Provincial Incidence of Housing Credit in Angola: Comparative Study between Benguela and Huambo

Abstract

This study compares housing credit incidence in Angola’s Benguela and Huambo provinces, examining institutional, cadastral and banking disparities that shape access to formal housing finance. It employs a comparative multiple case study design that combines documentary analysis of national legislation, commercial banks’ reports and aggregated statistics with triangulation of national and international secondary sources for the 2020–2023 period. The methodology integrates quantitative indicators of mortgage incidence – active operations, default rates, banking density and property formalisation – with qualitative analysis of centrality regimes and risk assessment practices. Results show that Benguela benefits from economic dynamism linked to the Lobito Corridor and a higher cadastral formalisation rate of 62% of urban properties, whereas Huambo faces structural deficits, with only 38% formalisation, a 19.4% default rate and 890 active mortgages. These patterns yield a 3.82:1 mortgage incidence ratio between Benguela and Huambo, suggesting the emergence of formal enclaves within highly informal contexts. The study argues for digitised cadastral reforms, inclusive banking products tailored to informal incomes, provincial guarantee funds and streamlined judicial procedures to reduce territorial asymmetries and expand housing credit penetration in structurally vulnerable provinces such as Huambo.