Angola, a country located in southwest Africa. Although many people have not heard of this country, Angola's status in Africa is relatively high. The country is not only known as the granary of South Africa, but also the third largest oil producer in Africa. It is reasonable to say that such a country should develop well, but what we can't imagine is that Angola's per capita GDP is less than 3,000 US dollars. Now, let's look at the general situation in Angola.
Angola is located in southwest Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the west, with an area of 1,246,700 square kilometers. The current population of Angola is 33.3 million. Both in terms of size and population, Angola is not a small country in Africa, but can be said to be a medium country. However, Angola's economic development is not very good, and the current per capita GDP is only 17766 US dollars. Many people can't figure out why a country with a poor economic development is known as the granary of South Africa and why its oil production is so high.
If we look at angola's natural resources, we can see why Angola has so many names. And this country is not only rich in food production, oil production in Africa is one of the simplest, but also has many other resources.
First, look at Angola's mineral resources. Mineral resources have an important impact on a country's industrial development and can be exchanged for a great deal of wealth. According to current surveys, Angola has more than 13.1 billion barrels of oil recoverable reserves and 7 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, both of which are necessary raw materials for industrial development. In addition, Angola has diamond reserves of about 1 billion carats, iron ore 1.7 billion tons, phosphate 200 million tons, manganese ore nearly 100 million tons, which are among the world's forefront. In addition, Angola also has more diamonds, iron, phosphate, copper, and manganese mines.
Look wow this is not to know how rich this country is in mineral resources. If fully exploited, the country will not only produce the third largest oil in Africa, but also produce other minerals in Africa in addition to natural gas production.
Second, look at Angola's water and forest resources. Most of the African countries we have of the impression are water-scarce and have fewer trees. But this situation simply does not exist in Angola. Angola's water potential is 140 billion cubic meters, and the vast majority of electricity is generated by hydropower. With a forest area of 53 million hectares and a forest coverage rate of 35%, it is the second largest forestry resource country in Africa. There are many precious woods here, such as ebony, African white sandalwood, rosewood and so on.
Angola is rich in water and forest resources mainly because it has a subtropical climate, with high temperatures and abundant precipitation.
Third, look at the agricultural development of Angola. The dependence of agricultural development on natural conditions is very large, as is the case in any country. Angola is well lit and has a lot of precipitation, so the rivers are dense and the land is very fertile. Because of this, it is very suitable for the development of agriculture. The main crops in Angola are coffee, sisal, sugar cane, cotton, peanuts, rice, corn and so on. Among them, Angola's export volume of sisal and coffee is among the highest in the world.
It is precisely because of this that it is called the granary of South Africa. In fact, this was not only the granary of South Africa, but even the granary of Africa.
That is why Angola has received so many titles. It can be said that it is all related to its natural advantages. Let's take a look at why Angola, which has so many advantages, has a per capita GDP of only $1776, and it is also one of the least developed countries in the world. The reason for this has a lot to do with a country, and this country is Portugal.
In 1475, the grape people came to present-day Angola. After that, portugal slowly infiltrated Angola. In 1884, the Berlin Conference was held. The main body of the conference was the redistribution of the European powers into spheres of influence around the world. In this way, Angola was officially divided into Portuguese colonies. By this time the Portuguese had ruled here for hundreds of years.
Portuguese rule in Angola was initially profitable mainly from the slave trade. By the 19th century, however, the Portuguese slave trade was becoming less and less profitable due to the worldwide abolitionist movement. In this way, Portugal began to develop agriculture in Angola. As mentioned earlier, the conditions here are still more suitable for agricultural development. After the second industrial revolution, due to angola's rich mineral resources, Portugal began to mine in various parts of Angola, and Angolan industry began to develop.
Although there were also many atrocities committed by Portuguese rule in Angola, it is undeniable that during Portuguese rule, Angola as a whole moved forward. Agriculture in Angola is developing very well, a large amount of land is cultivated, and the food production is very high and varied. It is for this reason that Angola is known as the granary of South Africa. And due to the development of the mining industry, its downstream industries have also developed to a certain extent. During this period, Angola had a certain industrial base. However, this situation changed at the time of Angola's independence.
In 1974, the Carnation Revolution broke out in Portugal, the original authoritarian government was overthrown, and Portugal established a democratic government. After this government came to power, in order to reflect the difference from the previous government, it voluntarily gave up all the colonies. In this way, on November 11, 1975, Angola declared its independence and was freed from Portuguese colonial rule. It is reasonable to say that Portugal took the initiative to make Angola independent, which should be a good thing for Angola, but this is not the case at all.
Colonial independence is the most important thing in our minds, and the overthrow of the colonists is more important than anything else. Now the grape people take the initiative to make Angola independent, which is definitely a good thing in the world. But it's not that simple at all. Looking at the colonies established by European countries in modern times, under normal circumstances, most of the reasons why the European powers allowed colonies to become independent were because the great powers could not obtain more benefits in the local area and could not rule effectively. In other words, the local people had the ability to rule alone, so they could drive out the colonists. After the colonists left, the local people were able to manage the country very well. But Angola was not so capable at the time.
At that time, Angola had three main forces, which were independent and comparable. The Portuguese did not properly handle the relationship between these three forces before leaving. To put it bluntly, what remains is a mess. After the Portuguese left, independent Angola began to face the question of who would rule. These three forces were not convinced by each other, so the war began, and Angola entered a civil war.
Due to constant interference from external forces, the civil war in Angola lasted very long until it was completely resolved in 2002. The country has experienced 27 years of civil war. During this time, Angola suffered very serious casualties and a large brain drain. Not only that, but the economy was even more devastated, and a large amount of farmland was turned into wasteland without being cultivated. Factory shutdowns, the inability of mining to continue, the withdrawal of foreign capital, and so on. This is even worse for Angola's economy. It can be said that Angola after the end of the civil war was really poor and white.
In any case, the political situation in Angola has stabilized, which is still of great benefit to its development. In this situation, Angola's economy began to recover slowly. In 2000, Angola's GDP per capita was only $556. By 2014, Angola's GDP per capita was $5,408. This rate of growth is really rapid. But this situation did not last forever. From 2014 to the present, Angola's per capita GDP has been declining, and now it is only $1776.
The reason why Angola's per capita GDP fluctuates so much is mainly because after the political situation has stabilized, economic development mainly relies on oil. This economic model is very single and very volatile. Once the price of oil changes, it will have a big impact on the economy. That's why the economy here has since continued to decline.
Some might argue that other mining, industry, and agriculture could continue to grow here. After all, there was a certain industrial base before this. In fact, it is not that there is no desire to develop here, but that the conditions really do not allow it. In terms of agriculture, the area of agricultural arable land here is less than 10% of the arable area, and the reclamation rate is very low. Moreover, agricultural food production here has also declined severely. Angola's current food is not only impossible to export, but even self-sufficient, with a food self-sufficiency rate of 30 per cent. That is to say, the vast majority of food here needs to be imported. Not to mention other industries.
See if this is to know why the situation here is so special. If the Portuguese can properly handle the Angolan problem before leaving. There will be no civil war here, and its economy will not be so badly damaged. However, at present, the political situation here has stabilized, and with so many advantages, the economic development here can be said to be sooner or later.