Algeria

Dictionary: Al·ge·ri·a (ăl-jîr'ē-ə)

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Algeria

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A country of northwest Africa bordering on the Mediterranean Sea. The region was settled c. 2000 B.C. by Berber-speaking people and later formed a part of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires. Arab invaders in the seventh and eighth centuries introduced Islam and the Arabic language and culture. A French territory from 1848, Algeria gained its independence in 1962 after more than seven years of fighting. Algiers is the capital and the largest city. Population: 33,300,000.

Algerian Al·ge'ri·an adj. & n.

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5min Related Video: Algeria

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Algeria

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Country, North Africa. Area: 919,595 sq mi (2,381,741 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 32,854,000. Capital: Algiers. Most of the population is ethnically and linguistically Arab, with a large Berber (Amazigh) minority. Languages: Arabic, Berber (both official), French. Religion: Islam (official; predominantly Sunni). Currency: Algerian dinar. Algeria has the second largest land area (after The Sudan) on the continent. The coastline has numerous bays, and the country's rivers are small and generally seasonal. Northern Algeria is mountainous and is crossed from east to west by the Atlas Mountains; its highest point, elevation 7,638 ft (2,328 m), is Mount Chélia. In central and southern Algeria is much of the northern Sahara. Algeria has a developing economy based primarily on the production and export of petroleum and natural gas. After achieving independence, the country nationalized much of its economy but since the 1980s has privatized parts of the economy. Algeria is a republic with two legislative bodies; its chief of state is the president, and its head of government is the prime minister. Phoenician traders settled there early in the 1st millennium BC; several centuries later the Romans invaded, and by AD 40 they had control of the Mediterranean coast. The fall of Rome in the 5th century led to an invasion by the Vandals and later to a reoccupation by the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire. The Islamic invasion began in the 7th century; by 711 all of northern Africa was under the control of the caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty. Several Islamic Berber empires followed, most prominently the Almoravid (c. 1054 – 1130), which extended its domain to Spain, and the Almohad (c. 1130 – 1269). The Barbary Coast pirates menaced Mediterranean trade for centuries; their raids served as a pretext for France to enter Algeria in 1830. By 1847 France had established military control over most of the region and by the late 19th century had instituted civil rule. Popular protest against French rule resulted in the bloody Algerian War (1954 – 61); independence was achieved following a referendum in 1962. Beginning in the early 1990s, Islamic fundamentalist opposition to secular rule led to an outbreak in civil violence between the army and various Islamic extremist groups.

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French Literature Companion: Algeria

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Until the French conquest, which began in 1830 [see Colonization], Algeria scarcely figured as a recognizable entity in French literature. The region was perceived primarily as part of the Barbary coast, notorious for its pirates. The experiences of French captives held for ransom were described in works such as Regnard's La Provençale (1731). France's military conquest of Algeria, which was largely complete by the middle of the 19th c., created relatively safe travelling conditions for writers and artists. Their travelogues include Ernest Feydeau's Alger (1862) and Souna (1876), Fromentin's Un été dans le Sahara (1857) and Une année dans le Sahel (1859) and Maupassant's Au soleil (1884). Algeria also served as a location for fictional works such as Alphonse Daudet's Tartarin de Tarascon (1872) and Gide's L' Immoraliste (1902). Other works inspired by Gide's experiences in Algeria include Les Nourritures terrestres (1897) and Amyntas (1905). In most of these works Algeria is seen primarily as an exotic décor. The writings of Isabelle Eberhardt, who embraced Islam, are more attentive to cultural traditions.

Algeria was unusual among French colonies in having a large settler population, though this was always heavily outnumbered by the indigenous Muslims. The settlers, who towards the end of the colonial period became popularly known as piedsnoirs, came not only from France but also from Spain, Italy, and other Mediterranean countries. By the end of the 19th c. a body of imaginative works was emerging from among the settler community. Writing under the pseudonym Musette, Auguste Robinet produced a series of tales featuring Cagayous, a plebian character who purveys the settlers' rough-hewn folk wisdom. The stories are liberally dosed with pataouète, a form of slang derived from the medley of languages which had been brought into contact with each other as a result of colonization.

The rude virtues of colonization were celebrated in a more heroic mould in the novels of Louis Bertrand. With the creation of the Association des Écrivains Algériens in 1921, writers in the colony began to organize themselves around the banner of algérianisme. This term, originally coined by Robert Randau in 1911, denoted a growing sense of cultural distinctiveness vis-à-vis France. While proud of their European roots and convinced of the inferiority of the Muslim population, the algérianistes emphasized the idea of a new people and culture being in the making in Algeria. Besides Randau, other prominent algérianistes included Jean Pomier, Louis Lecoq, and Charles Hagel. With the growth of Algerian nationalism among members of the Muslim élite, writers of European descent cultivated a less aggressive tone in a new movement known as the École d'Alger. Launched during the 1930s by Gabriel Audisio, this propounded a hedonistic ‘Mediterranean’ life-style seemingly insulated from the political pressures of the period. Typical of the École are the early narratives of Albert Camus; other practitioners include Roblès and Claude de Fréminville.

