Angola

American  

[ang-goh-luh] / æŋˈgoʊ lə /

noun

1. a republic in SW Africa: formerly an overseas province of Portugal; gained independence Nov. 11, 1975. 481,226 sq. mi. (1,246,375 sq. km). Luanda.

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Angola British  

/ æŋˈɡəʊlə /

noun

1. a republic in SW Africa, on the Atlantic: includes the enclave of Cabinda, north of the River Congo; a Portuguese possession from 1575 until its independence in 1975; multiparty constitution adopted in 1991; factional violence. It consists of a narrow coastal plain with a large fertile plateau in the east. Currency: kwanza. Religion: Christian majority. Capital: Luanda. Pop: 18 565 269 (2013 est). Area: 1 246 693 sq km (481 351 sq miles)

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Angola Cultural  

1. Republic in southwestern Africa on the Atlantic, bordered to the north and northeast by Democratic Republic of Congo, to the east by Zambia, and to the south by Namibia. Its capital and largest city is Luanda.

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After achieving independence from Portugal in 1976, Angola was the scene of a civil war between its Marxist government, supported by the Soviet Union and Cuban troops, and a rebel organization known as UNITA, which was aided by the United States and South Africa. In 1988, the United States engineered a settlement that led to the withdrawal of Cuban troops and to South African acceptance of black majority rule in neighboring Namibia.

Other Word Forms

• Angolan adjective

Example Sentences

Leo's first Easter as pope comes just ahead of his first major international tour, in which he will visit Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea from April 13 to 23.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

Officials from Turkey, Angola, Nigeria, Namibia, Brazil, and Mexico, among others, were also active at CERAWeek.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

Naturalist Stephen Boyes believes massive elephants live undetected on a remote plateau in Angola; they’d be descendants of a giant pachyderm hunted and killed 70 years ago that now resides in the Smithsonian.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

Angola is a top African oil producer and diamond exporter.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

Warden Cain rounded up fences and portable toilets, all of which he had available at the Angola campus, and sent the materials on trucks to New Orleans.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers