Opinion: Is oil-rich Angola a development success?

By Arne Wiig and Ivar Kolstad, Special to CNN

Updated 1432 GMT (2232 HKT) August 30, 2012

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Angola has embarked on a major reconstruction program following the end of a 27-year vicious civil war in 2002. The oil-rich country holds general elections Friday.

Photos: Angola rises from the ashes of 27-year civil war

Angola's construction boom – Angola has embarked on a major reconstruction program following the end of a 27-year vicious civil war in 2002. The oil-rich country holds general elections Friday.

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Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, 70, has been in power since 1979. Analysts expect his party, MPLA, to win Friday's elections.

Photos: Angola rises from the ashes of 27-year civil war

President Jose Eduardo dos Santos – Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, 70, has been in power since 1979. Analysts expect his party, MPLA, to win Friday's elections.

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MPLA supporters attend Wednesday the final rally of President dos Santos in Kilamba Kaixi on the outskirts of Luanda, Angola's capital.

Photos: Angola rises from the ashes of 27-year civil war

Support for MPLA – MPLA supporters attend Wednesday the final rally of President dos Santos in Kilamba Kaixi on the outskirts of Luanda, Angola's capital.

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Thousands of Angolans take part in a demonstration in Luanda organized by the main opposition party, UNITA, to ask for free and fair elections on May 19, 2012.

Photos: Angola rises from the ashes of 27-year civil war

UNITA demonstration – Thousands of Angolans take part in a demonstration in Luanda organized by the main opposition party, UNITA, to ask for free and fair elections on May 19, 2012.

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UNITA leader Isaias Samakuva (center), delivers a speech during the May 19 demonstration. The opposition has repeatedly expressed concerns about the electoral process.

Photos: Angola rises from the ashes of 27-year civil war

Opposition leader Isaias Samakuva – UNITA leader Isaias Samakuva (center), delivers a speech during the May 19 demonstration. The opposition has repeatedly expressed concerns about the electoral process.

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Dos Santos casts his ballot on September 05, 2008, at the polling station behind the presidential palace in Luanda. MPLA won the last elections with a landslide 82% of the vote.

Photos: Angola rises from the ashes of 27-year civil war

2008 elections – Dos Santos casts his ballot on September 05, 2008, at the polling station behind the presidential palace in Luanda. MPLA won the last elections with a landslide 82% of the vote.

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Photos: Angola rises from the ashes of 27-year civil war

Oil boom – Resource-rich Angola is the second-biggest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa, turning out more than 1.9 million barrels per day.

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Thanks to its oil reserves, the country has posted impressive economic growth after the end of the war. It is currently the third-biggest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa and Nigeria.

Photos: Angola rises from the ashes of 27-year civil war

Oil boom – Thanks to its oil reserves, the country has posted impressive economic growth after the end of the war. It is currently the third-biggest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa and Nigeria.

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But despite the progress made since 2002, Angola remains one of the most unequal societies in the world. In Luanda, millions of people live in crowded shantytowns, like the Boa Vista slum (pictured), in squalid conditions.

Photos: Angola rises from the ashes of 27-year civil war

Rich-poor divide – But despite the progress made since 2002, Angola remains one of the most unequal societies in the world. In Luanda, millions of people live in crowded shantytowns, like the Boa Vista slum (pictured), in squalid conditions.

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Photos: Angola rises from the ashes of 27-year civil war

Rich-poor divide – Angola, which has a population of some 18 million people, ranks 148th out of 187 countries in the U.N.'s Human Development Index.

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A large portrait of the Angolan President is seen in the center of Luanda on January 30, 2010. The Angolan capital was last year named the world's most expensive city for expats.

Photos: Angola rises from the ashes of 27-year civil war

Living in Luanda –