Angola is endowed with significant natural wealth, but it will need to better manage these resources
and reinvest them into other forms of capital to establish a sustainable development path. Before
independence, the country was a relatively advanced economy with diverse exports, although its
population suffered under exploitative colonial rule. Decades of conflict, during the fight for
independence and the civil war that followed, exacted a heavy toll on the population, infrastructure, and
the economy. The end of the war in 2002 and a booming oil industry resulted in strong economic growth,
but the poor saw very little benefit from this economic prosperity. The dependence on oil exports has
created macroeconomic instability, and Angola has suffered periods of fiscal contraction due to
fluctuations in commodity prices. Although the country has enjoyed strong gross domestic product (GDP)
growth, this has been achieved by depleting natural capital for consumption, rather than reinvestment in
other types of capital to generate sustainable growth. The recent change in leadership represents a
window of opportunity for political and economic reform that will allow Angola to put itself on a path
toward sustainable development.
DW Angola
Development Workshop Angola