Introduction
Angola is a large, developing Southern African country that has been engulfed in war and civil strife since independence from Portugal in 1975. A peace accord signed in 1994 brought a temporary halt to Angola's civil war, but in late 1998 fighting resumed, making travel to and within Angola extremely unsafe.After the death of the rebel leaders in March 2002 peace once again became a reality for this war devestated country.Facilities for tourism are non-existent. Severe shortages of lodging, transportation, food, water, medicine and utilities plague Luanda (the capital) and other cities. Shortages cause unsanitary conditions in many areas, including Luanda.

Geographical Location
Located on the Atlantic Coast of Southern Africa, Angola is bordered by Namibia to the south and Zambia and the DRC to the east and north. Angola's 1,600 km-long coastline and its four major ports make it a natural trans-shipment point for the entire region. The geography of Angola is diverse. From the coastal plain, ranging in width from 25 kilometres in the south to 100-200 kilometres in the north, the land rises in stages towards the high inland plateau covering almost two-thirds of the country, with an average altitude of between 1,200 and 1,600 meters

Climate
The country is located in the equatorial tropical region, its climate being tempered by sea and altitude. In the northern half of the central plateau there are humid tropical conditions and in the high regions of the south, a dry tropical climate prevails. On the northern part of the coastal plain it is humid and temperate, while the center and the southern part are affected by the relatively cool Benguela current.

Population
Angola's population in 1994 was 11,233,000 inhabitants and it is estimated that it had grown to approximately 13.3 million in the year 2000, with a population growth rate of 2.9 percent. The population density is 9/square kilometer and the urbanization rate is 42.9 percent. Sixty-five percent of the population is under 25 years of age.

The population is made up of nine ethno linguistic groups -
the Quicongo (or Bakongo),
the Quimbundo,
the Lunda-Quioco (or Tchokwe),
the Mbundo, (or Ovimbundo),
the Ganguela,
the Nhaneca-Humbe,
the Ambo,
the Herero, and
the Xindonga. - They in turn are sub-divided into about 100 sub-groups traditionally called "tribes". The largest groups are the Ovimbundu, and the Bakongo

Languages
The major languages are Portuguese (which is the official language), Ovimbundu, Kimbundu, Kikongo, Kichokwe, Kwanyama, Nganguela, and Luvale.

Religion
The most important religions are: Roman Catholic (68 percent), Protestant (20 percent) and traditional belief systems (12 percent).