Angola
Angola exhibits ecological succession post-catastrophe: after 27 years of civil war, oil still provides 95% of exports while the Lobito Corridor redirects $4B in mineral trade from China.
Angola is experiencing ecological succession after catastrophe. A 27-year civil war (1975-2002) following 400 years of Portuguese colonization devastated the country's institutions and scattered its population. Two decades later, the economy shows signs of recovery—but remains dominated by a single keystone resource: oil.
The geography contains a telling fragmentation. Cabinda, a coastal enclave separated from Angola proper by a strip of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, produces 67% of the country's oil. This disconnected territory—inherited from colonial-era treaties—generates the wealth that funds the nation but also fuels separatist movements. Total oil output has declined from a 2008 peak of 2 million barrels per day to 1.03 million in 2025, yet petroleum still accounts for 95% of exports and 28.9% of GDP.
Diversification is gradually occurring. Agriculture grew from 6.2% of GDP in 2010 to 14.9% in 2023, and the Lobito Corridor—a railway connecting Angola's Atlantic port to mining regions in Congo and Zambia—represents a $4 billion US investment intended to transport 2 million tons of critical minerals annually by 2028. This infrastructure directly challenges China's 70% control of Congo's mineral exports.
The numbers reveal an economy in transition: 4.4% GDP growth in 2024 (the highest in five years), but poverty affecting 42.5% of the population and youth unemployment at 52.7%. Public debt has halved from over 100% of GDP in 2020 to 60% in 2024. Angola's challenge is converting declining oil wealth into sustainable development before the resource that rebuilt the post-war economy depletes entirely.