The capital city of Angola Luanda. It is not something that can be presumed. In fact, it is possible that none of its inhabitants likes it that way. But recently Luanda has been named the most expensive city in the world. Not even Africa, which would have been painful, but the world, above Tokyo, Moscow or New York. It seems a joke in bad taste, but it is so.
The Capital city of Angola
The truth is that the person who has done this study is an international consultant who measures the cost of living for an expatriate in the different cities of the planet, allowing a comparison of goods and services of the same quality. Schools, the shopping basket or health care are, among others, the factors considered in this study, always thinking that they have a Western quality or equivalent to the one that would be obtained in EE. UU. And considering that, Luanda, the capital of Angola, one of the largest African countries, has been elevated to the most expensive city in the world.
You do not have to be an expatriate to realize this. Anyone who has stepped on their streets, who has moved by them, who has wanted to eat in a street stall or buy a refreshment in a supermarket, will have noticed. Not only are premium services expensive, it is day to day. When in many African countries urban public transport costs 20 cents, there costs one dollar; If the internet in other countries costs between half and a dollar, there, three. Eating at a local restaurant can be achieved for a dollar in many African cities, but there it is difficult to do so for less than five. Like sleeping in a popular and cheap hotel: in many capitals it costs ten dollars; In capital of Angola, at least eighty. Thus, both the visitor and the resident suffer the high cost of living in this city.
Why Luanda is capital of Angola?
The reason for all this, or at least one of the causes of these prices, is oil. After the belated independence of Portugal (in 1975) and after decades of civil war (1975-2002), peace has arrived in this country and huge oil and diamond reserves are being exploited with intensity. In recent years, Angola has been the fastest growing African country, which has an impact on prices.
Interesting Facts about Luanda
In the cities, there are men who do the manicure and the pedicure in the street, both men and women, for a small price.
In the cities, there are men who do the manicure and the pedicure in the street for a small price.
Luanda is also a city of radical contrasts. They live in the same space and time luxurious residential centers, with miserable musseques, without access to the smallest services. The city, planned for half a million people, is above five, most of which live in subhuman conditions. Fetid smells invade the city, lacking enough sewage. Blackouts are constant and running water is still a luxury for a minority. And jams caused by lack of planning can last for hours. The city has grown too fast, with no time to react. During the civil war hundreds of thousands of refugees escaped and came to her for shelter. But not only grew then.
Do you know ? Tirana is the capital city of Albania
However, compared to other major African cities, walking through Luanda center on foot is possible and quite safe during the day. El Marginal (actually called Avenida 4 de Febrero), which runs all over the bay, is the main avenue of the city. In it are imposing buildings such as the National Bank. Nearby, in Major Kanyangulo Street is the Palacio de Ferro, designed by Eiffel. Just behind the church of Nossa Senhora de Nazaré (1664) and Nossa Senhora dos Remedios (1655) are the two oldest religious buildings. And in front of the Marginal is a very long sandy tongue, full of restaurants and bars located on the beach, and with prohibitive prices. This is where you can feel the train of life of the better off, the only ones able to afford leisure at a cost much higher than the European.
Back on the mainland, it is worth going up to the Fortress of Sao Miguel (1634), built by the Portuguese. Today it is the oldest building in the city, built just a few years after the founding of capital of Angola Luanda by Paulo Dias de Novais in 1576. In it is the Central Museum of the Armed Forces, interesting for the beautiful views of the city Which extend at his feet. There are other museums worth visiting, such as the Museum of Anthropology , with samples of masks, instruments and objects from different ethnic groups living in the country, and the Museum of Natural History . And as a finishing touch to the visit, it would be necessary to approach the Mausoleum of Agostinho Neto , who was the first president of the country. The monument is a sharp, thin structure that stands out clearly on the city’s skyline and illustrates another quite common situation in many fast-growing African cities: while the city lacks almost all kinds of public services, the monument has cost millions of dollars. A sample of the waste and the little responsibility of the rulers to those who have chosen them democratically. Some of the Luandeses are probably not too proud. There are a lot of worries about reaching the end of the month in this city, the most expensive in the world. The monument has cost millions of dollars. A sample of the waste and the little responsibility of the rulers to those who have chosen them democratically. Some of the Luandeses are probably not too proud. There are a lot of worries about reaching the end of the month in that city, the most expensive in the world. The monument has cost millions of dollars. A sample of the waste and the little responsibility of the rulers to those who have chosen them democratically. Some of the Luandeses are probably not too proud. There are a lot of worries about reaching the end of the month in that city, the most expensive in the world.
