Luanda, Angola
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Luanda ( ) is the
capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
and
largest city The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metrop ...
of
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
. It is Angola's primary
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...
, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's
administrative centre An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...
, its chief seaport, and also the capital of the
Luanda Province Luanda is a province of Angola. It used to cover an area of 18,835 km2, and had a population of 6,945,386 at the Census of 16 May 2014. The city of Luanda is the capital of the province and Angola. It serves as the country's primary port, cultur ...
. Luanda and its
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
is the most populous Portuguese-speaking capital city in the world and the most populous
Lusophone The Portuguese-speaking world, also known as the Lusophone world () or the Lusophony (''Lusofonia''), comprises the countries and territories in which the Portuguese language is an official, administrative, cultural, or secondary language. This ...
city outside
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. In 2020 the population reached more than 8.3 million inhabitants (a third of Angola's population). Among the oldest colonial cities of Africa, Luanda was founded in January 1576 as ''São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda'' by Portuguese explorer
Paulo Dias de Novais Paulo Dias de Novais (c. 1510 – 9 May 1589), a fidalgo of the Royal Household, was a Portuguese colonizer of Africa in the 16th century and the first Captain-Governor of Portuguese Angola. He was the grandson of the explorer Bartolomeu Dias. ...
, being occasionally called "Leonda" or "St Paul de Leonda" by non-Portuguese sources. The city served as the centre of the
slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...
to Brazil before the institution was prohibited. At the start of the
Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War () was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. It was a power struggle between two for ...
in 1975, most of the white Portuguese left as refugees, principally migrating to Portugal. Luanda's population increased greatly from internal refugees fleeing the war, but its infrastructure was inadequate to handle the increase. This also caused the exacerbation of slums, or
musseques Squatting in Angola occurs when displaced peoples occupy informal settlements in coastal cities such as the capital Luanda. The Government of Angola has been criticized by human rights groups for forcibly evicting squatters and not resettling t ...
, around Luanda. In the 21st century, the city has been undergoing a major reconstruction. Many new large developments are taking place that will alter its cityscape significantly. Industries present in the city include the processing of agricultural products, beverage production, textile, cement, new car assembly plants, construction materials, plastics, metallurgy, cigarettes and shoes. The city is also notable as an economic centre for oil, and a refinery is located in the city. Luanda has been ranked as one of the most expensive cities in the world for expatriates. The inhabitants of Luanda are mostly members of the ethnic
Ambundu The Ambundu (also Mbundu or Kimbundu) ( Mbundu: or , singular: (distinct from the Ovimbundu) are a Bantu people who live on a high plateau in present-day Angola just north of the Kwanza River. The Ambundu speak Kimbundu, and most also spea ...
people. In recent decades of the 21st century, the number of ethnic
Bakongo The Kongo people (also , singular: or ''M'kongo; , , singular: '') are a Bantu ethnic group primarily defined as the speakers of Kikongo. Subgroups include the Beembe, Bwende, Vili, Sundi, Yombe, Dondo, Lari, and others. They have li ...
and
Ovimbundu The Ovimbundu, also known as the Southern Mbundu, are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group who live on the Bié Plateau of central Angola and in the coastal strip west of these highlands. As the largest ethnic group in Angola, they make up 38 pe ...
have also increased. Ethnic Europeans are mainly Portuguese. Luanda was the main host city for the matches of the
2010 African Cup of Nations The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange (telecommunications), Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial association football, football championship of Africa (Confederat ...
.


