History of Luanda Timeline

Observed rainfall records since 1858 range from 55 millimetres in 1958 to 851 millimetres in 1916, documenting the city's semi-arid climate variability.

In 1889, Governor Brito Capelo opened the gates of an aqueduct which supplied the city with water, a formerly scarce resource, laying the foundation for major growth.

The Clube Náutico da Ilha de Luanda was founded on February 28, 1924 under the name 'Nun'Alvares Sports Club', later becoming home to the annual Luanda International Jazz Festival venue culture.

Image source: Luanda

Throughout Portugal's Estado Novo dictatorship, Luanda grew from a town of 61,208 inhabitants in 1940 to a wealthy cosmopolitan major city of 475,328 in 1970, including 124,814 Europeans and around 50,000 mixed race inhabitants.

In 1982, a report called Luanda the 'Paris of Africa', reflecting the city's reputation despite the ongoing conflict in the country.

In 2001 the provisional Angolan governments cleared the Boavista slum in Luanda Bay so that a luxury housing redevelopment was possible.

Following the Luanda Agreement in 2002, the end of the Angolan Civil War and high economic growth fuelled by oil and diamond wealth started major reconstruction. The city also gained a thriving building industry amid the nationwide boom.

In 2006, however, Luanda saw an increase in violent crime, particularly in the shanty towns surrounding the colonial urban core.

In 2007, the first modern shopping mall in Angola was established in Luanda at Belas Shopping mall, marking a milestone in the city's consumer economy.

Image source: Belas Shopping

The city has hosted the annual Luanda International Jazz Festival since 2009, adding a major cultural event to its calendar.

The António Agostinho Neto International Airport was constructed southeast of the city near Viana and was expected to open in 2011, but the Chinese enterprise in charge suspended its work in 2010 due to missed payments.

Image source: Dr. António Agostinho Neto International Airport

Luanda was the main host city for the matches of the 2010 African Cup of Nations, showcasing the city on an international sporting stage.

Image source: 2010 Africa Cup of Nations

Until 2011, the former Luanda Province comprised five municipalities. In 2011 it was enlarged by the addition of Icolo e Bengo and Quiçama, transferred from Bengo Province.

Image source: Luanda Province

In 2013 Luanda together with Namibe, today's Moçâmedes, hosted the 2013 FIRS Men's Roller Hockey World Cup, the first time a roller hockey World Cup was held in Africa.

In 2014, a new port began being developed at Dande, about 30 km north of Luanda, to relieve congestion at the existing harbour.

Image source: Port of Luanda

Two new municipalities have been created within Greater Luanda since 2017: Talatona and Kilamba-Kiaxi.

A 2019 PLOS One paper estimated that under RCP 4.5, the climate of Luanda in 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate of Guatemala City.

In 2019, the Luanda Light Rail network, with an estimated cost of US$3 billion, was announced to begin construction in 2020.

According to the 2022 IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Luanda is one of 12 major African cities most severely affected by future sea level rise, with projected cumulative damages of US$65–86.5 billion across the group by 2050.

Image source: IPCC Sixth Assessment Report

The long-delayed António Agostinho Neto International Airport southeast of Luanda finally opened in November 2023, years after construction was suspended.

Since 2024, the Luanda Province has had 17 municipalities and the Luanda municipality itself has been dissolved.

In 2024 the population of Luanda reached more than 8.8 million inhabitants — a third of Angola's population — with ethnic Bakongo and Ovimbundu numbers increasing in recent decades alongside the reconstruction of the city and new highways planned to Cacuaco, Viana, Samba, and the new airport.

Like most of Portuguese Angola, cosmopolitan Luanda was not affected by the Portuguese Colonial War; economic growth and development reached record highs during this period.

Image source: Portuguese Colonial War

After the Carnation Revolution in Lisbon on April 25, 1974, Angola moved toward independence, setting off profound changes for Luanda's population.

Image source: Carnation Revolution

Petroleum found in nearby offshore deposits is refined in Luanda, although this facility was repeatedly damaged during the Angolan Civil War of 1975–2002.

At Angolan independence in 1975, Luanda was a modern city with a majority African population but a strong minority of white Portuguese origin. With the start of the civil war, most white Portuguese left as refugees, mainly to Portugal or over land to South Africa.