During the colonial period only a minority of Algerian Muslims learned to read and write. Most were educated in French rather than Arabic; the Berber language, spoken in relatively isolated regions such as Kabylia, was scarcely written at all. The earliest imaginative works in French by Algerians of non-European origin began to appear around the turn of the century. While most were highly derivative, they later diverged considerably from the models offered by metropolitan France and the settler community. Among the first to publish works of prose fiction was Abdelkader Hadj Hamou, who was closely associated with the algérianistes. Jean Amrouche, who came from a Kabyle family converted to Christianity, struck a more original note in poems published from the 1930s onwards. As the Arabic and Berber languages offered easier access to theatre audiences, drama was to remain a marginal genre among francophone Algerian authors.

The pace of publication among non-European authors quickened after World War II. Mouloud Feraoun's Le Fils du pauvre (1950) is often regarded as the earliest Algerian novel of real literary merit, though its critical reputation has since been eclipsed by that of Kateb Yacine's Nedjma (1956). Other important authors who began to publish during this period include Mohammed Dib and Mouloud Mammeri. Most of their early novels are inspired by both a semi-autobiographical urge and a determination to offer a more authentic representation of Algerian society than had been produced by writers of European origin. Cast mainly in a realist mode (Nedjma was an important exception), they were often described as works of ‘ethnographic’ fiction. They were sometimes criticized by Algerian nationalists for failing to identify unequivocally with the cause of independence. The protagonists, like the authors of these novels, feel distanced from traditional Algerian society by their internalization of French culture, yet at the same time are anxious to speak on behalf of their fellow countrymen against the injustices of the colonial system.

These tensions were accentuated during the Algerian War of Independence, which was launched by the nationalist Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) in 1954 . The main characters in the novels of Malek Haddad are exiled in France while the armed struggle for national liberation rages in Algeria. In the political climate prevailing at the time, Kateb found it impossible to stage his anticolonial play, Le Cadavre encerclé, in France; completed in 1954, it was first performed in Tunisia and Belgium in 1958. The conflict brought an outpouring of fiercely nationalist poetry by writers such as Djamal Amrani, Henry Kréa, and Anna Greki, and came to occupy a central role in many works of fiction, such as Dib's Qui se souvient de la mer (1962), Assia Djebar's Les Enfants du nouveau monde (1962), and Mammeri's L'Opium et le bâton (1965). The war was to remain a major source of inspiration in all genres for many years after Independence, which came with the peace settlement reached at Évian in 1962.

Independence brought the mass exodus of the pieds-noirs. Only a small minority, including writers such as Jean Sénac, who had sided with the FLN during the war, remained in the country. Most resettled in France, where they became known as rapatriés. Those who continued or began writing after 1962, such as Marie Cardinal, contributed to a kind of exile literature.

The new Algerian state, controlled by the FLN, was firmly committed to a policy of Arabization, whereby the French language, regarded as a relic of colonial dependence, would be systematically replaced by Arabic in every sphere of life. Haddad stopped writing altogether, convinced that French—the only language in which he was literate—was inseparable from cultural alienation. He was among those who supported government-backed campaigns equating the national culture of Algeria with the exclusive use of the Arabic language. A major victory for this policy seemed to be scored when, in 1971, Kateb switched his main creative energies to theatre productions using Arabic dialect. Far from declining, however, Algerian writing in French has grown steadily since Independence, and still far outstrips in quantity that appearing in Arabic. Within Algeria, although it is easier to publish in Arabic, a steady flow of material continues to appear in French. In addition, many Algerian authors use publishers in France, where a significant number have taken up residence. The ideological inflexibility of the FLN, which held a near-monopoly of power until the end of the 1980s, tended to deter the most creative writers from seeking to publish in Algeria.

Dib was among those who chose to live in France, where he produced an acclaimed body of increasingly diverse and sophisticated works. Nabile Farès explored the experience of exile in a mixture of poetry and prose, with mythical and lyrical modes increasingly supplanting conventional realism. In Le Muezzin (1968), Mourad Bourboune created a powerful image of the alienation of many Algerian intellectuals from Islam, which is constitutionally enshrined as the country's official religion.

After a long period of residence in France, the poet and playwright Noureddine Aba returned in 1977 to Algeria, where he argued for mutual respect between the country's different linguistic and cultural traditions.

While publishing in France, novelists such as Djebar and Rachid Boudjedra lived partly or primarily in Algeria, where they wrote about the problems of the post-Independence period with considerable candour. Influenced partly by the French Nouveau Roman, Boudjedra experimented with complex narrative forms in trenchant explorations of social, political, and sexual injustices. Djebar was one of a growing number of Algerian women writers publishing in French. Others included Yamina Mechakra, Myriam Ben, and Aïcha Lemsine. Relations between the sexes within the changing contours of Algerian society before and after independence came under critical scrutiny in many of Djebar's novels, as also in Lemsine's La Chrysalide (1976), Mechakra's La Grotte éclatée (1979), and Ben's Sabrina ils t'ont volé ta vie (1986).