History


Portuguese colonization

Portuguese explorer
Paulo Dias de Novais Paulo Dias de Novais (c. 1510 – 9 May 1589), a fidalgo of the Royal Household, was a Portuguese colonizer of Africa in the 16th century and the first Captain-Governor of Portuguese Angola. He was the grandson of the explorer Bartolomeu Dias. ...
founded Luanda on 25 January 1576 as "São Paulo da Assumpção de Loanda". He had brought one hundred families of settlers and four hundred soldiers. Most of the Portuguese community lived within the fort. Several sources from as early as the 17th century called the city "St. Paul de Leonda". In 1618, the Portuguese built the fortress called ''Fortaleza São Pedro da Barra'', and they subsequently built two more:
Fortaleza de São Miguel Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 million—and 12th among cities with the hi ...
(1634) and Forte de São Francisco do Penedo (1765–66). Of these, the Fortaleza de São Miguel is the best preserved. Luanda was Portugal's bridgehead from 1627, except during the Dutch rule of Luanda, from 1640 to 1648, as Fort Aardenburgh. The city served as the centre of
slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...
to
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
from to 1836. The slave trade was conducted mostly with the Portuguese colony of Brazil; Brazilian ships were the most numerous in the port of Luanda. This slave trade also involved local merchants and warriors who profited from the trade. During this period, no large scale territorial conquest was intended by the Portuguese; only a few minor settlements were established in the immediate hinterland of Luanda, some on the last stretch of the
Kwanza River The Kwanza River, also known as the Coanza, the Quanza, and the Cuanza, is the longest river in Angola. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean just south of the national capital Luanda. Geography The river is navigable for about from its mouth, l ...
. In the 17th century, the
Imbangala The Imbangala or Mbangala were divided groups of warriors and marauders who worked as hired mercenaries in 17th-century Angola and later founded the Kasanje Kingdom. Origins The Imbangala were people, possibly from Central Africa, who appeared ...
became the main rivals of the Mbundu in supplying slaves to the Luanda market. In the 1751, between 5,000 and 10,000 slaves were annually sold. By this time, Angola, a Portuguese colony, was in fact like a colony of Brazil, paradoxically another Portuguese colony. A strong degree of Brazilian influence was noted in Luanda until the
Independence of Brazil The independence of Brazil comprised a series of political and military events that led to the independence of the Kingdom of Brazil from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves as the Empire of Brazil, Brazilian Empire. It is c ...
in 1822. In the 19th century, still under Portuguese rule, Luanda experienced a major economic revolution. The
slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...
was abolished in 1836, and in 1844, Angola's ports were opened to foreign shipping. By 1850, Luanda was one of the greatest and most developed Portuguese cities in the vast
Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...
outside
Continental Portugal Continental Portugal (, ) or mainland Portugal comprises the bulk of the Portuguese Republic, namely that part on the Iberian Peninsula and so in continental Europe, having approximately 95% of the total population and 96.6% of the country's l ...
, full of trading companies, exporting (together with
Benguela Benguela (; Umbundu: Luombaka) is a city in western Angola, capital of Benguela Province. Benguela is one of Angola's most populous cities with a population of 555,124 in the city and 561,775 in the municipality, at the 2014 census. History Por ...
)
palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...
and
peanut oil Peanut oil, also known as groundnut oil or arachis oil, is a vegetable oil derived from peanuts. The oil usually has a mild or neutral flavor but, if made with roasted peanuts, has a stronger peanut flavor and aroma. It is often used in Americ ...
, wax,
copal Copal is a tree resin, particularly the aromatic resins from the copal tree '' Protium copal'' ( Burseraceae) used by the cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica as ceremonially burned incense and for other purposes. More generally, copal includ ...
, timber, ivory, cotton, coffee, and
cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
, among many other products. Maize, tobacco,
dried meat Dried meat is a feature of many cuisines around the world. Examples include: * Kulen Slanina Pečenica * Aliya, sun-dried meat from Kenya * Bakkwa or rougan, Chinese salty-sweet dried meat sheets. * Biltong, a cured meat that originated in ...
, and
cassava flour ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although a perennial ...
are also produced locally. The Angolan bourgeoisie was born by this time. In 1889, Governor Brito Capelo opened the gates of an aqueduct which supplied the city with water, a formerly scarce resource, laying the foundation for major growth.


Estado Novo

Throughout Portugal's dictatorship, known as the Estado Novo, Luanda grew from a town of 61,208 with 14.6% of those inhabitants being white in 1940, to a wealthy cosmopolitan major city of 475,328 in 1970 with 124,814 Europeans (26.3%) and around 50,000 mixed race inhabitants (10.5%). Like most of
Portuguese Angola In southwestern Africa, Portuguese Angola was a historical Evolution of the Portuguese Empire, colony of the Portuguese Empire (1575–1951), the overseas province Portuguese West Africa of Estado Novo (Portugal), Estado Novo Portugal (1951–1 ...
, the
cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...
city of Luanda was not affected by the
Portuguese Colonial War The Portuguese Colonial War (), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the Portuguese Empire, former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan War of Independence, Angolan, Guinea-Bissau War of Independence ...
(1961–1974); economic growth and development in the entire region reached record highs during this period. In 1982, a report called Luanda the "Paris of Africa".


