Very nice pics, Matthias !
The roads of Angola is definitely world-class !
Reuters 18 February 2007 - Predictions of economic growth in Angola during this year vary from fantastic to incredible numbers. The most pessimistic forecasts foresee a GDP growth rate of 17 percent for 2007, while the IMF expects the Angola economy to grow by over 31 percent.
In 2007, Angola again is expected to become Africa's biggest economic success story. Several international institutions and the Luanda government have already presented their predictions for this year's development, and all agree that the Angolan boom is continuing at full speed. Some international predictions claim that Angola will enjoy double digit growth till 2010.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest forecast for the Angolan economy expects a GDP growth of 31.4 percent this year, close to the World Bank's prognosis of 30.2 percent. The Angolan government is equally optimistic, putting 2007's GDP growth at 31.2 percent.
These forecasts for 2007 follow a year of unprecedented economic boom in Angola. While the figures for economic growth in 2006 still vary, the Luanda government puts it at 15.5 percent. The other sources vary from 14.2 percent (EIU) up to 26 percent (OECD).
The unprecedented growth in Angola even shows signs of being a sound growth. Inflation has started to get under control. According to the IMF, last year it had gone down to 10 percent, while it expected to lower to 8 percent by the end of this year.
Not unexpectedly, much of the Angolan boom is driven by the expansion of oil production and the construction sector. While the oil sector grew by an estimated 15.0 percent last year - according to IMF figures - it is expected to boom by 40.9 percent this year. Angola's oil production is expected to rise from 1,4 million of barrels of oil per day in 2006 to more than 2 million barrels of oil this year - representing a growth of around 40 percent in just one year. Angola will likely produce more than 3 miilion barrels of oil per day in 2012.
But not only the oil sector is doing well. The non-oil sector last year was able to almost follow the growth in the oil sector, increasing by a rate of 20.8 percent. The IMF expects an even bigger growth in the non-oil sector this year, demonstrating that current economic development in Angola is broad-based.
Also government revenues and investments are thus allowed to expand rapidly during this year - both at a rate of around 35 percent. While the IMF foresees a growth in government debts from US$ 15 to 16.3 billion, the external debt ratio on GDP will actually lower this year, due to the massive GDP growth, according to the IMF analysis. Foreign exchange resserves have risen considerably over the last two years and are expected to climb further.
Further good news for Angolans is that investments in the country over the last four year now total over US$ 8 billion, according to Angola's National Private Investment Agency (ANIP). "In the last year alone, 463 investment projects have been approved, the highest number over the last three years" said ANIP chief executive, Ari de Carvalho.
Mr Carvalho noted that the construction sector saw the highest number of projects approved, with a total of 238, followed by industry with 173. "The growth of investment projects approved since 2003 shows the growing interest investors have in doing business in the country, motivated in part by macro-economic stability and economic growth," he noted.
Skyprince, The good thing is that Angola´s march forward began just two to three years back and it will not abate any time soon. (Due to some forecasts: growth will remain double digit till 2010!!). Angola and its people truly desserve it after all these years of misery. Investors (especially from Brazil, Portugal and China but also beyond) rush in and Angolans in the diaspora (who have not lost touch with the country) come back more and more. (due to article I have read. (Our country - Nigeria - has to be on the guard otherwise Angola will turn out to be Africa´s leading oil producer) Oil production will be more than 3 million in 2012 and it will reach 2 million barrels of oil a day at the end of this year. Moreover, as you could read in some articles agricultural production is revived (non-oil sector) and it is growing fast. Let´s not forget that Angola was the third largest coffee producer in the whole world in the 70´s. The article above says that growth is broad-based. The country is fantastically rich in diamonds and other minerals. And probably gas, as well, because new gas contracts have been recently signed and the best is that Angola´s population is relatively low and "manageable", only 11.5 million people in an enormously vast country which is even bigger than Nigeria!
The world will see pleasant surprises coming out of that Southern African country in the future!
Wait and see!
how could i have let this one slip by me? i didn't know how beautiful angola was!
Arzaranh, Why do you say "was"? All those pics are showing Angola´s post-war period !("At least" the war hasn´t destroyed all cities and it left Angola´s beautiful landscape intact as you can see).
Oh my God, just imagine....Angola would have been the pride of every African if that bloody, fucking, bullshit, awfully deplorable, painful .....war hadn´t destroyed so much:bash: :gaah: :gaah:![]()
Surely, the country could have been a tourist hotspot by now alongside with countries such as Kenya, South Africa or Marocco. (in Angola you have got the proper beaches, tropical jungle, the mountains, the savanah, the desert, waterfalls, multi-ethnic/racial population, the unique music and hot dances, Angolan art, you had appealing cities and towns etc..... all in one nutshell and all with a good foundation to build upon). What a gem!!!
hno:
Into the bargain, the country has always been perversely rich in mineral ressources (oil, gas, diamonds, uranium, iron ore etc.)..and above all the population was/is "manageable" (before the war only around 7 million inhabitants). Angola could have easily become something like a "Venezuela of the 70´s/80´s" (due to its enormous oil wealth) and if well managed the country would have sky-rocketted and could have even been better than Malaysia today, socio-economically seen.
When will our world learn that wars will only bring about doom and gloom? I hate wars so much that I can´t put it into words. Things are always so easily and quickly destroyed but it is always immensely hard and tiresome to rebuild them again....
But let´s look forward and no longer backwards, Angola is FINALLY moving!![]()