After the civil war ended in 2002 Angola's economy grew rapidly on high oil prices and reconstruction, while Portugal entered a financial crisis with high unemployment. Tens of thousands of Portuguese went to Angola for work — engineers, architects, doctors, teachers, construction and finance staff. From around 2015 oil prices fell sharply, Angola's economy contracted, and most of those who had gone returned.

Because it is concrete evidence that the direction of human movement is not fixed and follows economic cycles rather than a pre-set hierarchy of rich and poor. People usually picture migration as one-way from poorer to richer countries, but when the economic relation shifts within a few years the flow reverses immediately — even between a former colony and its former metropole.

A nationality or residence status holds its value because it gives you the right to choose, not because it ties you to one direction. Anyone holding both a Portuguese passport and Angolan residence in that period could move either way as each side became favourable; anyone with only one side had to wait.

Angola belongs to the community of Portuguese-speaking countries alongside Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Timor-Leste. For anyone with Portuguese that is a professional space spanning four continents. Portugal has a nationality route for people of Sephardic descent and several residence routes, and Brazil has a shortened naturalisation path for citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries — language here is a criterion in law, not merely a means of communication.

Oil is the overwhelming pillar, accounting for a dominant share of exports and budget revenue, plus diamonds, liquefied gas, agriculture and fisheries. Cabinda province is separated from the rest of Angola and is where most offshore oil output lies.

Extreme oil dependence with every price cycle producing a marked contraction; the kwanza has depreciated repeatedly and foreign currency access has at times been a serious problem for businesses; large income inequality and human development indicators low relative to average income; international organisations document concerns about transparency in resource revenue management.

Angolan rules distinguish between nationality of origin and nationality acquired later, the same structure as Nigeria and Mozambique. Check the current statute for your circumstances.

Luanda was for a period ranked among the world's most expensive cities for expatriates and is generally far more expensive than people expect. If you need low living costs this is not the place.