The official language is Portuguese. The country has recently ended a state of civil war which lasted for 20 years and devastated the economy. The local currency is the New Kwanza. Angola's economy is in disarray as a result of decades of almost continuous war. Output per capita in Angola is among the lowest in the world, despite the abundance of natural resources in the country.
Subsistence farming provides the livelihood for most of the population.
Violence continues in Angola, millions of land mines still remain in the country, and as a result, many farmers fear returning to their farms. Because of this, much of the country's food is imported. Unless peace is assured and government policies implemented, Angola will not be able to exploit its resources of fisheries, gold, forests, arable land, diamonds and large deposits of oil. Angola's GDP is amongst the largest in southern Africa. The Angolan government continues to implement privatisation policies.