Angola Geography - 2024

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

Area comparison map:

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)

Rio Zambeze (Zambezi) (shared with Zambia [s], Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique [m]) - 2,740 km; Rio Cubango (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

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