Independence

By the time of Angolan independence in 1975, Luanda was a modern city with the majority of its population being African, but also dominated by a strong minority of white Portuguese origin. After the
Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...
in Lisbon on April 25, 1974, with the advent of independence and the start of the
Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War () was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. It was a power struggle between two for ...
(1975–2002), most of the white Portuguese Luandans left as refugees,Flight from Angola
,
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(August 16, 1975).
principally for Portugal, however many travelled over land to
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. The large numbers of skilled technicians among the force of
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
n soldiers sent in to support the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (
MPLA The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (, abbr. MPLA), from 1977–1990 called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan social democratic political party. The MPLA fought against the P ...
) government in the Angolan Civil War were able to make a valuable contribution to restoring and maintaining basic services in the city. In the following years, however, slums called ''
musseques Squatting in Angola occurs when displaced peoples occupy informal settlements in coastal cities such as the capital Luanda. The Government of Angola has been criticized by human rights groups for forcibly evicting squatters and not resettling t ...
''—which had existed for decades—began to grow out of proportion and stretched several kilometres beyond Luanda's former city limits as a result of the decades-long civil war, and because of the rise of deep social inequalities due to large-scale migration of civil war refugees from other Angolan regions. For decades, Luanda's facilities were not adequately expanded to handle this huge increase in the city's population.


21st century

In 2001 the provisional Angolan governments cleared the Boavista slum in
Luanda Bay Luanda Bay is a body of water, located in front of the city of Luanda, capital of Angola. In front of the bay are located several monuments of great historical value, such as the Banco de Angola Building and the Church of Nossa Senhora da Nazaré. ...
so that a luxury housing redevelopment was possible. Luanda has since become one of the world's most expensive cities. Following the
Luanda Agreement The Luanda Agreement is a 6 September 2002 ceasefire and normalization of relations between the government of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), signed in Luanda, Angola. It sought to end the ongoing Second Congo War and had fa ...
in 2002, with the end of the
Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War () was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. It was a power struggle between two for ...
and high economic growth rates fuelled by the wealth provided by the increasing oil and diamond production, major reconstruction started. Luanda has been of major concern because its population had multiplied and had far outgrown the capacity of the city, especially because much of its infrastructure including water, electricity, and roads had become obsolete and degraded. Luanda has been undergoing major road reconstruction in the 21st century, and new highways are planned to improve connections to
Cacuaco Cacuaco is a city and one of the nine municipalities that make up the Luanda Province, province of Luanda. A suburb of the capital, Luanda, it has a population of 1,279,488 (2019). Administrative divisions The Municipality of Cacuaco is made up ...
, Viana,
Samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...
, and the new airport. Major
social housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
is also being constructed to house those who reside in slums, which dominate the landscape of Luanda. A large Chinese firm has been given a contract to construct the majority of replacement housing in Luanda. The Angolan minister of health recently stated poverty in Angola will be overcome by an increase in jobs and the housing of every citizen.


Geography


Human geography

Luanda is divided into two parts, the ''Baixa de Luanda'' (lower Luanda, the old city) and the ''Cidade Alta'' (upper city or the new part). The ''Baixa de Luanda'' is situated next to the port, and has narrow streets and old colonial buildings. However, new constructions have by now covered large areas beyond these traditional limits, and a number of previously independent nuclei — like Viana — were incorporated into the city.


Metropolitan Luanda

Until 2011, the former Luanda Province comprised what now forms five
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
. In 2011 the Province was enlarged by the addition of two additional municipalities transferred from
Bengo Province Bengo is a Provinces of Angola, province of Angola. Its capital is Caxito. It has an area of 31,371 square kilometres, and its population as of the 2014 Census was 356,641. The province was created in 1980 by dividing the original province of L ...
, namely Icolo e Bengo, and Quiçama. Excluding these additions, the five municipalities comprise Greater Luanda: Two new municipalities have been created within Greater Luanda since 2017:
Talatona Talatona is a city and municipality in the Luanda Province, province of Luanda, bordering the Angolan capital, Luanda. It was designed by the Angolan government to reduce traffic in central Luanda; Its infrastructure was built in a location south ...
and
Kilamba-Kiaxi Quilamba Quiaxi, also spelled as Kilamba Kiaxi, is a city and one of nine municipalities that make up the Luanda Province, province of Luanda in Angola. In the Kimbundu language the name means ''Land (Kiaxi) of Kilamba''. According to the popula ...


Districts

The city of Luanda is divided in six urban districts:
Ingombota Ingombota is one of the six urban districts that make up the municipality of Luanda, in the province of Luanda, the capital city of Angola. Ingombota is home to the central business district of Luanda, Angola. The economic, political and symboli ...
, Angola Quiluanje, Maianga, Rangel, Samba and Sambizanga. In Samba and Sambizanga, more high-rise developments are to be built. The capital Luanda is growing constantly - and in addition, increasingly beyond the official city limits and even provincial boundaries. Luanda is the seat of a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
archbishop. It is also the location of most of Angola's educational institutions, including the private
Catholic University of Angola The Catholic University of Angola (''Universidade Católica de Angola'', UCAN) is a Catholic institution in Angola's capital of Luanda. On 7 August 1992, the government of Angola allowed the Angolan Catholic Church to establish its own university. ...
and the public
University of Agostinho Neto A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
. It is also the home of the colonial Governor's Palace and the
Estádio da Cidadela Estádio da Cidadela is a stadium in Luanda, Angola. It is used mostly for football matches, while sometimes hosting cultural events, including musical concerts. It is part of the Complexo Desportivo da Cidadela, along with the Pavilhão da Cidad ...
(the "Citadel Stadium"), Angola's main stadium, with a total seating capacity of 60,000.


Climate

Luanda has a hot semi-desert climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''BSh''), bordering upon a
hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...
(''BWh''). The climate is warm to hot but surprisingly dry, owing to the cool
Benguela Current The Benguela Current is the broad, northward flowing ocean current that forms the eastern portion of the South Atlantic Ocean gyre. The current extends from roughly Cape Point in the south, to the position of the Angola-Benguela Front in the no ...
, which prevents moisture from easily condensing into rain. Frequent fog prevents temperatures from falling at night even during the completely dry months from May to October. Luanda has an annual rainfall of , but the variability is among the highest in the world, with a co-efficient of variation above 40 percent. The climate is largely influenced by the offshore Benguela current. The current gives the city a surprisingly low humidity despite its tropical latitude, which makes the hotter months considerably more bearable than similar cities in Western/Central Africa. Observed records since 1858 range from in 1958 to in 1916. The short rainy season in March and April depends on a northerly counter current bringing moisture to the city: it has been shown clearly that weakness in the Benguela Current can increase rainfall about sixfold compared with years when that current is strong.


Climate change

A 2019 paper published in PLOS One estimated that under Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5, a "moderate" scenario of
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
where global warming reaches ~ by 2100, the climate of Luanda in the year 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate of
Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...
. The annual temperature would increase by , the temperature of the coldest month by , and the temperature of the warmest month by . According to
Climate Action Tracker Climate Action Tracker (CAT) is an independent scientific project with the aim of monitoring government action to achieve their reduction of greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse e ...
, the current warming trajectory appears consistent with , which closely matches RCP 4.5. Moreover, according to the 2022
IPCC Sixth Assessment Report The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the sixth in a series of reports which assess the available scientific information on climate change. Three Working Groups (WGI, II, ...
, Luanda is one of 12 major African cities (
Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...
,
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,
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,
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
,
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,
Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
,
Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...
,
Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...
,
Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
,
Lomé Lomé ( , ) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Togo, largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437
, Luanda and
Maputo Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...
) which would be the most severely affected by the future
sea level rise The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...
. It estimates that they would collectively sustain cumulative damages of USD 65 billion under RCP 4.5 and USD 86.5 billion for the high-emission scenario RCP 8.5 by the year 2050. Additionally, RCP 8.5 combined with the hypothetical impact from
marine ice sheet instability In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are the Antarctic ice sheet and the Greenland ice sheet. Ice sheets are ...
at high levels of warming would involve up to 137.5 billion USD in damages, while the additional accounting for the "low-probability, high-damage events" may increase aggregate risks to USD 187 billion for the "moderate" RCP4.5, USD 206 billion for RCP8.5 and USD 397 billion under the high-end ice sheet instability scenario. Since sea level rise would continue for about 10,000 years under every scenario of climate change, future costs of sea level rise would only increase, especially without adaptation measures.


