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increasing. Child mortality extremely high: 250 of every 1,000 children younger thanage five.Angola’s civil war had a profound impact on all aspects of social and economic life inthe country. Approximately 4 million people were internally displaced and 600,000 leftthe country as refugees; of these, about 80 percent have since returned to Angola(UNHCR 2007). Most internal displacement was from rural to urban areas.Whereas the expectations were that most people would settle back in the rural areaswith the onset of peace (IUCN 1992), current trends indicate that the rural-urbanmigration continues. This is explained by the lack of basic services in rural areas, thelack of roads and economic opportunities, and reflects the fact that Angolan society lostmuch of its agricultural knowledge and tradition due to forced migration into urbancenters and the collapse of the country’ agricultural sector. Thus, the country is left witha sparsely populated countryside and congested urban centers. The existence of largepopulation centers in Benguela, Lobito, Huambo, Lubango, N’dlatando, and Malanje,and the fact that Luanda’s population alone (estimated at 5.5 million) is about one-thirdof the entire Angolan population, suggest that Angola is one of the most urbanizedcountries in Africa.Exhibit 8 confirms this assertion. With the exception of the central plateau region —always one of the most densely populated areas in Angola — and urban areas, the bulkof the country supports population densities of less than 10 people per km 2 . The easternhalf and southeastern corner are almost depopulated. This reflects not just the impact ofthe war, but also the inherently low soil fertility and limiting climatic conditions. Theeffect of the diamond industry is evident in the relatively high population along therivers and in the northeast section of Lunda Norte. The forested zones of Uíge andKwanza Norte, where the more fertile soils are found, also are areas of relatively highpopulation.Angola’s economy is experiencing extraordinary growth. In 2006 its gross domesticproduct (GDP) grew by 18.6 percent, and projections for 2007 range from 27 percent tomore than 30 percent. This unusual economic performance has yet to have a significantimpact on poverty reduction. For example, the country’s poverty reduction strategystates that 68 percent of Angolans live below the poverty level, 28 percent of them inextreme poverty. Unemployment in urban areas is almost at 50 percent. Access to basicsocial services is often impossible due to the limited and unbalanced distribution of theservices across the country. The social indicators for Angola are consistently among theworst in the world; it ranks at position 161 on the UNDP Human Development Index.118/119 BIODIVERSITY AND TROPICAL FOREST ASSESSMENT FOR ANGOLA 13