ANGOLA
ANGOLA Social Studies 11
By: Kevin & Eric
Education
Education in Angola is compulsory and free for eight years but many children do not go to school due to poor health, lack of resources and having to work because of their poverty. The adult literacy rate is estimated at 70.4% and 3.5% of the country's GDP goes toward the educational system.
Health
Economy
Angola's health is rated among the worst in the world. Due to its location, the climate is ideal for many deadly diseases; such as, cholera, malaria, rabies, and Marburg hemorrhagic fever. The prevalence and incidence of both HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis infection is significantly high in the country. Angola has one of the lowest life expectancies in the world, estimated at 51.06 years, and one of the worlds highest infant mortality rates, calculated to be approximately 81.75 per 1000 live births. As a result of rapid urbanization and lack of infrastructure, the government have been unable to promote effective programs to address some of the basic needs of the people. Hence, healthcare is largely unavailable for the majority of the people in the country.
The economy of Angola is mainly composed of oil which makes up almost 80% of the government's revenue and 47% of Angola's 114.2 billion dollar GDP. Other resources of Angola include gold, copper, and diamonds. The economy of Angola is quickly growing and is expected to increase by 7.8% in 2014.
Environmental Issues
As the 7th largest country on the African continent, Angola's success is highly dependent on its environment. However, the methods of production, such as mining and fishing, have caused significant environmental damage. These include, deforestation, land and coastal degradation, and overfishing. Lumbering, especially to supply the international need of timber, is decimating the limited wet tropical forests in the north and threatening habitats and biodiversity.
Angola's freshwater resources are abundant, but its population have no access to clean drinking water. Outbreaks of water borne diseases reflect poorly on Angola's management of water sanitation. Poor agriculture methods (Land Degradation) have led to widespread soil erosion and desertification. This, in turn, has frustrated efforts to build purification infrastructure to ensure access to clean water.
Population Issues
Approximately 43% of Angola's population is under the age of 15 and of that population around 21% are doing child labor. Moreover, Angola has felt the social effects of war. Due to a large number of people unable to obtain an education during the war, today medical personnels, administrators, and other positions can not be filled. This has resulted in Angola losing almost an entire generation of educated people. Despite rapid urbanization, poverty is still very prevalent through out the country, especially in the rural areas. In these area, 38% of the population do not have access to potable water, 30% have access to little or no health care, and only 54% of children actually finish their primary education. Along with that, illiteracy rate among women is substantially lower than men.
War
The Angola civil war was one of Angola's worst conflicts that went from 1975- 2002 and left half a million people dead and over one million people displaced. On one side there was the MPLA that were supported by the Soviet Union and Cuba (until 1989) and UNITA who were supported by the USA and South Africa. This war devastated Angola's economy and infrastructure which was a major setback to its development.