The Nordic Africa Institute – Publications

This article examines the transformations to urban social stratification inAngola during the last decades. The analysis is centered on the indicators of socialdifference throughout these years: the racial criteria of the colonial times; the politicalprecedence in the first years after independence; and the multi-criteria of thepostwar period. Based on research conducted before and after the end of the civilwar in 2002, the article explores the construction and reconfiguration of urban societytoday, providing evidence of increased social mobility—despite the poverty anddeeper inequalities—and of the importance of economic and residential criteria.