While Boudjedra chose to write in Arabic from 1982 onwards, the continued vitality of francophone writing in Algeria was attested by the emergence during the 1980s of new authors such as Rachid Mimouni, Tahar Djaout, Rabah Belamri, and Habib Tengour, who owed little or nothing to the colonial period. In novels such as Le Fleuve détourné (1982) and Tombéza (1984), Mimouni evoked the frustrations of life in a bureaucratic one-party state. Corruption and other abuses of power were dissected by Djaout in Le Chercheur d'os (1984), and by Belamri in Regard blessé (1987). Blending the poetic and the prosaic, historical displacements and contemporary references, Tengour confronted similar issues in works such as Le Vieux et la montagne (1983) and Sultan Galiev ou la Rupture des stocks (1985).

Meanwhile a fresh literary impulse came from the so-called Beur generation, young men and women brought up in France by North African immigrant parents. Their works in some ways replicate the autobiographical and ethnographic features associated with the early development of the Algerian novel, but are often more humorous in tone and focus primarily on experiences in France, rather than Algeria. Whether they should properly be classed as part of Algerian or French literature is an open question. Although not herself a Beur, Leïla Sebbar has also written extensively about the immigrant community.

Following the cancellation of general elections which the FIS, a militant Islamic party, had looked certain to win in 1992, Algeria entered a period of acute political crisis and terrorist violence. Francophone intellectuals such as Djaout were among the victims of terrorist murder squads. Others sought refuge abroad, particularly in France.

[Alec Hargreaves]

Bibliography

C. Bonn, La Littérature algérienne de langue française et ses lectures (1974)
J. Déjeux, La Littérature algérienne contemporaine, 2nd edn. (1979)
C. Achour, Anthologie de la littérature algérienne de langue française (1990)

Holocaust: Algeria

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Country in central North Africa that, from the mid-nineteenth century, was governed by France. In 1870 the Jews of Algeria received French citizenship. At that time, and from the 1920s through World War II, Antisemitism was rampant in Algeria. On the eve of the war, there were 120,000 Jews living there.

In June 1940 France was divided into north and south---the north conquered and governed by the Nazis, the south unoccupied by the Nazis, but controlled by the pro-Nazi Vichy government. Under the French-German cease-fire agreement, North Africa was considered part of unoccupied Vichy France, and most of the Europeans in North Africa supported the Vichy regime. All French laws were activated in Algeria, including those that restricted the legal status of Algerian Jews. On October 7, 1940, the Jews lost their citizenship, and a few days later, were subjected to the racial Statut Des Juifs---just like the Jews of France. Over the next two years, France's Office for Jewish Affairs ordered many more anti-Jewish measures that were enacted both in Vichy France and in Algeria. These included the establishment of an Aryanization office in Algeria that confiscated Jewish property; the institution of strict quotas on the number of Jews who could work in the professions, including doctors, registered nurses, druggists, lawyers, and others; severe restrictions on the number of Jewish students who could study at university; and the exclusion of Jewish children from elementary and secondary schools. The Bedeau camp located near the town of Sidi-bel-Abbes acted as a Concentration Camp for Algerian Jewish soldiers. These men had been placed in a special unit called the Jewish Work Group, and made to do extremely hard Forced Labor. The authorities also planned to set up a Judenrat based on the Union of French Jews, and the Germans intended to begin deporting Jews to Extermination Camps in Europe. All these anti-Jewish measures were devised both in accordance with the antisemitic Vichy philosophy, and in order to gain the favor of the North African Muslim population.

The Jews of Algeria believed that the Germans pressured the French authorities into instituting racist laws. Thus, many joined the Algerian underground after it was formed in 1940 by a group of young Jews, some of whom were former French army officers. Other Jewish underground groups were also established and joined the organized resistance, which made contact with certain French officials who had come to Algeria to get ready to continue the battle against the Germans. At the end of October 1942, the American authorities told the Algerian resistance about their plans to land in Algeria and Morocco, and asked them to participate in the fight by seizing control of strategic locations in Algiers, Oran, and Casablanca. The underground was not successful in Oran or Casablanca, but fully succeeded in its part of the capture of Algiers on November 7--8. There were 377 resistance members who took Algiers---of whom 315 were Jews. Thus, the Algerian Jewish community survived due to this early Allied Liberation of Algeria in November 1942.

However, the Jews were not truly "liberated." The Americans agreed to appoint a Vichy official named Francois Darlan as High Commissioner of North Africa in exchange for a cease-fire, and allowed Vichy law, including its anti-Jewish regulations, to remain intact. When Darlan was murdered in December 1942, Jewish resistance leaders were arrested for collaboration---on the orders of their former French comrades in the resistance. In March 1943 only some of the anti-Jewish laws were cancelled. General Charles De Gaulle took control of Algeria in May, and three months later, he reinstated citizenship for the country's Jews and revoked its Anti-Jewish Legislation. (For more on Vichy, see also France.)

Columbia Encyclopedia: Algeria

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Algeria (ăljēr'ēə), Arab. Al Djazair, Fr. Algérie, officially People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, republic (2005 est. pop. 32,532,000), 919,590 sq mi (2,381,741 sq km), NW Africa, bordering on Mauritania, Western Sahara, and Morocco in the west, on the Mediterranean Sea in the north, on Tunisia and Libya in the east, and on Niger and Mali in the south. Algiers is the capital and largest city.

