [Isaias SAMAKUVA]; Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA (ruling party in power since 1975) [Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS]; Social Renewal Party or PRS [Eduardo KUANGANA]
note: nine other parties participated in the legislative election in September but won no seats

Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC [N'zita Henriques TIAGO, Antonio Bento BEMBE]
note: FLEC's small-scale armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province persists despite the signing of a peace accord with the government in August 2006

ACP, AfDB, AU, CPLP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OPEC, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in HK:

Chief of Mission: Consulate General of the Republic of Angola in the HKSAR
Address: UNIT 3 - 29th Floor, Office Tower Convention Plaza, 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Telephone: (852) 3798-3888
FAX: (852) 3101-0682

two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle); red represents liberty, black the African continent, the symbols characterize workers and peasants