Saurimo, Angola

Capital City

Living in this Angolan city is a gritty, no-frills experience. Saurimo has a population of 393,000 people, and the population is steadily growing due to migration. The city's economy is centered around agriculture, farming, and diamonds, but bureaucracy is a persistent headache.

Saurimo is a garrison town and local market center, located at an elevation of 3,556 feet. It serves as the capital of Lunda Sul Province. The city is served by an airport with scheduled flights to the capital Luanda, and a new 260km railway is under construction to connect it to Luena.

This is a functional, hardscrabble city, not a tourist destination. Saurimo is best suited for those seeking economic opportunity in Angola's resource extraction industries, not a laidback expat lifestyle.