Demographics

The inhabitants of Luanda are primarily members of African ethnic groups, mainly
Ambundu The Ambundu (also Mbundu or Kimbundu) ( Mbundu: or , singular: (distinct from the Ovimbundu) are a Bantu people who live on a high plateau in present-day Angola just north of the Kwanza River. The Ambundu speak Kimbundu, and most also spea ...
,
Ovimbundu The Ovimbundu, also known as the Southern Mbundu, are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group who live on the Bié Plateau of central Angola and in the coastal strip west of these highlands. As the largest ethnic group in Angola, they make up 38 pe ...
, and
Bakongo The Kongo people (also , singular: or ''M'kongo; , , singular: '') are a Bantu ethnic group primarily defined as the speakers of Kikongo. Subgroups include the Beembe, Bwende, Vili, Sundi, Yombe, Dondo, Lari, and others. They have li ...
. The official and the most widely used language is Portuguese, although several
Bantu languages The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu language, Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀), or Ntu languages are a language family of about 600 languages of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern, East Africa, Eastern and Southeast Africa, South ...
are also used, chiefly
Kimbundu Kimbundu, a Bantu language which has sometimes been called Mbundu or North Mbundu (to distinguish it from Umbundu, sometimes called South Mbundu), is the second-most-widely-spoken Bantu language in Angola. Its speakers are concentrated in the n ...
,
Umbundu Umbundu, or South Mbundu (autonym ''úmbúndú''), one of many Bantu languages, is the most widely-spoken autochthonous language of Angola. Its speakers are known as ''Ovimbundu'' and are an ethnic group constituting a third of Angola's populati ...
, and
Kikongo Kongo or Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Angola. It is a tonal language. The vast majority of present-day speakers li ...
. The population of Luanda has grown dramatically in recent years, due in large part to war-time migration to the city, which is safe compared to the rest of the country. In 2006, however, Luanda saw an increase in violent crime, particularly in the shanty towns that surround the colonial urban core. There is a sizable minority population of
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an origin, especially Portuguese (about 260,000), as well as
Brazilians Brazilians (, ) are the citizens of Brazil. A Brazilian can also be a person born abroad to a Brazilian parent or legal guardian as well as a person who acquired Brazilian nationality law, Brazilian citizenship. Brazil is a multiethnic society, ...
. In recent years, mainly since the mid-2000s, immigration from Portugal has increased due to greater opportunities present in Angola's booming economy. There is a sprinkling of immigrants from other African countries as well, including a small expatriate
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
n community. A small number of people of Luanda are of mixed race — European/Portuguese and native African. Over the last decades, a significant
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
community has formed, as has a much smaller
Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...
community.


Places of worship

Among the
places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is so ...
, several are predominantly
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
churches and congregations:Britannica
Angola
, britannica.com, USA, accessed on July 7, 2019
*
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Luanda The Archdiocese of Luanda () is the oldest Roman Catholic archdiocese in Angola."Archdio ...
(
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
) *
Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola The Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola () is a Reformed Christian denomination in Angola. History On November 11, 1880, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (now the United Church of Christ in the USA) and the Cong ...
(
World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Reformed (Calvinist) churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations (227 members and three associate or affiliate members) in 108 countries, together claiming ...
) *
Evangelical Reformed Church in Angola The Evangelical Reformed Church in Angola is a Reformed denomination in the country of Angola established by the missionaries of the Swiss Reformed Church. History The Evangelical Reformed Church in Angola was established in 1925 in Kikaya, U ...
(
World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Reformed (Calvinist) churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations (227 members and three associate or affiliate members) in 108 countries, together claiming ...
) *
Baptist Convention of Angola The Baptist Convention of Angola () is a Baptist Christian denomination in Angola. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Luanda. History The organization has its origins in a Portuguese mission in 1927 and 1929 ...
(
Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international communion of Baptists, with an estimated 51 million people from 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories as of 2024. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts f ...
) *
Universal Church of the Kingdom of God The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG; ; , IURD) is an international Evangelical Neo-charismatic movement, Neo-charismatic Christian denomination with its headquarters at the Temple of Solomon (UCKG), Temple of Solomon in São Paulo, B ...
*
Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...
. *Jehovah’s Witnesses.


