This working paper presents the findings of the study on the process to turn around the city of
Luanda, the capital of Angola.1 Decades of civil war that followed the country’s independence
in 1975 saw millions of people internally displaced, large areas mined and most of the
country’s physical, economic and social infrastructure and services destroyed or degraded.
Although most of the conflict took place in the countryside, the impact was felt in Luanda, the
main recipient of the massive influx of displaced people seeking safety. The failure to invest
in the infrastructure needed to handle this influx resulted in the severe degradation of the city’s
urban core and the growth of sprawling slums.
Since the war ended in 2002, Angola has experienced unprecedented economic
growth fuelled by the doubling of its oil production between 2002 and 2008 in a context of
rising global oil prices. This growth has been concentrated in Luanda, which during the first
decade after the war benefited from significant capital investment as part of the government’s
reconstruction programme. This transformed the city’s landscape, and the goal was to change
its image from a war-torn and degraded city in need of saving2 into “the country’s postcard to
the world, a vibrant and modern metropolis full of opportunities, and a symbol of post-war
peace, prosperity and development in the new Angola” (Schubert, 2015). Although it occupies
only 1.5 percent of the Angolan territory, Luanda now generates two-thirds of the GDP and,
with almost 7 million inhabitants, is home to over a third of the population.
DW Angola
Development Workshop Angola