It is striving to tackle the physical, social and political consequences of the 27-year civil war that ravaged the country after it gained independence.

OVERVIEW

The ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the rebel group Unita were bitter rivals even before the country gained independence from Portugal in 1975. The Soviet Union and Cuba supported the then-Marxist MPLA, while the US and white-ruled South Africa backed Unita as a bulwark against Soviet interests in Africa.

After 16 years of fighting which killed up to 300,000 people, a peace deal made it possible for elections to be held. But Unita rejected the outcome and resumed the war, in which hundreds of thousands more were killed. Another peace accord was signed in 1994, after which the UN sent in peacekeepers.

But the fighting steadily worsened again and in 1999 the peacekeepers withdrew, leaving behind a country rich in natural resources but littered with landmines and the ruins of war.

The connection between the civil war and the unregulated diamond trade - or "blood diamonds" - was a source of international concern. The UN imposed a freeze on bank accounts used to trade in the gems.

Peace

The death of Unita leader Jonas Savimbi in a gunfight with government forces in February 2002 raised the prospect of peace. The Angolan army and Unita rebels signed a formal ceasefire in April 2002 to end the conflict.

The country faces the daunting tasks of rebuilding its devastated infrastructure, of retrieving weapons from its heavily-armed civilian population and of resettling tens of thousands of refugees who fled the fighting. Many Angolans are dependent on food aid.

Much of Angola's oil wealth lies in the province of Cabinda, where a decades-long separatist conflict is simmering. The government has sent thousands of troops to subdue the rebellion in the enclave, which does not share a border with the rest of Angola. Human rights groups have alleged abuses against civilians.

A supplier of crude oil to the US and China, Angola has denied allegations that revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement. In 2003 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dispatched investigators to track down missing oil money.

FACTS