Angola Economic Update - From Transit to Transformation : Leveraging the Lobito Corridor for Economic Diversification and Regional Integration

Overview & Synopsis

Following a robust growth in 2024, Angola’s economy slowed in 2025. Real GDP grew by 3.1 percent in 2025, driven by the non-oil industry, as oil production continued its structural decline. Compounding this slowdown, deep socioeconomic challenges persist. Poverty remains high at almost 60 percent, with 6 out of 10 people surviving on less than US$4.2 equivalent to the cost of one kilogram of rice, per day. Moreover, a Gini index exceeding 0.51 ranks Angola among the most unequal economies in the world. The economy is at risk of diminished productivity over generations. The share of youth out of school climbed from 25 to 36.7 percent over the past decade, and 40 percent of children under five face chronic malnutrition. A prolonged decline in GDP per capita, persistent Dutch disease dynamics, and heavy dependence on a depleting oil resource base have contributed to narrowing Angola’s fiscal room to address development challenges. Government revenues fell from 18.7 percent to just 14.8 percent of GDP in 2025. These challenges make economic diversification not merely a policy aspiration but an urgent imperative for sustainable and inclusive growth. Chapter 2 of this Angola Economic Update sets out why and how the Lobito Corridor can be positioned to translate improved connectivity into broad-based, inclusive economic transformation.