Establishing an Adaptive Social Protection System in Angola

Angola is a middle-income country, but it has high poverty and vulnerability levels. In 2019, Angola had a total population of about 30.8 million people, of whom 32 percent (9.8 million people) lived below the national poverty line. Another 5.8 million people were vulnerable to poverty – meaning that they lived above the poverty line but were at high risk of falling below it in the event of a shock. Poverty rates were significantly higher in rural areas – 55 percent compared to 18 percent in urban areas. Yet, with rapid urbanization, the number of urban poor is significant: 3.2 million people in urban areas were living in poverty compared to 6.3 million in rural areas. Furthermore, the people face high rates of food insecurity.

This report was developed in response to the interest expressed by the Government of Angola during the dissemination phase of the Angola Country Climate Development Report 2022 (CCDR) to understand what it would take to establish an adaptive social safety net system, building on its flagship program, Kwenda.