Huíla Province
Huíla
Province
Serra da Leba, a mountain range in Huíla Province
Serra da Leba, a mountain range in Huíla Province
Map of Huíla Province in Angola
Map of Huíla Province in Angola
CountryAngola
CapitalLubango
Government
 • GovernorNuno Bernabe Mahapi Dala
 • Vice-Governor for the Political, Economic and Social SectorMaria João Francisco Chipalavela
 • Vice-Governor for Technical Services and InfrastructuresHelio Delize Neto de Almeida
Area
 • Total
79,023 km2 (30,511 sq mi)
Population
 (2024 census)
 • Total
3,302,866
 • Density41.796/km2 (108.25/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (WAT)
Area code035
ISO 3166 codeAO-HUI
HDI (2018)0.508[1]low · 15th
Websitewww.huila.gov.ao

Huíla is a province of Angola. It has an area of 79,023 square kilometres (30,511 mi2) and a population of 3,302,866 (2024 census).[2]Lubango is the capital of the province. Basket-making is a significant industry in the province; many make baskets out of reeds.[3]

History

From the Portuguese Colonial War (1961–1975) to Angola's independence, and the subsequent civil war in Angola (1975-2002) Huíla was directly affected only during relatively short periods of time. Cassinga was abandoned by its European supervisors, and the mine fell into neglect during the ensuing Angolan Civil War. The following year it was occupied by the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), military wing of the South West African People's Organization.[4] PLAN subsequently adopted Cassinga as a staging point for insurgent raids on South-West Africa, about 250 kilometres to the south. Their bases soon became a sanctuary for local refugees during the Namibian War of Independence. In 1978, PLAN's presence in Cassinga attracted the attention of the South African Defence Force. Operation Reindeer saw paratroops of the 44 Parachute Regiment supported by bomber and strike aircraft launch an air assault on 4 May. The six-hour assault claimed approximately 600 lives,[4] including four SADF soldiers, sixty Cuban soldiers and over five hundred PLAN combatants and South West African exiles. Cassinga was the site of more fighting during Operation Askari, in December 1983.[5]

The post-colonial development in Angola has seen the establishment of two universities in Lubango (the state Universidade Mandume,[6] named after a leader of the Ovambo in the fight against the occupation by the Portuguese, as well as a campus of the Universidade Privada de Angola. Tourism is emerging, largely involving white entrepreneurs from Namibia, which the provincial government is actively seeking to attract.[7]

Geography

Huíla Province is traversed by the northwesterly line of equal longitude and latitude. The province is bordered on the west by the provinces of Namibe and Benguela, to the north by Bié and Cubango, and to the south by the province of Cunene.[8] The winding road known as Leba Hill, as well as Bicauri National Park are in Huíla Province. Bicauri National Park was established in 1964 and covers an area of 790 km2.

Municipalities

The province of Huíla contains fourteen municipalities (Portuguese: municípios):

Name of Town or CityLand AreaEstimatedPopulationJuly 2018PopulationDensity
Caconda4,715 square kilometres (1,820 mi2)189,45040.1
Cacula3,449 square kilometres (1,332 mi2)154,62444.8
Caluquembe3,075 square kilometres (1,187 mi2)203,12866.1
Chibia5,180 square kilometres (2,000 mi2)215,21941.5
Chicomba4,203 square kilometres (1,623 mi2)148,79535.4
Chipindo3,898 square kilometres (1,505 mi2)73,05618.7
Chiange (Gambos)8,150 square kilometres (3,150 mi2)89,68411.0
Humpata1,261 square kilometres (487 mi2)100,63479.8
Jamba11,110 square kilometres (4,290 mi2)118,63310.7
Kuvango9,680 square kilometres (3,740 mi2)88,6709.2
Lubango3,140 square kilometres (1,210 mi2)876,339279.1
Matala9,065 square kilometres (3,500 mi2)296,61832.7
Quilengues4,464 square kilometres (1,724 mi2)85,04019.1
Quipungo7,633 square kilometres (2,947 mi2)179,36323.5