Culture

As the economic and political center of Angola, Luanda is similarly the epicenter of Angolan culture. The city is home to numerous cultural institutions, including the
Sindika Dokolo Foundation The Sindika Dokolo Foundation is a cultural foundation headquartered in Luanda, Angola. It is supported by businessman Sindika Dokolo, the organization's president, and managed by its vice president, Fernando Alvim. Simon Njami the organization's ...
. The city hosts the annual
Luanda International Jazz Festival Luanda International Jazz Festival, also known as Luanda Jazz Fest, is a jazz festival held annually since 2009 in Luanda, Angola. Background Held at the Cine Atlantico in late July and early August, the fairly young festival has attracted legenda ...
, since 2009, and houses the ''Clube Náutico da Ilha de Luanda'' (CNIL), translated as the "Nautical Club of Luanda Island". CNIL is a sports club founded on February 28, 1924, under the name "Nun'Alvares Sports Club" (''Clube Desportivo Nun’Alvares''), a name it kept until April 11, 1979, when following the order of the secretary of the National Council of Physical Education and Sport of Angola, which stated, that clubs with names related to colonialism should proceed to its replacement, the club had to change his name. Since its foundation it is the yacht club with most titles in Angola to date. The city is home to numerous museums, including: *
National Museum of Anthropology National Museum of Anthropology may refer to: * National Museum of Anthropology (Manila), in the Philippines * , first directed by David Joaquín Guzmán, in El Salvador * Museo Nacional de Antropología (Madrid), national museum of anthropology ...
*
National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. With 4.4 ...
* Museum of the Armed Forces *
National Museum of Slavery The National Museum of Slavery (Portuguese: Museu Nacional da Escravatura) is located in Morro da Cruz, Luanda, Angola. History The museum was founded in 1977 by the National Institute of Cultural Patrimony, with the objective of depicting the ...
Other monuments in the city include: *
Palácio de Ferro Palácio de Ferro () is a historical building in the Angolan capital Luanda, believed to have been designed and built by – or by someone associated with – Gustave Eiffel, builder of the world-famous icons, the Eiffel Tower in Paris an ...
*
Fortress of São Miguel Fortaleza de São Miguel or Saint Michael Fortress was a Portuguese fortress built in 1576 in the Ingombota District of Luanda, Angola. During Dutch rule in Angola between 1641 and 1648, the fort was known as Fort Aardenburgh. History São M ...
*
Fortress of São Francisco do Penedo The Fortress of São Francisco do Penedo () is located in the port city of Luanda, Angola. History In the 17th century, by order of Philip II of Portugal, a Commission was created to study how the strategic port city of Luanda could be fortifi ...
* Luanda Cathedral * Igreja de Jesus *
Igreja da Nossa Senhora do Cabo Igreja da Nossa Senhora do Cabo ( English: ''Church of Our Lady of the Cape'') is a church in the Ingombota District of Luanda, Angola. It is the oldest church in the city of Luanda, founded in 1575 by Portuguese traders, who dedicated it to Our Lad ...
* Igreja da Nossa Senhora da Conceição * Igreja da Nossa Senhora da Nazaré * Igreja da Nossa Senhora do Carmo * Arquivo Histórico Nacional


Economy

Around one-third of Angolans live in Luanda, 53% of whom live in poverty. Living conditions in Luanda are poor for most of the people, with essential services such as safe drinking water and electricity still in short supply, and severe shortcomings in traffic conditions. Luanda is one of the world's most expensive cities for resident foreigners. In Mercer’s cost of living index, Luanda was ranked as top of the list due to the extremely high costs of goods and security. Luanda sits above
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
,
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
and
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
in the rankings. These costs have fueled rampant inequality in the city. Skyscrapers are left barren as the price of oil drops. New import tariffs imposed in March 2014 made Luanda even more expensive. As an example, a half-litre tub of vanilla ice cream at the supermarket was reported to cost US$31. The higher import tariffs applied to hundreds of items, from garlic to cars. The stated aim was to try to diversify the heavily oil-dependent economy and nurture farming and industry, sectors that have remained weak. These tariffs have caused much hardship in a country where the average salary was US$260 per month in 2010, the latest year for which data was available. However, the average salary in the booming oil industry was over 20 times higher at US$5,400 per month. Manufacturing includes
processed foods Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing takes many forms, from grinding grain into raw flour, home cooking, and complex industrial methods used in the mak ...
,
beverages A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...
,
textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
s,
cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...
and other building materials,
plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...
products, metalware,
cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into Rolling paper, thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhale ...
s, and shoes/clothes.
Petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...
(found in nearby off-shore deposits) is refined in the city, although this facility was repeatedly damaged during the
Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War () was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. It was a power struggle between two for ...
of 1975–2002. Luanda has an excellent natural harbour; the chief exports are
coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
,
cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
,
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
,
diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...
s,
iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
, and
salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
. The city also has a thriving building industry, an effect of the nationwide economic boom experienced since 2002, when political stability returned with the end of the civil war. Economic growth is largely supported by
oil extraction Petroleum is a fossil fuel that can be drawn from beneath the Earth's surface. Reservoirs of petroleum are formed through the mixture of plants, algae, and sediments in shallow seas under high pressure. Petroleum is mostly recovered from oil ...
activities, although great diversification is taking place. Large
investment Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...
(domestic and international), along with strong economic growth, has dramatically increased construction of all economic sectors in the city of Luanda. In 2007, the first modern shopping mall in Angola was established in the city at Belas Shopping mall.