Land and People

Algeria falls into two main geographical areas, the northern region and the much larger Saharan or southern region. The northern region, which is part of the Maghreb, is made up of four parallel east-west zones: a narrow lowland strip (interspersed with mountains) along the country's 600-mi (970-km) Mediterranean coastline; the Tell Atlas Mts. (highest point: c.7,570 ft/2,310 m), which have a Mediterranean climate and abundant fertile soil; the sparsely populated, semiarid Plateau of the Chotts (average elevation c.3,500 ft/1,070 m), containing a number of shallow salt lakes (chotts) and supporting mainly sheep and goat herders; and the Saharan Atlas Mts., a broken series of mountain ranges and massifs (highest point: 7,638 ft/2,330 m), also a semiarid area and used chiefly for pasturing livestock. The Chéliff River, which flows into the Mediterranean, is the largest of the country's few permanent streams. N Algeria is subject to earthquakes, which, as in 1954, 1980, and 2003, may be devastating, killing and injuring thousands.

The arid and very sparsely populated Saharan region has an average elevation of c.1,500 ft (460 m), but reaches greater heights in the Ahaggar Mts. in the south, where Algeria's loftiest point, Mt. Tahat (9,850 ft/3,002 m), is located. Most of the region is covered with gravel or rocks, with little vegetation; there are also large areas of sand dunes in the north (the Great Western Erg) and east (the Great Eastern Erg). Important oases include Touggourt, Biskra, Chenachane, In Zize, and Tin Rerhoh.

In addition to the capital, major cities include Annaba, Blida, Constantine, Mostaganem, Oran, Sétif, Sidi-bel-Abbès, Skikda, and Tlemcen. Berbers once constituted the chief ethnic group in Algeria, but have been largely assimilated into Arab culture. The Berbers, beginning in the late 7th cent. A.D., adopted the Arabic language and Islam from the small number of Arabs who settled in the country. Today those of Arab-Berber descent make up some 99% of the population. Arabic is the main language, although about 15% of the population still speaks a Berber language. These inhabitants live mostly in the mountainous regions of the north, but also include the nomadic Tuareg of the Sahara. Relations between Arabic-speaking and Berber-speaking Algerians have long been marked by tension. Arabic was made the sole national language in 1980, but that policy was reversed in 2002, when Tamazight, a Berber tongue, was also recognized as a national language. French is widely spoken, and about 1% of the Algerian population is of European descent (before independence Europeans accounted for some 10%). Almost all Algerians are adherents of the Sunni Muslim faith, the state religion.

Economy

About 15% of Algeria's workers are engaged in farming; agriculture contributes less to the country's GDP than either mining or manufacturing. The state plays a leading role in planning the economy and owns many important industrial concerns, including the mining and financial sectors. Since the late 1990s, there has been some privatization and openness to foreign investment.

Farming is concentrated in the fertile valleys and basins of the north and in the oases of the Sahara. The principal crops are wheat, barley, oats, wine grapes, olives, citrus, figs, and dates. Algeria is also an important producer of cork. Large numbers of sheep, poultry, goats, and cattle are raised, and there is a small fishing industry.

Petroleum and natural gas, found principally in the E Sahara, are Algeria's most important mineral resources and its leading exports. Production was decreased in the 1980s in order to delay the depletion of resources but rose again in the late 1990s. There are oil pipelines to the seaports of Arzew and Bejaïa in Algeria and As Sukhayrah in Tunisia. In 1993, a gas pipeline was laid between Hassi R'Mel (Algeria's main gas producing field) and Seville, Spain. Other minerals extracted in significant quantities include iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, and zinc. The country's leading industries include food and beverage processing, (notably olive oil and wine), petrochemicals, and light manufacturing. Algeria's limited rail and road networks serve mainly the northern region.

In recent years the annual earnings from Algeria's exports have been substantially higher than the cost of its imports. The chief imports are machinery, food and beverages, and consumer goods. The principal exports besides petroleum and natural gas are wine and agricultural goods (especially fruit). Algeria's main trade partners are France, the United States, Italy, Spain, and Germany. Since independence, there has been large-scale emigration to France by Algerian job seekers, who contribute substantial cash remittances to the country's economy.

Government

Algeria is governed under the constitution of 1976 as amended. The executive branch is headed by the president, who is popularly elected for a five-year term and may be reelected. The prime minister, who is the head of government, is appointed by the president. The bicameral parliament consists of the 389-seat National People's Assembly, whose members are elected by popular vote to five-year terms, and the 144-seat Council of Nations, whose members are appointed by the president (one third) or elected by indirect vote and serve six-year terms. Administratively, the country is divided into 48 provinces.

History

To the Early Nineteenth Century

The earliest recorded inhabitants of Algeria were Berber-speaking peoples who by the 2d millennium B.C. were living in small village-based political units. In the 9th cent. B.C., Carthage was founded in modern-day Tunisia, and Carthaginians eventually established trading posts at Annaba, Skikda, and Algiers. Coastal Algeria was known as Numidia and was usually divided into two kingdoms, both of which were strongly influenced by Carthage. The kingdoms of Numidia were united by King Masinissa (c.238-149 B.C.).

