The extremes of life in African Angola, where the rich and the poor divide
Africa will always remain a little unknown to us, no matter how well we know it. In many countries of the Black Continent, between ordinary people and those in power, there is a gigantic abyss that can be measured with money. Some have millions, others live in poverty. On the shores of the Atlantic Ocean is the capital of Angola, Luanda. And here you can see this abyss with your own eyes.
Surprisingly, it was Luanda that was recognized several times (in 2008 and 2017) as the most expensive city on the planet. Prices for everything here are incredibly high. So, you can rent a two-room apartment here on average for 7 thousand dollars a month. Yes, even a liter of milk in the city costs about $ 3. But most Angolans are below the poverty line.
Ask how the African city was ahead of Tokyo, New York, Hong Kong? Yes, everything is very simple: oil and diamonds are mined in the country. And for almost three decades, there has been a civil war that has shaken the already fragile position of ordinary people.
A few years ago, cranes that were engaged in large construction projects dominated the Luanda skyline. Preliminarily destroying hundreds of frail houses of local residents, Chinese companies built here elite housing, restaurants, nightclubs. Now the oil boom has passed, but life as it was expensive, and remained.