[8][9]

Communes

The province of Huíla contains the following communes (Portuguese: comunas); sorted by their respective municipalities:

Sports

  • Estádio de Militar Huíla, a multi-use stadium in Huila

Demographics

Lubango

As of 2013, the province had a population of 2,609,486 people. The original inhabitants of the area were Khoisan, but only a few residual groups remain today, ousted from pastoral land by other groups. In some areas they represent under 2% of the population.[10] Most pastoral farmers in the province are known Nyaneka-Khumbi, but do not form a whole ethnic group.[11] A significant ethnic group in the province is the Mwila, who originally inhabited the plateau areas.[12]

Favored by the relatively mild climate, there was a relatively strong colonization by Portuguese immigrants who sometimes mixed with the local population. This led to expansion and diversification of agriculture at the same time, but also to a growth of cities and towns. However, the influx of IDPs in the thousands during the war severely affected the province.[13] During the war, a considerable number of Ovimbundu fled to the highlands of the province of Huíla. In some areas they now represent some 37% of the population, with the largest concentration in the central highlands.[14] There is now also a much smaller number of Bakongo who had been assimilated from the Congo, and some settled in the province upon their return. The Heroro represent about 0.5% of the population.[15]

List of governors of Huila

NameYears in office
Emílio Braz1975–1976
Belarmino Sabugosa Van-Dúnem1976–1978
Nazário Vital1978–1979
Maj. Miguel João Luís Ivady1979–1981
Mariano da Costa Garcia Puku1981–1983
Rafael Sapilinha Sambalanga1983–1986
Lopo Fortunato Ferreira do Nascimento1986–1990
Dumilde das Chagas Simões Rangel1990–1995
Kundi Paihama1995–1999
Francisco José Ramos da Cruz1999–2008
Isaac Francisco Maria dos Anjos2008–2012
João Marcelino Tyipinge2012–2018
Luís da Fonseca Nunes2018–2021
Nuno Bernabé Mahapi Dala 2021–

[16]

Up to 1991, the official name was Provincial Commissioner

References

  1. ^"Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  2. ^Angola: Provinces and municipalities Citypopulation
  3. ^Sheehan, Sean; Yong, Jui Lin (2010). Angola. Marshall Cavendish. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-7614-4845-7.
  4. ^ abChesterman, Simon (1 January 2001). Civilians in War. Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-55587-965-5.
  5. ^Weigert, Stephen L. (25 October 2011). Angola: A Modern Military History, 1961-2002. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-230-33783-1.
  6. ^"Universidade Mandume". Angolaformativa.com. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  7. ^"Angola's Huila Province wants local investors". Namibian.com. 8 July 2007. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014.
  8. ^ ab"Provincia da Huíla" (in Portuguese). República de Angola, Ministério da Administração de Território. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  9. ^"Perfil da Província" (in Portuguese). Governo Provincial da Huila. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  10. ^Country reports on human rights practices: report submitted to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives and Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate by the Department of State in accordance with sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended. U.S. G.P.O. 2005. p. 12.
  11. ^Morais, Júlio Artur de (1974). Contribution à l'étude des écosystèmes pastoraux: les Vakuvals du Chingo (in French).
  12. ^Estermann, Carlos (1 June 1978). The Ethnography of Southwestern Angola: The Nyaneka-Nkumbi Ethnic Group. Africana Publishing Company. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-8419-0205-3.
  13. ^Parsons, Ms Imogen; Porto, Dr João Gomes; Alden, Dr Chris (28 March 2013). From Soldiers to Citizens: Demilitarization of Conflict and Society. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-4094-9854-4.
  14. ^Sheehan, Sean; Yong, Jui Lin (2010). Angola. Marshall Cavendish. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-7614-4845-7.
  15. ^Oyebade, Adebayo (2007). Culture and Customs of Angola. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-313-33147-3.
  16. ^"Histórico dos Governadores" (in Portuguese). huila.gov.ao. Retrieved 5 Mar 2019.
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