Angola's Restrictions: A Country Under Review

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country in southwestern Africa. It is a constitutional republic with a high crime rate, and visitors are advised to exercise a high degree of caution when travelling there. The country has vast mineral and petroleum reserves and is the seventh-largest country in Africa. Angola has a history of civil unrest and violent crime, and there are restrictions on what can be brought into the country.

Angola's import and export restrictions

Angola has a highly bureaucratic process for importing goods. It is ranked among the countries with the most time-consuming import procedures worldwide. Importers must be registered with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and only registered companies can apply for an import license, which is required for the import of sensitive products such as food, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural inputs.

Items prohibited from import into Angola include:

• Animals and animal by-products from areas affected by epizootic diseases
• Plants from areas affected by epiphytic disease
• Certain "morality"-related products, such as distilled beverages, pornography, roulette and other gambling machines, and other goods specified by law
• Passenger vehicles more than 6 years from the manufacturing date
• Viable transgenic grain or seed
• Imitations of national franchise formulas
• Homemade or handmade medicines
• Food products that do not meet current legislation or are in a poor state of conservation
• Used batteries and accumulators
• Retreaded or used tires

Goods requiring import licenses for specific ministries include:

• Pharmaceutical products for human use, saccharine, and saccharine-derived products
• Radios, transmitters, receivers, and other devices
• Weapons, ammunition, fireworks, and explosives
• Plants, roots, bulbs, microbial cultures, buds, fruits, seeds, and crates and other packages containing these products
• Fiscal or postal stamps
• Poisonous and toxic substances and pharmaceuticals, including animal vaccines
• Samples or other goods imported for promotion and not commercial sale

Angola's top exports are crude petroleum, petroleum gas, diamonds, refined petroleum, and special-purpose ships. Its biggest export partners are China, India, the Netherlands, France, and the United Arab Emirates.

The top imports of Angola are refined petroleum, wheat, cars, poultry meat, and palm oil. Its biggest import partners are China, Portugal, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, and India.

Travel advice for Angola

Entry Requirements

British citizens do not need a visa to enter Angola as a tourist for up to 30 days, but for longer stays or other reasons for travel, a visa is required. Your passport must be valid for at least six months after your date of arrival and have at least two blank pages.

Health

Angola has a high risk of insect-borne diseases, including malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever. Ensure your accommodation is insect-proof and use insect repellent. There is also a high risk of waterborne, foodborne, and parasitic diseases, so only drink boiled or bottled water and avoid raw and undercooked food. Medical facilities in Angola are very limited, so comprehensive travel insurance is essential.

Crime

Angola has a high crime rate, and violent crime is common. In particular, be aware of the risk of kidnapping in Luanda, where criminals often target foreigners for ransom. Keep your doors and windows locked, even when moving, and do not walk alone at night.

Civil Unrest

Demonstrations and civil unrest are common in Angola, particularly in Cabinda, Lunda Norte, and Lunda Sul, and can turn violent. Avoid large public gatherings and follow the instructions of local authorities.

Roads and Infrastructure

Infrastructure outside of major cities is heavily damaged from the country's civil war, and roads are poorly maintained. Landmines are also a danger outside of major cities, so stick to main roads.

Angola's political system

The government is composed of three branches: the executive, legislative and judicial. The executive branch is made up of the President, the vice-presidents and the Council of Ministers. The legislative branch is a 220-seat unicameral legislature, the National Assembly, elected from multi-member province-wide and nationwide constituencies. The judiciary is made up of the Court of Auditors and the Supreme Military Court. The President and the parliament appoint the majority of the members of the two highest bodies of the judiciary, the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court.

The current President is João Lourenço, who succeeded José Eduardo dos Santos in 2017. The ruling party is the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which has been in power since independence in 1975. The MPLA abandoned its Marxist ideology in 1990 and declared social democracy to be its new platform.

The MPLA won another outright majority in the August 2022 elections, and President Lourenço won a second five-year term. However, the election was the tightest in Angola's history.

Angola's economy

Angola has vast mineral and petroleum reserves, and its economy is heavily dependent on the oil sector. Oil production and supporting activities are vital to the economy, contributing about 45% to GDP and 90% of exports. However, Angola's dependence on the oil sector has made it vulnerable to external shocks and undermined macroeconomic stability. In recent years, reforms have improved macroeconomic management and public sector governance, and economic growth is expected to be driven by non-oil sectors in the coming years.

Agriculture and forestry offer areas of potential opportunity for Angola. While Angola was once a major African food exporter, it now imports almost all its food due to the destructive effects of the civil war on its agricultural sector. Less than 3% of Angola's fertile land is cultivated, and the economic potential of the forestry sector remains largely unexploited.

Angola's financial system is maintained by the National Bank of Angola, and the country now has the third-largest financial market in sub-Saharan Africa. The country's biggest import partners are the European Union, China, Togo, the United States, and Brazil, while its exports are primarily destined for China, India, the European Union, and the United Arab Emirates.

Despite its economic growth, Angola continues to face significant social and economic challenges, including high poverty rates, inequality, and corruption. The country's infrastructure, particularly its transport network, is still recovering from the damage inflicted during the civil war.

Angola's human rights record

Angola has long been criticised for its human rights record. In 2012, a US Department of State report outlined the three most important human rights abuses in the country as:

• Official corruption and impunity
• Limits on the freedoms of assembly, association, speech, and press
• Cruel and excessive punishment, including torture, beatings, and unlawful killings by police and security personnel

In addition, the report also noted other human rights abuses, including harsh prison conditions, arbitrary arrest and detention, impunity for human rights abusers, lack of judicial process, infringements on citizens' privacy rights, forced evictions without compensation, restrictions on non-governmental organisations, discrimination and violence against women, abuse of children, trafficking in persons, discrimination against persons with disabilities, indigenous people, and persons with HIV/AIDS, limits on workers' rights, and forced labour.

In 2022, Freedom House rated Angola as "not free".

Angola's constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race, gender, religion, disability, language, or social status, but the government has failed to effectively enforce these prohibitions. The country has also been criticised for its response to public protests and demonstrations, with authorities disrupting gatherings and punishing speakers for remarks critical of the authorities.

Angola's health system is among the worst in the world, with only a fraction of the population receiving adequate medical attention. The country also has one of the highest infant mortality rates and lowest life expectancies in the world.

While Angola's constitution and laws grant women equal rights with men, societal discrimination is widespread, particularly outside of cities. Rape, including marital rape, is punishable by up to eight years in prison, but most cases go unprosecuted due to limited resources. Domestic violence is also pervasive, particularly in urban areas, and sexual harassment is widespread and not illegal.

Angola has made some progress in recent years, including the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 2019 and the ratification of several international human rights treaties. However, human rights abuses, particularly against activists, protesters, and members of marginalised communities, continue to be reported.

Frequently asked questions