Uíge Explained

-7.6167°N 18°W

Uíge
Other Name:Carmona
Native Name:Wizidi
Settlement Type:Municipality and town
Pushpin Map:Angola
Pushpin Label Position:right
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Angola
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Angola
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Uíge Province
Established Title:Founded
Established Date:1946
Area Total Km2:1188
Population As Of:mid 2020
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:616605
Population Density Km2:auto
Population Blank1 Title:Ethnicities
Timezone:WAT
Utc Offset:+1
Coordinates:-7.6167°N 18°W
Elevation M:858
Blank Name:Climate
Blank Info:Aw

Uíge (Kongo: Wizidi[2]), formerly Carmona, is a provincial capital city in northwestern Angola, with a population of 322,531 (2014 census),[3] and a municipality, with a population of 519,196 (2014 census), located in the province of the same name. It grew from a small market centre in 1945 to become a city in 1956. It is serviced by the Uíge Airport with daily flights to Luanda.

Name

Uíge was renamed[4] Vila Marechal Carmona in 1955 after the former Portuguese President Óscar Carmona, renamed simply Carmona after it became a city, but changed back to Uíge in 1975.

History

During Portuguese occupation it was a major center for coffee production in the 1950s.[5] The city was the nerve center of rebel activity against Portuguese occupation. Consequently, the city faced frequent guerrilla war between Portuguese forces and the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola; FNLA).[6]

It had the worst known ever outbreak of the Marburg virus in 2005.

Demographics

In 2010 it had a population of 119,815. In 2014 the population was 322,531. Projected to be the fourth fastest growing city on the African continent between 2020 and 2025, with a 5.92% growth.[7]

Notes and References

  1. https://www.citypopulation.de/en/angola/admin/ Citypopulation.de
  2. Web site: Cidade do Uíge celebra 98 anos de existência na quarta-feira . pt. ANGONOTÍCIAS . 27 June 2015 . 15 December 2020.
  3. https://www.citypopulation.de/en/angola/cities/ Citypopulation.de
  4. Book: Eribo, Festus. Press freedom and communication in Africa. 1997. Africa World Press. 978-0-86543-551-3. 330.
  5. Web site: Uige. 21 January 2011. Encyclopædia Britannica.
  6. Web site: City councils of Angola. Statoids. 9 April 2009.
  7. Web site: Ranked: The World’s Fastest Growing Cities. virtual capitalist. 2021-08-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20210813174630/https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-worlds-fastest-growing-cities/. 13 August 2021.