Angola Chapter - Africa Housing Finance Yearbook 2016

Angola is an oil-rich nation located in southern Africa, on the Atlantic coast of
Africa, and bordered by Namibia, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. President Jose Eduardo dos Santos’ ruling party, the People’s Movement
for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), holds a strong majority, having taken 72
percent at the August 2012 polls. The country has come a long way since its civil
war ended in 2002. In 12 years, Angola has managed to transform its war-torn
economy into the fifth biggest in Africa. This growth has been mainly fuelled by a
doubling of oil production, turning Angola into Sub-Saharan Africa’s second largest
oil producer after Nigeria. Rising oil revenues have allowed for large-scale state
investments, mainly in the construction and rehabilitation of public infrastructures
such as roads, schools, hospitals as well as housing, leading to a massive
construction boom and double digit GDP growth rates which reached 23.4
percent in 2007 up from 3.3 in 2003. Growth has in turn been enhanced by
economic reforms and prudent macro-economic policymaking.