Over the past decade, the Republic of Angola has emerged as the fastest-growing economy in the world. Registering an impressive annual GDP growth of 11.5% for the period 2000-2010, Angola trumped even the much-vaunted BRICs and emerging Asian economies to claim the top spot in an analysis published by The Economist. This result comes in spite of a flatlining in Angola’s 2009 GDP, due to the republic’s heavy dependence on oil revenues as global petroleum prices fell sharply. Nevertheless, the Angolan economy rebounded in 2010 and last year’s GDP reached 5.9%.
Revenues from oil and diamond exports have also helped fuel Angola’s extraordinary development since peace was established in 2002, and the government has reiterated its drive to further diversify an economy that relies on oil production and its supporting activities for about 85% of its GDP. Diamond exports have contributed an additional 5% in recent years. In addition to diamonds, the republic’s soils also hold untapped copper, iron ore and phosphates, among others.
In March, Angola’s Ministry of Economy projected that the national economy would grow at least 7% in 2011, with the oil sector contributing 2.5% and other sectors making up the difference. Opportunities in those other sectors exist across the board. The third-largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, Angola possesses extensive oil and gas resources, diamond and mineral wealth, hydroelectric potential and rich agricultural land.
An $18 billion government plan to overhaul the country’s dams and power grids and prevent all power cuts by 2016 will act as a catalyst in the energy sector and spur further enterprise elsewhere.
Last year, Angola was the largest supplier of petroleum to China, supplying 19% of the market. Angola’s plans to cut its dependence on oil revenues could see relations improve further, with China seeing potential in agriculture, service industries, infrastructure and renewable energy.
In 2010, Angola’s parliament approved a new constitution and President Jose Eduardo dos Santos also gave his first State of the Nation address in November. During the fully televised speech, the president acknowledged the challenges of hunger and poverty the nation faces. A month prior, the United Nations’ resident coordinator in Angola, Koen Vanormelingen, said that poverty levels in Angola, measured in monetary income, had decreased from 63% in 2002 to 38% in 2009. He added that the country is headed toward a secure way to achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals, given its advances in peace, economic growth and social development.
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