UN assessment finds one third of all Angolans displaced

Four million people in Angola – or one third of the country’s population – are internally displaced, according to a United Nations report released today.

The UN’s Common Country Assessment for 2002 cites government statistics showing that more than 60 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, which is equivalent to $1.68 a day.

Life expectancy in Angola is only 42 years, while the country has the second highest under-five mortality rate in the world – 295 per 1,000 live births.

The report, which was made public in Luanda by the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Angola, Erick de Mul, notes that the new peace in the country pushes to the foreground a series of other deep-seated underlying problems that require urgent attention. The document aims to serve as a strategic framework for UN agencies working in Angola.