Huambo Province

Huambo is a province of Angola. With an area of 34,270 km² it is one of the geographically smaller provinces, situated in the Central Region approximately 450 km south east of the capital, Luanda.

The province has an estimated population of 1.9 million people, approximately 15% of the national total of 15.7 million. More than half, 55%, of the population is urbanized, concentrated in Huambo city (822,000 people) and Caála municipality (239,000 people).

Terrain and climate

The foundation of the Central Plateau is a vast slab of primeval crystalline rock that frequently outcrops in the form of isolated rocks or massive peaks. The most prominent peak in the province is Mt. Môco in Londuimbali, with 2,620 metres. The peak is the highest point in Angola. The headwaters of the Kunene River rise on the Central Plateau near Huambo town. Much of the soil in Huambo Province is of poor quality, and has been impoverished in many areas by overuse and erosion. However, it is generally of better quality than in the adjoining regions to the east, north and south.

Huambo

Huambo, formerly New Lisbon (Portuguese: Nova Lisboa), is the capital of Huambo Province in Angola. The city is located about 220 km E from Benguela and 600 km SE from Luanda. The city is the second largest in Angola, after the capital city, Luanda. Huambo is a main hub on the Caminho de Ferro de Benguela (CFB) (the Benguela Railway), which runs from the port of Lobito to the Democratic Republic of the Congo's southernmost province, Katanga. Huambo is served by the Albano Machado Airport (formerly Nova Lisboa Airport).

Geography

Situated in the Angolan central highlands, Huambo is located near the headwaters of the Kunene River.

History

Early History

Huambo receives its name from Wambu, one of the 14 old Ovimbundu kingdoms of the central Angolan plateau. The Ovimbundu, an old tribe originally arrived from Eastern Africa, had founded their central kingdom of Bailundu as early as the 15th century. Wambu was one of the smaller kingdoms and was hierarchically under the king of Bailundu, though it enjoyed, as the other kingdoms, a considerable degree of independence.