Benguela (São Felipe de Benguela, formerly spelt Benguella) is a port in western Angola, south of Luanda, and capital of Benguela Province. It lies on a bay of the same name, in 12° 33’ S., 13° 25’ E.

 
Benguela was founded in 1617 by the Portuguese under Manoel Cerveira Pereira. It was long the centre of an important trade, especially in slaves to Brazil and Cuba. The anchorage lies about a mile from the town, in 4 to 6 fathoms (7 to 11 m). Besides the churches of S. Felipe and S. Antonio, the hospital, and the fortress, there are (as of 1911) only a few stone-built houses. A short way beyond Benguela is Baía Farta, where salt is manufactured and sulphur excavated.

 
It is the port terminus of the railway that runs from Beira in Mozambique through the Copper Belt of Zambia and Zimbabwe. In 1983 it had a population of 155,000.