Luanda, the Monaco of Africa

Latest update: 15/09/2008

- Angola - oil - prices

Luanda, the capital of Africa's top oil producer, is now rated the most expensive city in the world, ahead of Tokyo, while two thirds of Angolans are still earning under two dollars a day in the place they call the Monaco of Africa.

In sub-Saharan Africa's top oil producer, a liter of petrol costs less than 50 US cents. Diesel is half that. But fuel is just about the only thing that's cheap in Luanda. Built for 500,000 people, the Angolan capital is now accommodating an estimated five million.

Even civil servants with comfortable salaries have trouble making ends meet. In Oil Boom City, expect to pay 5,000 dollars a month for a one-bedroom flat. Here, a new three-bedroom is going for 20,000 dollars a month - payable a year in advance. For the middle classes, it's off to the suburbs where new estates are popping up. Diogo Rodrigues pre-sold 220 of these units at surface prices comparable to what you would pay in Paris.

Luanda is now rated the most expensive city in the world, ahead of Tokyo. Looking on are two thirds of Angolans: those still earning under two dollars a day in the place they call the Monaco of Africa.

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