Why did Luanda’s population grow rapidly during the civil war?

During the civil war (1975–2002), Luanda’s population grew rapidly primarily due to significant internal migration driven by the widespread instability and violence of the conflict.12

As warfare and its associated disruptions—such as famine and the destruction of towns in the east and on the Bié Plateau—made rural areas increasingly dangerous and uninhabitable, large numbers of people fled to cities for safety. This mass movement of refugees from the countryside into the capital resulted in a substantial increase in Luanda's population, which reached more than two million by the mid-1990s.132

While this migration provided a measure of physical security for those fleeing the fighting, it also placed immense pressure on the city's infrastructure. The resulting flood of people contributed to a decline in urban housing, social conditions, and health services in Luanda, creating significant challenges for the city's residents that persisted even after the war ended.3