In 146 B.C., Rome destroyed Carthage, and by 106 B.C., after defeating King Jugurtha of Numidia, it held coastal Algeria. The Romans also gained control of the Tell Atlas region and part of the Plateau of the Chotts; the rest of present-day Algeria remained under Berber rulers and was outside Roman rule. Under Rome, the cities were built up and impressive public works (including roads and aqueducts) were constructed. Much grain was shipped from Algeria to Rome. By the Christian era, Algeria (divided into Numidia and Mauritania Caesariensis) was an integral, albeit relatively unimportant, part of the Roman Empire. One of its most famous citizens was St. Augustine (354-430), who was bishop of Hippo (now Annaba) and a leading opponent of Donatism (which was in part a Berber protest against Roman rule).

By the 5th cent. Roman civilization in Algeria had been eroded by incursions of Berbers, and the destruction wreaked by the Vandals (who passed through Algeria on their way to Tunisia) in 430-431 marked the end of effective Roman control. Algeria again came under the control of numerous small indigenous political units. In the early 6th cent. a temporary veneer of unity and order was forged by the Byzantine Empire, which conquered parts of the North African coast including the region E of Algiers. In the late 7th and early 8th cent. Muslim Arabs conquered Algeria and ousted the Byzantines. Although few Arabs settled in the region, they had a profound influence as most of the Berbers quickly became Muslims and gradually absorbed the Arabic language and culture. In addition, the Arabs intermarried with the Berbers.

A number of small Muslim states rose and fell in Algeria, but generally the eastern part of the country came under the influence of dynasties centered in Tunisia (notably the Aghlabid of Kairouan) and the western part was controlled by states centered in Morocco (notably the Almoravids and Almohads). Also, in the 8th and 9th cent. Tlemcen was the center of the Muslim Kharajite sect, and in the early 10th cent. the Fatimid dynasty began its major rise from a base in NE Algeria. In the late 15th cent. Spain expelled the Muslims from its soil and soon thereafter captured the coastal cities of Algeria. Algerians appealed to Turkish pirates (especially the Barbarossa brothers) for help, and, with the aid of the Ottoman Empire, they ended Spanish control by the mid-16th cent. Algeria then came under Ottoman rule.

The country was at first governed by officials sent from Constantinople, but in 1671 the dey (ruler) of Algiers, chosen by local civilian, military, and pirate leaders to govern for life and virtually independent of the Ottoman Empire, became head of Algeria. The country was divided into three provinces (Constantine, Titteri, and Mascara), each governed by a bey. The power of the Ottomans, and later of the deys, did not extend much beyond the Tell Atlas. The coast was a stronghold of pirates (see Barbary States) who preyed on Mediterranean shipping. Privateering reached a high point in the 16th and 17th cent. and declined thereafter; there was a temporary increase during the Napoleonic Wars (early 19th cent.). A large percentage of the dey's revenues came from pirates. Considerable trade with Europe also was conducted from Algerian ports; the chief exports were wheat, fruit, and woven goods. The country was in addition a center of the slave trade, most of the slaves being persons captured by pirates.

Algeria in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

In an effort to discourage privateering from Algerian ports, a British fleet bombarded Algiers in 1816. By this time the dey's power was greatly circumscribed by the three beys and by independent-minded Berber groups, and he effectively controlled only a small part of the coastal region. In the 1820s a minor dispute with the French resulted in Charles X of France imposing a naval blockade of Algeria and then, in June, 1830, invading the country. The dey capitulated in July, 1830, but most of the country resisted.

In 1834 the French renewed their drive to occupy Algeria and in 1837 they took Constantine, the last major city to retain its independence. However, the Berber leader Abd al-Kader, whose power was centered in the hinterland of Oran, held out against the French until 1847, when Gen. T. R. Bugeaud de la Piconnerie led a major military campaign against him. Colonization by Europeans (half of whom were French and the rest mainly Spanish, Italian, and Maltese) began c.1840 and accelerated after 1848, when Algeria was declared French territory. By 1880 persons of European descent numbered about 375,000, and they controlled most of the better farmland. However, France continued to face isolated (but occasionally fierce) resistance, mainly in Kabylia (see Kabyles) and the Sahara region, until 1910.

In 1900 the country was given administrative and financial autonomy and placed under a governor-general, whose advisers were mainly European. By this time the colonists had started large-scale agricultural and industrial enterprises (introducing, among other things, wine and tobacco production) and had built roads, railroads, schools, and hospitals. The cities in particular were modernized. These improvements were intended for the Europeans' own use, and the Muslims benefited little from them, being left with scant political or economic power and with few legal rights. Although the official French policy in Algeria was to encourage the Muslims to adapt to European ways as preparation for full citizenship, very little was done to implement this policy, and there was virtually no mixing between the European and Muslim populations.

After World War I two types of protest groups were started by the Muslims. One movement called for a fully independent, Muslim-controlled Algeria; an early exponent was Messali Hadj, who in 1924 founded the Star of North Africa movement (later called, successively, the Party of the Algerian People and the Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties, or MTLD). The other faction sought assimilation with France and the equality of Muslims and Europeans in Algeria; its chief exponent was Ferhat Abbas, who, however, after several rebuffs by the French, was calling for Algerian autonomy by the mid-1940s and advocated complete independence by the early 1950s.

