The capital of the African country of Angola, Luanda, is perhaps the most vibrant city of contrasts in the world. Luxury here is adjacent to extreme poverty, wealth and poverty, but nobody has heard about equality. All this is a consequence of the incredible corruption in the state, which divided the population into two unequal camps. Now in Luanda, a poor majority lives in the shadow of glittering skyscrapers.
This city has repeatedly been recognized as the most expensive metropolis to live in the world. For example, the price of a 2-room apartment in a good area in the center starts from 6-7 thousand euros per month. Here you can easily see the picture, as on one side of the street are expensive villas, and on the other – self-made huts, collected from what was found in the garbage. The ocean coast near Luanda is so littered that the beach is not visible under a layer of plastic bottles and bags. Local authorities regularly demolish slum areas to free up building land. Nobody is interested in the opinion of the inhabitants.
The average price of a dinner for two in any restaurant in Luanda starts from 250-300 euros. Within the safe center, the Angolan capital is reminiscent of Europe – clean, good roads, clean lawns. But a step aside, and poverty can strike even a battered traveler. When it was founded 4 centuries ago, the city was called Sao Paulo di Luanda, but in 1975 the name was shortened.
The capital of Angola was founded by the Portuguese colonialists. Many of their descendants still live here. Outside the slum crime rate is low here, despite the monstrous social stratification. Perhaps Luanda can be called one of the safest cities in Africa. About three times fewer people live here than in Moscow. Luanda was once one of the main ports through which slaves were sent to the New World. For all the existence of the slave trade in these regions, more than 3 million slaves were exported through this city. Over the past 50 years, the population of Luanda has grown 10 times.
