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Glossary -- Angola
- assimilado(s)
- Those Africans and mestiços (q.v.) considered
by the colonial authorities to have met certain formal standards
indicating that they had successfully absorbed (assimilated) the
Portuguese language and culture. Individuals legally assigned to
the status of assimilado assumed (in principle) the
privileges and obligations of Portuguese citizens and escaped the
burdens, e.g., that of forced labor, imposed on most Africans
(indígenas--q.v.). The status of
assimilado and its legal implications were formally
abolished in 1961.
- barrels per day (bpd)
- Production of crude oil and petroleum products is frequently
measured in barrels per day. A barrel is a volume measure of forty-
two United States gallons. Conversion of barrels to metric tons
depends on the density of the special product. About 7.3 barrels of
average crude oil weigh one metric ton. Heavy products would be
about seven barrels per metric ton. Light products, such as
gasoline and kerosene, would average eight barrels per metric ton.
- degredado(s)
- Exiled convicts; refers to convicted criminals sent from
Portugal to Angola. Degredados constituted a very
substantial part of the Portuguese who came to Angola from the
sixteenth century to the early twentieth century.
- fiscal year (FY)
- January 1 to December 31.
- gross domestic product (GDP)
- A value measure of the flow of domestic goods and services
produced by an economy over a period of time, such as a year. Only
output values of goods for final consumption and intermediate
production are assumed to be included in final prices. GDP is
sometimes aggregated and shown at market prices, meaning that
indirect taxes and subsidies are included; when these have been
eliminated, the result is GDP at factor cost. The word
gross indicates that deductions for depreciation of
physical assets have not been made. See also gross
national product.
- gross national product (GNP)
- Gross domestic product (GDP--q.v.) plus the net income
or loss stemming from transactions with foreign countries. GNP is
the broadest measurement of the output of goods and services by an
economy. It can be calculated at market prices, which include
indirect taxes and subsidies. Because indirect taxes and subsidies
are only transfer payments, GNP is often calculated at factor cost,
removing indirect taxes and subsidies.
- indígena(s)
- An African or mestiço (q.v.) without
assimilado (q.v.) status. In Portuguese terms, it
means unassimilated or uncivilized. Before the abolition of the
status (and the distinction between it and that of
assimilado) in 1961, roughly 99 percent of all Africans
were indígenas.
- International Monetary Fund
(IMF)
- Established along with the World Bank (q.v.) in 1945,
the IMF is a specialized agency affiliated with the United Nations
and is responsible for stabilizing international exchange rates and
payments. The main business of the IMF is the provision of loans to
its members (including industrialized and developing countries)
when they experience balance of payments difficulties. These loans
frequently carry conditions that require substantial internal
economic adjustments by the recipients, most of which are
developing countries.
- kwanza
- Angolan currency unit that replaced the Angolan escudo after
January 8, 1977. The kwanza, named for the Cuanza (Kwanza) River,
consists of 100 lwei (lw), named for one of the river's
tributaries. The kwanza was a nonconvertible currency, but exchange
rates for authorized transactions were established regularly. In
late 1988, US$1 officially equaled Kz29.3; reportedly, the kwanza
traded on the parallel market for up to Kz2,100 per US$1.
- Lomé Convention
- An agreement between the European Community (EC) and the
African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) states whose provisions call
for the EC to extend economic assistance to ACP countries. Much of
the aid is for project development or rehabilitation, but a large
portion is set aside for the Stabilization of Export Earnings
(STABEX) system, designed to help developing countries withstand
fluctuations in the prices of their agricultural exports.
- mestiço(s)
- An individual of mixed white and African ancestry. Several
varieties, depending on the nature and degree of mixture, were
recognized by the Portuguese and mestiços in the colonial
era. Before 1961 most mestiços had the status of
assimilado (q.v).
- Paris Club
- A noninstitutional framework whereby developed nations that
make loans or guarantee official or private export credits to
lesser developed states meet to discuss borrowers' ability to repay
debts. The organization, which met for the first time in 1956, has
no formal or institutional existence and no fixed membership. Its
secretariat is run by the French treasury, and it has a close
relationship with the World Bank (q.v.), the International
Monetary Fund (IMF--q.v.), and the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development.
- World Bank
- Informal name used to designate a group of three affiliated international
institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD),
the International Development Association (IDA), and the International Finance
Corporation (IFC). The IBRD, established in 1945, has the primary purpose
of providing loans to developing countries for productive projects. The IDA,
a legally separate loan fund administered by the staff of the IBRD, was set
up in 1960 to furnish credits to the poorest developing countries on much
easier terms than those of conventional IBRD loans. The IFC, founded in 1956,
supplements the activities of the IBRD through loans and assistance specifically
designed to encourage the growth of productive private enterprises in the
less developed countries. The president and certain senior officers of the
IBRD hold the same positions in the IFC. The three institutions are owned
by the governments of the nations that subscribe their capital. To participate
in the World Bank group, member states must first belong to the International
Monetary Fund (IMF--q.v.).
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