Share of GDP in Angola 2021, by economic activity

Angola has an oil-driven economy: The sector accounted for roughly one-third of the country’s GDP in the third quarter of 2021. The economic contribution of the oil and gas industry has fluctuated in the last decade, reaching a share of 43 percent in 2011. As Africa’s second-largest oil producer, Angola has been recording a downward trend in the commodity output, which places obstacles to the country’s economic growth.

Stagnant production challenges the oil industry

Crude oil and natural gas account for almost the totality of Angola’s exports. As of the fourth quarter of 2020, the items had a share of over 90 percent in the total export trade. The Angolan oil and gas industry faces, however, a current challenge on how to reverse the stagnant production. After reaching roughly 1.8 billion barrels of oil per day in 2015, Angola’s oil production decreased annually. In 2020, amid the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the output reached the lowest level in recent years, some 1.3 million barrels per day.

How other sectors contribute to the economy

In addition to the oil industry, Angola’s economy strongly relies on the service sector. Specifically, wholesale and retail trade added 17.4 percent to the country’s GDP in the third quarter of 2021. Together with fishery and mining, the industry presented the strongest performance among all Angolan economic sectors in the mentioned period. By 2022, the national economy is expected to register an overall GDP growth rate of 2.4 percent, the first positive result since 2016.