History

Angola is a country in southwestern Africa. The country's name derives from the Kimbundu
word for king. Angola was first settled by San hunter-gatherer societies before the northern
domains came under the rule of Bantu states such as Kongo and Ndongo. In the 15th century,
Portuguese colonists began trading, and a settlement was established at Luanda during the 16th
century. Portugal annexed territories in the region which were ruled as a colony from 1655, and
Angola was incorporated as an overseas province of Portugal in 1951. After the Angolan War of
Independence, which ended in 1974 with an army mutiny and leftist coup in Lisbon, Angola
achieved independence in 1975 through the Alvor Agreement. After independence, Angola
entered a long period of civil war that lasted until 2002.

foreign policy goals in Angola

• promote and strengthen Angola’s democratic

institutions
• promote economic prosperity
• improve health
• consolidate peace and security, including maritime
security.

Currency

The Angolan Kwanza (AOA) is the currency currently used in Angola. The Kwanza was
introduced in 1999, replacing the "Kwanza Reajustado" (AOK). AOA is subdivided into coin
denominations of 100 centimos, and is denoted by the symbol Kz.

History of Currency

-From 1977 to 1990, the Kwanza (AOK) was in circulation at a rate of 1 Kwanza = 1 Escudo.
- In 1990, the Novo Kwanza (AON) was introduced at a rate of 1 Novo Kwanza = 1 Kwanza.
- From 1995 to 1999, the Kwanza Rejustado (AOR) was in circulation. 1 Kwanza Reajustado =
1,000 Novo Kwanzas.
- Since 1999, the new Kwanza (AOA) has been in circulation. 1 Kwanza = 1,000,000 Kwanza
Reajustado. The 50 and 10 centimo denominations are no longer in circulation.

Economy

- Angola is rated as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

- The Angolan GDP in 2010 had an average growth of 11.1%.
- The country’s main resources are gas, oil, agriculture, and diamonds.
- There is mismanagement and corruption in the oil industry, which prevents the economy from
growing at a faster rate.
- Angola imports vehicles, food, medicine, electrical equipment, machinery, and military goods.
- Export goods are mainly petroleum, crude oil, fish, coffee, diamonds, cotton, and timber.
- The current inflation rate is 13.1%.
- A third of Angola’s population is reliant on agriculture. Although the country is showing
substantial growth, it still has a great deal of poverty, due to the civil war that waged from the
1975 to 2002.

Religion

Religion in Angola consists in about 1,000 religious communities in the country, most of which are
Christian.[2] Roman Catholics constitute about half of the population. Other Christian
denominations include Baptists, Methodists, Congregationalists, Lutherans, Reformed Churches
and Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses − all these denominations making up about
a quarter of the population. Since independence, numerous Pentecostal, Evangelical and other
communities have sprung up, the most important being the Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus, of
Brazilian origin. Two syncretic "African Kala Christian" churches exist, the Kimbanguists who have
their origin in what is the present-day Democratic Republic of Congo, and the indigenous Tokoist
faith. There is also a small Muslim minority, consisting of Sunni immigrants from a diversity of
African and other countries, who do not form a community. Some Angolans − mostly in remote
rural societies − currently profess African Traditional Religions, but traditional beliefs subsist
among a substantial part of those who have become Christians.

TAIWAN

Taiwan, officially named the Republic of China (RoC), is a multi-island territory in the western
Pacific Ocean. Its de facto capital, Taipei, serves as the seat of government and is the island's
largest metropolitan area. Taiwan is about 36,197 square kilometers (13,976 square miles) in area
and has about 23.78 million people. Its official language is Mandarin, also known as Standard
Chinese.

Culture

The culture of Taiwan is a blend of Confucian Chinese and indigenous Taiwanese cultures.[1]
Despite the overwhelming traditional Chinese influence, Japanese culture has influenced a lot of
Taiwanese culture as well. The common socio-political experience in Taiwan gradually developed
into a sense of Taiwanese cultural identity and a feeling of Taiwanese cultural awareness, which
has been widely debated domestically.

Reflecting the continuing controversy surrounding the political status of Taiwan, politics continues
to play a role in the conception and development of a Taiwanese cultural identity, especially in
the prior dominant frame of a Taiwanese and Chinese dualism. In recent years, the concept of
Taiwanese multiculturalism has been proposed as a relatively apolitical alternative view, which
has allowed for the inclusion of mainlanders and other minority groups into the continuing re-
definition of Taiwanese culture as collectively held systems of meaning and customary patterns of
thought and behavior shared by the people of Taiwan

Foreign Policy

Taiwan is dedicated to actively promoting a diplomacy for peace, creating sustainable

partnerships with diplomatic allies, deepening and broadening substantive ties in various fields
with countries that have similar values, and maintaining regional peace and stability.

Economy

The economy of Taiwan is a highly developed free-market economy. It is the 8th largest in Asia
and 18th-largest in the world by purchasing power parity, allowing Taiwan to be included in the
advanced economies group by the International Monetary Fund. It is gauged in the high-income
economies group by the World Bank. Taiwan is the most technologically advanced computer
microchip maker in the world.

Taiwan’s services sector generates the highest share of its GDP, at around 62 percent, though its
industry sector also contributes about 35 percent to overall GDP in Taiwan. During the last
decade, Taiwan has consistently held a trade surplus, and is known for its exports of electronics,
machinery, and petrochemicals

In 2020, Taiwan’s gross domestic product amounted to around 668.16 billion U.S. dollars. Gross
domestic product (GDP) denotes the aggregate value of all services and goods produced within a
country in any given year. Taiwan’s GDP is projected to reach 1,048.52 billion U.S. dollars by 2026.
Taiwan has the largest economy of any nation not a member of the United Nations (UN).

Currency

The new dollar is the legal currency of Taiwan. It is currently also circulating in the territories
under Taiwanese sovereignty like the Pescadores, Kinmen, Matsu and Pratas Islands since 1949. It
was originally issued by the Bank of Taiwan, and is currently issued by the Central Bank of the
Republic of China.

The first new dollar was issued on June 15, 1949 to replace the old Taiwanese dollar with an
exchange rate of $ 40,000 for 1 new dollar. The main goal of this new dollar was to end the
hyperinflation suffered by Taiwan and China during the Chinese Civil War. A few months later, the
government of the Republic of China under the Kuomintang was defeated by the Chinese
communists and retreated to Taiwan.

Although the Taiwan dollar was a de facto currency, for years the old Chinese yuan remained the
official currency of the Republic of China. This yuan was a fiduciary currency, although it was
detached from the value of silver during World War II, in fact, many of the old statutes of the
Republic of China have in their content denominations with yuan.

Religion

The principal religions of Taiwan according to the number of adherents are: Buddhism, Daoism
(Taoism), Christianity, and Yiguan Dao (I-Kuan Tao; “Way of Unity”). Buddhists and Daoists are by
far the largest groups. Many of Taiwan’s residents are Confucians, though Confucianism is not
strictly a religion but rather an ethical system that applies especially to politics and a
philosophical system that is particularly Chinese. Religious affiliation is not exclusivist in Taiwan,
and many people adhere to more than one faith.