In World War II, Algeria at first came under the Vichy regime but later became (1942) Allied headquarters in North Africa; it also served for a time as the seat of Charles de Gaulle's Free French government. In 1945, a spontaneous nationalist uprising in Sétif resulted in the killing of more than 100 Europeans; the French responded by a sweeping crackdown during which at least 1,500 Muslims (estimates have run as high as 45,000) were killed. In 1947 the French national assembly passed the Statute of Algeria, under which the Muslims were to be given some additional political power. Most of the statute's provisions were not implemented, however, and the colonists (in partnership with the French government) continued to control Algerian affairs.

A radical group of Muslims seceded in 1954 from Messali's MTLD, formed the National Liberation Front (FLN; its military arm was called the National Liberation Army or ALN), and attacked police posts and other government offices in the Batna-Constantine region. In the following months the revolt gradually spread to other parts of the country. The MTLD was reorganized into the Algerian Nationalist Movement, which, led by Messali, unsuccessfully competed with-and at times fought against-the FLN.

In 1955, the FLN carried out more extensive attacks on the colonists (especially in the Skikda area), and the French responded with severe reprisals. By 1956 the FLN had the support of virtually all Algerian nationalists except Messali, controlled much of the countryside, and was organizing frequent attacks in the cities (especially Algiers). In 1957 the French successfully put down the resistance, and the FLN was forced to concentrate on guerrilla activities in the rural areas; the French also constructed electrified barriers along Algeria's borders with Morocco and Tunisia in order to reduce the infiltration of men and matériel. By this time, about 500,000 French troops were stationed in Algeria.

In 1958 there were demonstrations in Algeria by colonists and elements of the French army who feared that the government in France might negotiate a settlement with the Muslims that would undermine the Europeans' position; an ensuing political crisis in France resulted in the return to power of de Gaulle and the establishment of the Fifth French Republic. Fighting continued, and in 1959 the FLN established at Tunis the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic (GPRA), with Ferhat Abbas as prime minister.

By 1960, de Gaulle had come to recognize the inevitability of some form of Algerian independence; the main problem concerned the future status of the almost one million European colonists, many of whom had been born in Algeria. Sensing the direction of French policy, the colonists and army (both of whom aimed for the full integration of Algeria with France) staged major protests in 1960 and 1961, but both were put down by de Gaulle. In mid-1961, Ferhat Abbas resigned as prime minister of the GPRA and was replaced by Ben Yusuf Ben Khedda. Shortly thereafter, negotiations with the French government began, and in Mar., 1962, an agreement was signed. The accord provided for an end to the fighting and for Algerian independence after a transition period.

The people of France overwhelmingly approved the agreement in a referendum held in early Apr., 1962, but members of the French army in Algeria, banded together in the Secret Army Organization (OAS), launched an armed campaign against Muslims in an attempt to prevent the implementation of the accord. In late April, however, their leader, Gen. Raoul Salan, was captured, and by late June the army revolt had been ended. Already in April colonists had begun to leave Algeria in large numbers; by October only about 250,000 remained, and most of them soon left as well. As a result of the more than seven years' fighting at least 100,000 Muslim and 10,000 French soldiers had been killed; in addition, many thousands of Muslim civilians and a much smaller number of colonists lost their lives.

Algeria after Independence

On July 1, 1962, the people of Algeria voted almost unanimously for independence in a referendum, and on July 3, France recognized Algeria's sovereignty. As a result of the fighting and of the exodus of colonists, the Algerian economy lay in ruins. Ben Khedda, the moderate leader of the GPRA, formed the initial Algerian government, but in Sept., 1962, he was replaced as prime minister by Ahmed Ben Bella, a leftist radical who had the support of the ALN (led by Houari Boumedienne). A constituent assembly chosen in late 1962 established a strong presidential government, and in Sept., 1963, Ben Bella was elected president. Ben Bella, who increasingly concentrated power in his hands, followed a left-wing domestic policy that included the confiscation of European-held farms and the nationalization of various parts of the economy. From 1963 to 1965 the Socialist Forces Front, a Berber group that had fought against French rule, mounted a rebellion against the new Arab-dominated Algerian government.

In 1965, Ben Bella was deposed in a bloodless coup by Boumedienne, his defense minister, who suspended the constitution and established a ruling revolutionary council, of which he became president. At first Boumedienne faced resistance from students and regional groups, but by the end of 1968 he had a secure hold on power. Algeria gave strong vocal support to the Arabs in the Arab-Israeli wars of 1967 and 1973 and also contributed soldiers and matériel. After an initial slowdown Boumedienne increased the pace of state involvement in the economy. In 1971 he nationalized (with compensation) French oil and natural gas companies in Algeria, and by 1972 output had reached record levels. Price rises for petroleum and natural gas in 1973-74 resulted in considerably higher export earnings.

Boumedienne died in 1978 and was succeeded as head of the republic by FLN leader Colonel Chadli Bendjedid. Berbers rioted in 1980 over legislation making Arabic the only official language, and in the same year a massive earthquake struck NW Algeria, killing an estimated 4,500 people. The 1986 collapse of world oil prices plunged the country into a severe recession. Riots in 1988 led to a series of constitutional reforms in 1989 that legalized opposition parties and guaranteed workers the right to strike; at the same time, government control was established over the media.

