Angola: Some Interesting Facts

Public Holidays

Date 2005             Occasion
January 1                   New Year's Day
February 4                 Inicio de Luta Armada (Commencement of Armed Struggle Day)
March 8                      Women's Day
March 24- 28             Holy Thursday to Easter Monday
March 27                    Victory Day*
April 14                       Youth Day*
May 1                          Workers' Day
June 1                         Children's Day
August 1                      Armed Forces' Day*
September 17               National Hero's Day
November 11                Independence Day
December 1                  Pioneers' Day*
December 10                Foundation of the MPLA Workers' Party Day
December 25                Family Day (Christmas Day)

* Unofficial but widely celebrated.
Weekend- Saturday,Sunday

Customs & Duties

The following items may be imported into Angola without payment of duty:
A reasonable amount of tobacco products, 3 bottles of alcoholic beverages (each of different contents) and a reasonable quantity of perfume in opened bottles.
Prohibited items are firearms and ammunition.

Electricity

220 volts, 60 Hz is the specification. European style 2 pin plugs are used. If your gizmos are used to other specifications, carry an adaptor.

Post & Communications

It doesn’t take a whole lot of thinking to realize that the civil war has really hurt Angola internally and externally. Post and communication facilities are undependable and are practically non-existent. Surface mail between Angola and Europe takes two months and airmail takes five to ten days. Telegram facilities are fairly reliable but sometimes subject to inordinate delays. Until recently, one had to direct one’s international calls through an operator and it took at least six hours of waiting time. Direct calls to Luanda are becoming increasingly available. GSM Mobile networks don’t exist though people use cellular phones. Some internet cafes are there in Luanda, the capital.

Weights and measures

Angolans use the metric system.

Tipping

Tipping is not encouraged but it shouldn’t be more than 10% of your bill. Tipping can be in kind (such as cigarettes) in certain areas in Angola.

English Language Media

English is a scarcely used language in Angola. Portuguese is the language commonly used, so all local newspapers are in Portuguese.