Transport


Railway

Luanda is the starting point of the
Luanda railway The Luanda Railway (sometimes called Angola Railway) is a single-track Cape gauge railway line from the Angolan capital of Luanda to Malanje. A branch line departs the railway at Zenza do Itombe for Dondo. The line is operated by the state o ...
that goes due east to Malanje. The
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
left the railway non-functional, but the railway has been restored up to Dondo and
Malanje Malanje is the capital city of Malanje Province in Angola, with a population of 455,000 (2014 census), and a municipality, with a population of 506,847 (2014 census). Projected to be the thirteenth fastest growing city on the African continent be ...
.


Airports

The main airport of Luanda was
Quatro de Fevereiro Airport Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport (, ), is the main international airport of Angola. It is located in the southern part of the capital Luanda, situated in the Luanda Province. ''Quatro de Fevereiro'' means 4 February, which is an importa ...
, which is still the largest in the country. A new
international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...
,
Angola International Airport Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto International Airport () (IATA: NBJ, ICAO: FNBJ), informally Novo Aeroporto Internacional de Luanda (NAIL), is an international airport serving the capital of Angola, Luanda. It is located in the municipality of Bo ...
was constructed southeast of the city, a few kilometres from Viana, and was expected to be opened in 2011. However, as the Angolan government did not continue to make the payments due to the Chinese enterprise in charge of the construction, the firm suspended its work in 2010. The airport finally opened in November 2023. The new airport will gradually replace the old airport.


Port

The
Port of Luanda The port of Luanda is an Angolan port located in the city of Luanda, the national capital, in the province of Luanda. It is connected to the city center of Luanda and the district of Ingombota. It is located in the Luanda Bay, which is separated f ...
serves as the largest
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...
of
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
and is one of the busiest ports in Africa. Major expansion of this port is also taking place. In 2014, a new port is being developed at
Dande Dande is a municipality in the Bengo Province of Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-sp ...
, about 30 km to the north.


Road transport

Luanda's roads are in a poor state of repair, but are undergoing an extensive reconstruction process by the government in order to relieve
traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...
congestion in the city. Major road repairs can be found taking place in nearly every neighbourhood, including a major 6-lane
highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...
connected Luanda to Viana.


Public transport

Public transit is provided by the suburban services of the
Luanda Railway The Luanda Railway (sometimes called Angola Railway) is a single-track Cape gauge railway line from the Angolan capital of Luanda to Malanje. A branch line departs the railway at Zenza do Itombe for Dondo. The line is operated by the state o ...
, by the public company TCUL, and by a large fleet of privately owned collective taxis as white-blue painted minibuses called ''Candongueiro''. Candongueiros are usually
Toyota Hiace The (pronounced "High Ace") is a light commercial vehicle produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. First launched in October 1967, the HiAce has since been available in a wide range of body configurations, including a minivan/M ...
vans, that are built to carry 12 people, although the candongueiros usually carry at least 15 people. They charge from 100 to 200 kwanzas per trip. They are known to disobey traffic rules, for example not stopping at signs and driving over pavements and aisles. In 2019, the
Luanda Light Rail The Luanda Light Rail is a proposed light rail line to be built in the Angolan capital city Luanda. History In 2020, the proposal for a light rail network in Luanda was announced, with construction proposed to begin that same year. German transp ...
network with an estimated cost of
US $ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
3 billion was announced to begin construction in 2020.


