Which country contains the exclave of Cabinda?

Which country contains the exclave of Cabinda? Angola. Cabinda is a province of Angola on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, separated from Angola’s main territory by a strip of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Republic of the Congo borders Cabinda to the north, which is why the region can be confusing on a map.

Cabinda’s unusual shape reflects colonial history. Portugal administered Cabinda separately from much of its Angolan colony, and the 1885 Treaty of Simulambuco placed the territory under Portuguese protection. Later Portuguese administrative decisions linked Cabinda more closely with Angola, and Cabinda became part of independent Angola in 1975.

The province is strategically important because of its petroleum reserves and offshore oil fields. Its political status has also been disputed by separatist movements, including the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda. Those disputes do not change the internationally recognized answer: Cabinda is an Angolan exclave.

A common mix-up is choosing the Republic of the Congo, because that country lies immediately north of Cabinda. The DRC, meanwhile, is the country that separates Cabinda from the rest of Angola.