Australia and the World Past and Present

Angola is ethnically diverse. Angola has three main ethnic groups and at least eight others.

The largest group, at around 37%, is the Ovimbundu and most live in the central highlands.

The next largest, the Mbundu, comprise around 25% and most live close to the capital or in the central Angola.

The Bakongo (around 13%) dominate the north.

Mozambique is equally, if not more diverse than Angola. The largest group is the Makua-Lomwe making up around 40% of the country’s population with most concentrated in the north.

In central Mozambique, the Sena and Shona dominate while in the south the Tsonga are numerous.

There are at least 10 different ethnic groups in Mozambique.

Angola’s civil war (1975-2002) lasted a decade longer than Mozambique’s. Three main groups vied for dominance in the civil war period.

The main dynamic pitted the MPLA against UNITA.

The MPLA was communist-influenced and received support from the Soviet Union and Cuba.

UNITA was anti-communist and was supported by the US and Apartheid South Africa.

Another group, the FNLA, was also active during the war and was backed by China.

In this way, the civil war in Angola became a proxy conflict during the Cold War.

But to describe these a groups simply in terms of communist and anti-communist ideology misses an important point.

There was also an important ethnic dimension to this conflict.

The MPLA’s core base of support came from the Mbundu while UNITA was dominated by the Ovimbundu.

The civil war in Mozambique had some differences.

First of all it was shorter – lasting from 1977 to 1992.

In contrast to Angola, there were two principle groups fighting in Mozambique – FRELIMO and RENAMO.

FRELIMO, like the MPLA drew some of its inspiration from communist ideology and was backed by the Soviet Union.

RENAMO was anti-communist and found support from South Africa and Rhodesia.

In the post-war period, José Eduardo dos Santos dominated politics in Angola. He led the country from 1979 to 2017. He was widely viewed as authoritarian and nepotism and corruption were serious issues during his time.

His successor, João Lourenço, has focused on diversifying the economy – one obvious priority for the future.

The post-war period has been characterised by weak political opposition and ethnicity is still a factor in Angola’s politics.

The Rome Peace Accords (1992) ended the civil war in Mozambique.

Following this, RENAMO transitioned from an armed group to a political party.

As the MPLA dominated politics in Angola so FRELIMO has dominated politics in Mozambique.

RENAMO frequently accuses FRELIMO of centralising power and at times RENAMO has been prepared to revert back to armed conflict. Hence there was a need for another negotiated peace agreement – the 2019 accord.

Angola is heavily oil-dependent. Oil makes up more than 90% of its exports and around 60% of government revenue.

Because of the country’s high dependence on oil, the Angolan economy is highly exposed to fluctuations in the global price of oil.

Most of Angola’s oil is located offshore and in the exclave of Cabinda.

Diamonds can be found in Luanda Norte and Lunda Sul provinces.

Angola also has gold, iron ore and copper but they remain largely undeveloped.

Angola has a high degree of economic inequality as well as high unemployment.

According to statista.com, employment in agriculture in 2022 stood at 56.32%.

Agriculture remains the largest employer in Mozambique. Sugar cane and cotton are important crops. According to tradingeconomics.com, 70.13% were employed in agriculture in Mozambique in 2022.

Mozambique has large gas reserves but much remains undeveloped – partly through a lack of capital and partly through ongoing insecurity.

Infrastructure remains weak and there is an ongoing insurgency in the far north of the country – in Cabo Delgado.

Mozambique also has important coal reserves.

Angola and Mozambique have similar histories as colonies of Portugal. Both countries went through destructive civil wars but the Angolan conflict was three-sided affair while Mozambique’s was binary. Ethnicity was probably a greater factor in Angola’s civil war and the conflict proved more difficult to end, lasting a full decade longer than the one on Mozambique.

Both countries have been dominated by the left-leaning victors of the civil wars.

Angola and Mozambique display more diversity in their economies and resource base.

Mozambique is better integrated with it’s neighbours than Angola. This integration shouldn’t be taken for granted. None of Mozambique’s neighbours are former Portuguese colonies. The English language dominates as the language of government and business in many of Mozambique’s neighbours. This is the case in Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa. But the former Portuguese colony has rail links with all of these countries. The capital, Maputo, is located very close to Pretoria. The south of Mozambique is well integrated to north-east South Africa which has important industrial hubs and is close to important mines. Angola and Mozambique have had a similar experience as colonies of Portugal but with differing mineral resources we might begin to see a divergence in the economic futures of the two countries.