Civil unrest resulting from a rise in Islamic fundamentalism led to the postponement of national elections set for June, 1991. When first-round elections were held in December, the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) took a commanding lead and was poised to win power. But in early 1992, Bendjedid resigned under pressure, and the military canceled the second round of elections. FIS activists were arrested and jailed, and their party banned. Islamic militants responded with a campaign of violence. An interim military council took power, with former independence leader Mohammed Boudiaf as president; he was assassinated in June, 1992, and succeeded by Ali Kalfa.

In Jan., 1994, Gen. Liamine Zéroual was appointed president. Under Zéroual, limited efforts at negotiations with the Islamic opposition were followed by a renewed crackdown. Zéroual won the Nov., 1995, presidential elections, which were boycotted by Islamic militants. Fighting continued, and he resigned early in 1999. Presidential elections held in Apr., 1999, were won by Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the candidate of the military oligarchy; all the opposition candidates had withdrawn before the vote, claiming ballot-rigging.

The Islamic Salvation Army, the armed wing of the outlawed FIS, renounced its armed struggle in June, 1999; its members were to be granted amnesty (approved in a referendum in September) and invited to join government forces in fighting other radical guerrillas still waging war against the state. In Jan., 2000, President Bouteflika granted a blanket pardon to the Islamic Salvation Army forces, and the government announced that 80% of all the Islamic guerrillas had surrendered under the amnesty. Violence has diminished since then, but attacks do continue to occur. It is estimated that as many as 150,000 people were killed in the violence and repression that began in 1992.

The easing of the fighting has brought such issues as government corruption and widespread poverty and unemployment (estimated at 30%) to the fore. In addition, in 2001 there were large demonstrations and clashes with police by Berbers, who remained deeply unhappy about Arabic's status as the sole national language, a policy that was reversed the following year. Berber protests also sparked demonstrations against the country's stagnant economy by non-Berber Algerians. Parliamentary elections in May, 2002, were boycotted by a number of major opposition parties and many voters, and the FLN won more than half the seats.

French president Jacques Chirac made a state visit to Algeria in Mar., 2003; it was the first such visit since Algerian independence. Two months later a strong earthquake devastated many towns east of the capital, killing more than 2,200 people. The ineffective official response to the disaster led to public outrage and widespread criticism of the government. Late in 2003, tensions between the president and Ali Benflis, the FLN party leader and a former prime minister, led to a split in the government and within the party. Bouteflika was returned to office in Apr., 2004, in an election that observers called Algeria's fairest to date, but the vote for Bouteflika (83%) led Benflis, his main opponent, to accuse the government of massive fraud.

In 2005 the government reached an agreement with Berber leaders that promised economic aid and greater recognition of the Berber language and culture, but many of the details were not finalized. Voters approved a government national reconciliation plan that would provide amnesty for many Islamic insurgents and government security forces and compensate the families of persons killed in the insurgency. The plan, which was criticized by human-rights groups for absolving government forces of their involvement in extrajudicial killings, came into effect in 2006. At the same time, Algeria's remaining Islamic fundamentalist guerrillas, while largely confined to more remote mountain and desert regions, continued to mount attacks against the government and have sought to expand their influence through training non-Algerian Islamists and recruiting fighters for non-Algerian conflicts from among Muslims in Europe and elsewhere outside Algeria. The main fundamentalist guerrilla group also officially aligned itself with Al Qaeda, and in Dec., 2007, mounted bombings against government and UN buildings in Algiers. Bombings, some of them significant, and other attacks continued into 2009.

The May, 2007, parliamentary elections were won by the FLN-led governing coalition, whose three parties secured nearly two thirds of the seats. Turnout was light, however, with a little more than a third of the voters going to the polls, and some parties boycotted or were banned from the campaign. In Nov., 2008, parliament ended presidential term limits, enabling Bouteflika to run for a third term in 2009. In Apr., 2009, the president was reelected with 90% of the vote; although the election was boycotted by some opposition parties, the goverment said there was a 74% turnout.

Bibliography

See H. D. Nelson, ed., Algeria (4th ed. 1983); M. Bennoune, The Making of Contemporary Algeria, 1830-1987 (1988); F. Fanon, Wretched of the Earth (tr. 1988); J. Ruedy, Modern Algeria (1991); A. Horne, A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 (1977, repr. 2006).

Mideast & N. Africa Encyclopedia: Algeria

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This entry consists of the following articles:

— ALGERIA: OVERVIEW, ALGERIA: CONSTITUTION, ALGERIA: POLITICAL PARTIES IN

Geography: Algeria

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Republic in northwest Africa, bordered to the north by the Mediterranean Sea, to the east by Tunisia and Libya, to the south by Niger and Mali, and to the west by Mauritania and Morocco. Its capital and largest city is Algiers.

Colonized by France in the nineteenth century, Algeria was involved in a long and bloody battle for independence, gaining full autonomy in the early 1960s.

Dialing Code: Algeria

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The international dialing code for Algeria is: 213

Maps: Algeria

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Local Time: Algeria

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It is 4:21 AM, January 7, in Algeria.

