Population, Language and Religion

Portuguese is the official language. More than 90 percent of the population speaks Bantu languages, the most important of which are Kimbundu, Umbundu, and Kikongo. Before independence an estimated 2.2 million Roman Catholics, including most of the 400,000 Portuguese, lived in Angola, as well as a smaller number of Protestants. In the early 1990s most of the population professed Christian beliefs; many also practiced traditional religions.