Benguela is a city on Angola's Atlantic coast and capital of Benguela Province, founded in 1617 as Sao Felipe de Benguela by Portuguese governor Manuel Cerveira Pereira. It grew into a major hub of the transatlantic slave trade to Brazil and Cuba, and its municipality had 561,775 residents at the 2014 census, estimated at 692,202 by 2022. Its economy today rests on coffee, corn, sisal and tobacco farming and fishing, and it is linked by the Benguela Railway to Angola's interior and onward to Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Facts
Area (sq km) Area (sq km) Founding Year Population Estimate Year Population Estimate Year Elevation (m) Elevation (m) Sources
1. Benguela (Wikidata)
P571 (inception)
+1617-01-01T00:00:00Z
P1082 (population)
population 561,775 (2014)
P625 (coordinate location)
latitude -12.55, longitude 13.416667
P2044 (elevation above sea level)
elevation 39 m
P2046 (area)
area 2100.0 sq km
P1082 (population), P585 (point in time)
population 561775 (2014)
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.