Education

International schools: *
Escola Portuguesa de Luanda Escola Portuguesa de Luanda (EPL) is a Portuguese-language international school in Luanda, Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-larges ...
* Colégio Português de Luanda * Colégio São Francisco de Assis *
Luanda International School Luanda International School (LIS) is an international school in Luanda, Angola. Established in October 1996 by five people interested in the creation of an English-medium international school in Angola, it is supported by oil companies to bene ...
* English School Community of Luanda


Higher education

Universities: *
Agostinho Neto University The Agostinho Neto University () is the largest public university of Angola, based in Luanda and in the nearby city of Talatona, in Angola. In the academic year 2005–06, 68 licensing courses were ministered by the university: 18 in Bachel ...
* Lusíada University *
Catholic University of Angola The Catholic University of Angola (''Universidade Católica de Angola'', UCAN) is a Catholic institution in Angola's capital of Luanda. On 7 August 1992, the government of Angola allowed the Angolan Catholic Church to establish its own university. ...
*
Technical University of Angola The Technical University of Angola ( also called UTANGA) is a higher education university in Luanda, Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the secon ...
*
Methodist University of Angola Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christian tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother Charles Wesley were also significa ...
* Private University of Angola *
Jean Piaget University of Angola Universidade Jean Piaget de Angola (''Jean Piaget University of Angola'') is a university in based in Luanda, Angola, with campuses in the Benguela (province), Benguela province. It is named after the Switzerland, Swiss philosopher Jean Piaget. ...
*
University of Luanda The University of Luanda (UniLuanda; ) is an Angolan public university based in the city of Luanda. The university emerged from the merger of the Higher Institute for Information and Communication Technologies and the Higher Institute of Manage ...
* Universidade Indepedente de Angola * Higher Institute of Education Sciences of the Luanda


Sports

Luanda's Pavilhão Multiusos do Kilamba hosted games for
Angola's national basketball team The Angolan men's national basketball team is controlled by the '' Federação Angolana de Basquetebol''. Angola has been a member of FIBA since 1979. Ranking 23rd in the FIBA World Rankings, Angola is the top team of FIBA Africa, and a regular ...
on many occasions. In 2013 Luanda together with Namibe, today's
Moçâmedes Moçâmedes is a List of cities and towns in Angola, city in southwestern Angola, and the capital of Namibe Province. The city's current population is 255,000 (2014 census). Founded in 1840 by the Portuguese Angola, Portuguese colonial administr ...
, hosted the
2013 FIRS Men's Roller Hockey World Cup The 2013 FIRS Men's Roller Hockey World Cup was the 41st edition of the FIRS Roller Hockey World Cup. It was held in Luanda and Namibe (today Moçâmedes), Angola from 20 to 28 September 2013. This is the first Roller Hockey World Cup organized ...
, the first time that a World Cup of
roller hockey Roller hockey is a form of hockey played on a dry surface using wheeled skates. It can be played with traditional roller skates (quad skates) or with inline skates and use either a ball or puck. Combined, roller hockey is played in nearly 60 cou ...
was held in Africa. The city is home to the Desportivo do Bengo football club.


International relations


Twin towns – Sister cities

Luanda is twinned with: *
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
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United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
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São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
,
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
Lei Municipal de São Paulo 14471 de 2007
WikiSource
*
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
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Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
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* Beira,
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Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
*
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Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...
*
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China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
*
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
, Macau *
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Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
*
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São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main isla ...
*
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
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Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
*
Huambo Huambo, formerly Nova Lisboa (English language, English: ''New Lisbon''), is the third-most populous List of cities and towns in Angola, city in Angola, after the capital city Luanda and Lubango, with a population of 595,304 in the city and a pop ...
, Angola *
Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...
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Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
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Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
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South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...


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External links


Portal da Cidade de Luanda

www.cidadeluanda.com - Luanda, city map, History, Photos
{{Authority control Capitals in Africa Municipalities of Angola Populated coastal places in Angola Populated places established in 1576 Populated places in Luanda Province Port cities and towns in Angola Provincial capitals in Angola 1576 establishments in the Portuguese Empire 1576 establishments in Africa Cities in Angola