I’m in Luanda, Angola’s capital and the most expensive city in the world for expats. I came to this country to understand more about it and to see with my own eyes if it is really as it is depicted: a country torn apart by too many years of war and too much oil. Also, I want to understand how it is that an African capital can be on top of Mercer’s list of cities with the most expensive cost of living in the world. To give you an idea: an apartment with two rooms in Luanda costs an average of not less than $ 6,800 per month. How is it possible when Angola’s GDP per capita is only $ 7,700 per year? An average Angolan would be able to rent an apartment with two bedrooms for just one month a year, if you do the maths. How can that be? Of course, the average Angolan doesn’t live like this. But it doesn’t mean that the numbers are wrong. It only shows that Angola is a country with enormous economic and social inequalities. Contrasts and inequalities that have marked this trip and my memories of Angola.
