Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Angola
conventional short form: Angola
local long form: Republica de Angola
local short form: Angola
former: People's Republic of Angola
etymology: name derived by the Portuguese from the title "ngola" held by kings of the Ndongo (Ndongo was a kingdom in what is now northern Angola)

Government type:
presidential republic

Capital:
name: Luanda
geographic coordinates: 8 50 S, 13 13 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
18 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Kwando Kubango, Kwanza Norte, Kwanza Sul, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire

Independence:
11 November 1975 (from Portugal)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 11 November (1975)

Constitution:
previous 1975, 1992; latest passed by National Assembly 21 January 2010, adopted 5 February 2010 (2016)

Legal system:
civil legal system based on Portuguese civil law; no judicial review of legislation

International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Angola
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); Vice President Manuel Domingos VICENTE (since 26 September 2012); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); Vice President Manuel Domingos VICENTE (since 26 September 2012)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by the National Assembly for a 5-year term (eligible for a second consecutive or discontinuous term); note - according to the 2010 constitution, ballots are cast for parties rather than candidates, and the leader of the winning party becomes president
election results: NA; as leader of the MPLA, Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS elected president following legislative elections on 31 August 2012, inaugurated on 26 September 2012 to serve the first of a possible two terms under the 2010 constitution

Legislative branch:
description: unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats; members directly elected in a single national constituency and in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)
elections: last held on 31 August 2012 (next to be held in 2017)
election results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 71.8%, UNITA 18.7%, CASA-CE 6.0%, PRS 1.7%, FNLA 1.1%, other 0.7%; seats by party - MPLA 175, UNITA 32, CASA-CE 8, PRS 3, FNLA 2

Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (consists of the court president, vice president, and a minimum of 16 judges); Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional (consists of 11 judges)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the president upon recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council, an 18-member body chaired by the president; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Court judges - 4 nominated by the president, 4 elected by National Assembly, 2 elected by Supreme National Council, 1 elected by competitive submission of curricula; judges serve single 7-year terms
subordinate courts: provincial and municipal courts

Political parties and leaders:
Broad Convergence for the Salvation of Angola Electoral Coalition or CASA-CE [Abel CHIVUKUVUKU] National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA; note - there are two factions of the party; one is led by Lucas NGONDA; the other is led by Ngola KABANGU National Union for the Total Independence of Angola or UNITA [Isaias SAMAKUVA] (largest opposition party) Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA [Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS] (ruling party in power since 1975) Social Renewal Party or PRS [Eduardo KUANGANA]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Angolan Revolutionary Movement or ARM Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC [N'zita Henriques TIAGO]
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; several factions of FLEC have broken off over the past 30 years, including the FLEC-PM [Rodrigues MINGAS], which was responsible for a deadly attack on the Togolese soccer team in 2010

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

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Agostinho Tavares da Silva NETO (since 18 November 2014)
chancery: 2100-2108 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156
FAX: [1] (202) 822-9049
consulate(s) general: Houston, New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Helen Meagher LA LIME (15 May 2014)
embassy: number 32 Rua Houari Boumedienne (in the Miramar area of Luanda), Luanda
mailing address: international mail: Caixa Postal 6468, Luanda; pouch: US Embassy Luanda, US Department of State, 2550 Luanda Place, Washington, DC 20521-2550
telephone: [244] 946440977
FAX: [244] (222) 64-1000

Flag description:
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

National symbol(s):
Palanca Negra Gigante (giant black sable antelope); national colors: red, black, yellow

National anthem:
name: "Angola Avante" (Forward Angola)
lyrics/music: Manuel Rui Alves MONTEIRO/Rui Alberto Vieira Dias MINGAO
note: adopted 1975