Portuguese-speaking African countries postcolonial discourse that attempts to explain the development of the modern nation-state in Lusophone Africa and shed light on its failures. Portuguese-speaking African countries The Portuguese-speaking African countries (also referred to as Lusophone Africa) consist of six African countries in which the Portuguese language is an official language: Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe and, since 2011, Equatorial Guinea. The six countries are former colonies of the Portuguese Empire. From 1778 until independence, Equatorial Guinea was also a colony of the Spanish Empire. In 1992, the five Lusophone African countries formed an interstate organisation called PALOP, a
Rail transport in Angola Rail transport in Angola Rail transport in Angola consists of three separate Cape gauge lines that do not connect: the northern Luanda Railway, the central Benguela Railway, and the southern Moçâmedes Railway (southern). The lines each connect the Atlantic coast to the interior of the country. A fourth system once linked Gunza and Gabala but is no longer operational. Railway construction began in Angola in 1887, while the country was a colony of Portugal. The Luanda Railway opened in 1889, the Moçâmedes Railway opened in 1910, and the Benguela Railway opened in 1912. The railways continued to be extended inland