Angola Geography - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Location

Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo

Geographic coordinates

12 30 S, 18 30 E

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 1,246,700 sq km

land: 1,246,700 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

about eight times the size of Georgia; slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries

total: 5,369 km

border countries (4): Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,646 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of discontiguous Cabinda Province); Republic of the Congo 231 km; Namibia 1,427 km; Zambia 1,065 km

Coastline

1,600 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate

semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April)

Terrain

narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau

Elevation

highest point: Moca 2,620 m

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 1,112 m

Natural resources

petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium

Land use

agricultural land: 45.7% (2018 est.)

arable land: 3.9% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.3% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 41.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 54.3% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

860 sq km (2014)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Zambezi (shared with Zambia [s], Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique [m]) - 2,740 km; Okavango river source (shared with Namibia and Botswana [m]) - 1,600 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Congo (3,730,881 sq km)
Indian Ocean drainage: Zambezi (1,332,412 sq km)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Okavango Basin (863,866 sq km)

Major aquifers

Congo Basin, Upper Kalahari-Cuvelai-Upper Zambezi Basin

Population distribution

most people live in the western half of the country; urban areas account for the highest concentrations of people, particularly the capital of Luanda as shown in this population distribution map

Natural hazards

locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau

Geography - note

the province of Cabinda is an exclave, separated from the rest of the country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo

NOTE: The information regarding Angola on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Angola 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Angola 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.