Description

Angola is one of the poorest countries in the world despite the fact that it is one of Africa's major oil producers. The country gained independence from Portugal in 1975 and since then it has been cruelly ravaged by civil war for 27 years. The war is the main reason why Angola has one of the highest rates of poverty in the world. 68 percent of the population was below the poverty line and 15 percent in severe poverty in 2001.
Even though the war ended in 2002, there has hardly been any major improvement in Angola to help its population. Poverty is more extreme and common in rural areas where approximately 94 percent of families are poor. The houses where the people live in are just basic and health services cover only a minority of the people. Electricity, sanitation, safe drinking water is available to only about 30 percent of the people.
The civil war forced a large number of people to shift from rural areas to towns and cities. In 2002 about 35 percents still remained in the towns and cities. Most do not want to return to the poor conditions of the rural areas and continue the farming that they did there. Rural economy is at its worst. Landmines and bombs are a danger in the countryside for those who want to return and start to cultivate the land. Roads and bridges have been ruined as a result of which farmers do not have access to agricultural necessities. There is very little motivation left in the rural areas for people to return. Many of the families that were displaced during the civil war have barely survived and have been since then dependent on humanitarian help and assistance.
The three decades of internal war has pretty much crippled Angola, leading to poverty spreading widely. The very core of the nation's transportation system has been damaged as a result of which rural areas have been separated from important facilities. The health and education system has toppled leading to illness and lack of knowledge. Angola had a working irrigation system for its banana estates and sugarcane before the war, which has been ruined due to neglect and lack of money. Crops and farm animals have also been stolen or damaged. As a result of this, farming and food production has dropped.
The Central Highlands were most affected by the war. The people here are the poorest. This region is the most populated, with people living in extreme poverty. There are major gender differences in Angolan culture. Men are considered superior and are more literate than women. During the war, however, women were forced to trade to earn income. Due to migration and deaths in the war there are now more women than men. Households who are headed by women are amongst the poorest and are weaker. Without male assistance to farm and cultivate land the families that are headed by women face drastic problems to produce food which makes them even poorest and destitute.
Poverty in countries can be blamed on several different issues. Angola’s poverty is mainly due to its civil war and the length of time it lasted. On the other hand, countries like Mali, which is also among the poorest nations in the world, bases its poverty to agricultural reasons caused by climate changes, costly social services, cost of energy and a weak communication network. Sudan, another poor country in Africa, blames its poverty on slow and inadequate development, climate changes and wearing away of natural resources as well as civil war. The reason for poverty in Bangladesh, another poor nation, lies in its climatic changes and its floods. Its economic growth is being threatened by incomplete reforms in health, electricity and banking and losses in government owned projects. Ethiopia’s poverty is based on droughts, migration and disturbance caused by civil wars, undeveloped transportation system, and undeveloped production technologies. Therefore, there are both similar and different reasons for poverty between Angola and these countries.