Angola at 50: How a nation rose from the rubble of civil war

When Angola gained independence from five centuries of Portuguese rule on November 11, 1975, the country had 19 doctors, one university, and an illiteracy rate of 85%.

Fifty years on, this resurgent Southern African nation is neither defined by its painful colonial history nor the brutal 27-year civil war that scarred its hard-fought freedom.

As Angola commemorated the golden jubilee of its independence last Tuesday, predominant emotion was a desire to reshape the narrative.

Angola no longer wants to be seen as a nation emerging from conflict; it has already positioned itself as a regional economic force with ambitions that stretch well beyond its oil-dependent past.

Aftermath of war

Independence came at a steep price. Soon after breaking from its colonial past, Angola plunged into a civil war that lasted until 2002, destroying infrastructure and crippling economic development.

"November 11, 1975 wasn't just about raising the Angolan flag and singing the national anthem. It was the turning of a page, the end of 500 years of fascist domination, and the culmination of long and difficult years of struggle that cost thousands of Angolans sacrifice, sweat, blood and even their lives," João Salvador dos Santos Neto, Angola's ambassador to Türkiye, tells TRT Afrika.

One of newly independent Angola's primary challenges was the way the world was structured at the time. The fledgling state emerged at the peak of the Cold War, joining a world order split between two rival blocs.

After the death of Agostinho Neto, who led the liberation struggle and became independent Angola's first President, his successor José Eduardo dos Santos decided he would bring all warring factions – MPLA, FNLA and UNITA – to the negotiating table once external pressures eased.

That was in 1979. Santos's strategic vision would take another 23 years to yield the outcome he wanted and Angola needed.

In 2002, the guns fell silent, erstwhile enemies reconciled, and Angola began the demanding work of national reconstruction.

"Peace had become a national heritage, and it was incumbent on all Angolans to preserve it without hesitation. It was the foundation for reconciliation and rehabilitation of the nation in all its dimensions," explains Neto.

The big oil slip

Like most newly independent African nations, Angola was in a shambles when the colonisers left.

A population of 6.5 million had to make do with a crippled healthcare system run by a handful of trained medical personnel, including nurses. The lone university had 4,176 students, more than 95% of whom were from the privileged Portuguese families that stayed back.

The end of the civil war was the inflection point Angola had been waiting for. Over the next decade, Angola reported spectacular growth, sometimes exceeding 15% annually, driven by oil revenues. Luanda became one of Africa's rising stars, attracting investments that promised to catapult it to the league of the world's most thriving capital cities.

But the glory days proved short-lived. Falling oil prices and declining production triggered a prolonged recession between 2016 and 2020. GDP growth stalled at virtually zero, with some sectors even contracting, according to the African Development Bank (ADB).

In recovery mode

The past couple of years have seen the Angolan economy rebound in a manner that has taken some economists by surprise.

ADB data shows that real GDP grew 4.4% in 2024, compared to just 1.1% in 2023. Agriculture and fisheries' share of the economy rose from 6.2% in 2010 to 14.9% in 2023, reflecting efforts to reduce dependence on hydrocarbons.

There's a long way to go, though. Oil accounted for around 28.9% of GDP and nearly 95% of exports in 2023-24. Also, the recovery hasn't translated yet into significant formal job- creation or a marked reduction in economic inequality. The World Bank pegs youth unemployment in Angola at more than 25%.

The good news is that President João Lourenço's government is working to stimulate the agriculture, industry, mining and renewable energy sectors, based on a more inclusive growth model than before. Diversification remains the central challenge for the economy.

Roadmap for future

In his latest State of the Nation address to the National Assembly, President Lourenço highlighted efforts to rebuild war-damaged infrastructure as part of a national reconstruction programme, create new facilities, and ramp up the health, education and housing sectors.

Enabling seamless movement of people and goods across the country has been the game-changer.

As the President pointed out, ten million young people now attend school or university, including 330,000 in higher education across 106 institutions, compared to just one in 1975.

By 2024, the public education system alone produced 7,715 doctors. Hundreds more have graduated from institutions abroad, particularly in Türkiye, which welcomes Angolan students in various fields.

Angola expects to have 38,000 medical professionals in the near future. Currently, 3,544 healthcare facilities operate nationwide, including 2,500 primary care centres.

Economic diplomacy

Under Lourenço's presidency, Angola has pursued an open strategy of seeking new economic and technological partners, with the Ankara-Luanda alliance showing promise in keeping with Türkiye's outreach towards Africa.

While some Western nations have been hesitant, China and Brazil are also on Angola's radar for mutually beneficial relationships. "The road ahead is long and, of course, we are not travelling it alone," ambassador Neto tells TRT Afrika.

"We have benefited and continue to rely on the support and cooperation of all the countries present here, whether in the field of infrastructure rehabilitation, expansion and modernisation, training the next generation, or the challenge we have set ourselves: to diversify our economy by relying on the sustainable exploitation of various resources that nature offers us."

The business environment in Angola has improved consistently enough to attract investment, with the government pulling out all stops to ensure transparency, legal certainty and a higher guarantee of returns.

"Our geostrategic location allows us to become a sub-regional hub, besides offering the opportunity to contribute significantly to the continental economy," says Neto.

Trust in Türkiye

Relations between Türkiye and Angola have accelerated in recent years. While Ankara recognised Angola's independence in 1975, the tailwind in economic and political ties started in 2021.

"Türkiye and Angola have developed a bilateral relationship based on the principle of mutual respect. We consider Angola to be an important and close partner. Our approach is a partnership based on fairness, solidarity and profit sharing," says Turkish deputy minister of foreign affairs Ambassador Musa Kulaklıkaya.

Over the past few years, reciprocal state visits have produced several bilateral agreements covering energy and mining, agriculture, infrastructure, construction and steel, education and technical training.

Bilateral trade exceeded US $130 million in 2024, which Kulaklıkaya believes is only a fraction of the partnership's real potential.

Türkiye and Angola aim to increase the quantum of trade to worth $500 million by 2030. Turkish companies such as Tosyali Holding are already investing in steel complexes and logistics projects in Angola.

"We will continue to stand by Angola on its path to development," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared recently, reinforcing the trajectory of the African-Turkish partnership.

For Ankara, Angola represents a strategic partner on Africa's Atlantic coast. And to Luanda, Türkiye offers a model of rapid industrial development and a credible alternative to traditional partners.

Last July, the Bilateral Joint Commission met to assess relations and identify new areas of cooperation.

"We see strong potential in Türkiye and the presence of companies that are successful in terms of technological know-how, implementation capacity and financial strength," the Angolan ambassador tells TRT Afrika.

He points out that having three direct weekly flights between Istanbul and Luanda exemplifies the scope of the partnership.

As Angola looks beyond fifty, the focus is on leverage – of natural resources, youth and strategic partnerships – to shape its next chapter.