Media in Angola

Angola’s media system includes public and state-controlled broadcasters, private outlets, newspapers, online services and social networks. MINTTICS handles media policy and oversight, ERCA regulates media, and INACOM manages electronic communications, frequencies and broadcasting regulation. APD handles data-protection matters, while the Comissão da Carteira e Ética oversees journalistic professional access and ethics; CEFOJOR provides journalism training. TPA is the public television service, RNA-E.P. the public radio service, and ANGOP the news agency. Edições Novembro publishes Jornal de Angola. RSF reports state control over TV Zimbo, O País and Rádio Mais, four remaining print outlets and no community-radio sector; many licence applications remain pending, and licence costs can limit pluralism. RNA operates five national, 18 provincial, two regional and 26 municipal radio services. Its programmes use Portuguese, English, French, Lingala and 14 national languages. Radio is available through terrestrial services and RNA web streams. TPA provides online news, video, TPA Notícias live and links or embeds for Canal 1 and Canal 2, as well as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and X. Online access depends on an internet connection and therefore on network coverage, data prices and electricity or device availability. Pay television and streaming options include DStv Angola, ZAP, TVCABO and Unitel TV. Observed DStv tariffs range from about AOA 2,200 to AOA 27,500 per month, with decoder prices observed at AOA 7,000 or AOA 52,000; packages, channels, simultaneous streaming and downloads vary by plan. ZAP offers satellite packages with more than 45, 90 or 120 channels, while ZAP Fibra includes restart television and recording of up to 500 hours. TVCABO provides cable or internet services in Luanda, Benguela, Huambo, Huíla and Zaire. Unitel TV is a local over-the-top service, but its public page does not provide reliably readable price or catalogue details. Availability, catalogues, geoblocking and data consumption depend on the provider and network. Connectivity remains uneven. ITU data for 2024 records internet use at 40.7%, mobile-cellular ownership at 59.7%, active mobile broadband at 33.4 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants and fixed broadband at about 137,000 subscriptions. Reported network coverage reaches 89.6% for 2G, 85.7% for 3G and 77.4% for LTE or WiMAX. MINTTICS reported 11 million internet users, or 33% of the population, for 2023; the difference reflects different methods and years. Mobile access, affordability, network coverage and urban location therefore strongly affect media use. The Constitution protects freedom of information and opinion under Article 40 and press freedom under Article 44. Article 45 covers antenna rights, reply rights and political-reply rights, including impartial treatment of political parties by the public press. Lei de Imprensa 1/17, amended by 15/22, also recognises correction and compensation mechanisms. Legal limits concern honour, reputation, image, privacy, childhood and youth, state secrets, judicial secrets, professional secrecy and other protected information. Journalists generally use a Carteira Profissional de Jornalista. Entry can begin with a Carteira de Jornalista Estagiário and a practical placement lasting six to twelve months. The professional card can take up to 30 days; a refusal should be reasoned within 15 days. Foreign journalists seeking recognition may face a period of more than 45 days for a Certificate de Reconhecimento. Professional rights include publication freedom, access to sources and public places, source protection, independence, a conscience clause and union participation. Employers report journalists to the Comissão da Carteira e Ética within 15 days; employing someone without the required professional identification can result in a fine of ten public-service minimum salaries, tripled for a repeat offence. Online speech and digital mobilisation carry legal and political risks. Freedom on the Net 2025 rated Angola Partly Free with 60 out of 100, citing restrictions connected with the National Security Law of 2024 and Law 13/24. The Constitutional Court’s Acórdão 1056/2025 declared parts of Law 13/24 unconstitutional because of disproportionality and unclear criminal offences. This ruling does not remove the need to assess privacy, defamation, security and other legal risks before publishing. Lei 22/11 and APD procedures provide rights to information, access, correction, opposition and erasure or blocking of personal data. A person’s image and voice count as personal data. Journalistic processing can receive protection connected with press and information freedom, but complaints can be directed to APD. INACOM’s LAC 15555 offers a free weekday contact line from 8:00 to 17:00. Young people use digital media mainly to communicate with family and friends, learn, follow news and look for jobs. In UNICEF’s U-Report or SMS-Jovem, more than 10,000 participants were surveyed; reported uses were communication with family and friends at 47%, learning at 30%, news at 12% and job searches at 11%. Reported risks include abuse, sexual violence, disinformation, data misuse and cyberbullying. Digital skills and feelings of safety differ, and SOS Criança 15015 is available for protection cases. Do not identify or share images or personal data of victims. People can participate through reply and political-reply rights, public consultations by MINTTICS and online channels operated by TPA or RNA. Internet costs, unequal access and limits in media pluralism can reduce the practical reach of these channels. Formal broadcasting licence fees and processing periods were not reliably established in the available official material, so they should be confirmed with the responsible authority rather than estimated.