Currency: Algeria

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Algerian Dinar

Statistics: Algeria

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Background:

After more than a century of rule by France, Algerians fought through much of the 1950s to achieve independence in 1962. Algeria's primary political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), has dominated politics ever since. Many Algerians in the subsequent generation were not satisfied, however, and moved to counter the FLN's centrality in Algerian politics. The surprising first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the December 1991 balloting spurred the Algerian army to intervene and postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming power. The army began a crackdown on the FIS that spurred FIS supporters to begin attacking government targets. The government later allowed elections featuring pro-government and moderate religious-based parties, but did not appease the activists who progressively widened their attacks. The fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense fighting between 1992-98 and which resulted in over 100,000 deaths - many attributed to indiscriminate massacres of villagers by extremists. The government gained the upper hand by the late-1990s and FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000. However, small numbers of armed militants persist in confronting government forces and conducting ambushes and occasional attacks on villages. The army placed Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA in the presidency in 1999 in a fraudulent election but claimed neutrality in his 2004 landslide reelection victory. Longstanding problems continue to face BOUTEFLIKA in his second term, including large-scale unemployment, a shortage of housing, unreliable electrical and water supplies, government inefficiencies and corruption, and the continuing activities of extremist militants. The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) in 2006 merged with al-Qaida to form al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, which since has launched an ongoing series of kidnappings and bombings - including high-profile, mass-casualty suicide attacks targeted against the Algerian government and Western interests. Algeria must also diversify its petroleum-based economy, which has yielded a large cash reserve but which has not been used to redress Algeria's many social and infrastructure problems.

Location:	Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
Geographic coordinates:	28 00 N, 3 00 E
Map references:	Africa
Area:	total: 2,381,740 sq km land: 2,381,740 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:	slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas
Land boundaries:	total: 6,343 km border countries: Libya 982 km, Mali 1,376 km, Mauritania 463 km, Morocco 1,559 km, Niger 956 km, Tunisia 965 km, Western Sahara 42 km
Coastline:	998 km
Maritime claims:	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm
Climate:	arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer
Terrain:	mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Elevation extremes:	lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m highest point: Tahat 3,003 m
Natural resources:	petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc
Land use:	arable land: 3.17% permanent crops: 0.28% other: 96.55% (2005)
Irrigated land:	5,690 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:	14.3 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):	total: 6.07 cu km/yr (22%/13%/65%) per capita: 185 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:	mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season
Environment - current issues:	soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water
Environment - international agreements:	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:	second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)

Population:	34,178,188 (July 2009 est.)
Age structure:	0-14 years: 25.4% (male 4,436,591/female 4,259,729) 15-64 years: 69.5% (male 11,976,965/female 11,777,618) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 798,576/female 928,709) (2009 est.)
Median age:	total: 26.6 years male: 26.3 years female: 26.8 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate:	1.196% (2009 est.)
Birth rate:	16.9 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Death rate:	4.62 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:	-0.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Urbanization:	urban population: 65% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 2.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate:	total: 27.73 deaths/1,000 live births male: 30.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 24.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:	total population: 74.02 years male: 72.35 years female: 75.77 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate:	1.79 children born/woman (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:	0.1%; note - no country specific models provided (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:	21,000 (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:	fewer than 1,000 (2007 est.)
Nationality:	noun: Algerian(s) adjective: Algerian
Ethnic groups:	Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1% note: almost all Algerians are Berber in origin, not Arab; the minority who identify themselves as Berber live mostly in the mountainous region of Kabylie east of Algiers; the Berbers are also Muslim but identify with their Berber rather than Arab cultural heritage; Berbers have long agitated, sometimes violently, for autonomy; the government is unlikely to grant autonomy but has offered to begin sponsoring teaching Berber language in schools
Religions:	Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%
Languages:	Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
Literacy:	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 69.9% male: 79.6% female: 60.1% (2002 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):	total: 13 years male: 13 years female: 13 years (2005)
Education expenditures:	5.1% of GDP (1999)

Country name:	conventional long form: People's Democratic Republic of Algeria conventional short form: Algeria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Sha'biyah local short form: Al Jaza'ir
Government type:	republic
Capital:	name: Algiers geographic coordinates: 36 45 N, 3 03 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:	48 provinces (wilayat, singular - wilaya); Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba, Batna, Bechar, Bejaia, Biskra, Blida, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira, Boumerdes, Chlef, Constantine, Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Oued, El Tarf, Ghardaia, Guelma, Illizi, Jijel, Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara, Medea, Mila, Mostaganem, M'Sila, Naama, Oran, Ouargla, Oum el Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Souk Ahras, Tamanghasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen
Independence:	5 July 1962 (from France)
National holiday:	Revolution Day, 1 November (1954)
Constitution:	8 September 1963; revised 19 November 1976; effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, 28 November 1996, 10 April 2002, and 12 November 2008
Legal system:	socialist, based on French and Islamic law; judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of various public officials including several Supreme Court justices; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:	chief of state: President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (since 28 April 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Ahmed OUYAHIA (since 23 June 2008) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; note - a November 2008 constitutional amendment abolished presidential term limits; election last held 9 April 2009 (next to be held in April 2014); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA reelected president for third term; percent of vote - Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA 90.2%, Louisa HANOUNE 4.2%, Moussa TOUATI 2.3%, Djahid YOUNSI 1.4%, Ali Fawzi REBIANE less than 1%, Mohamed SAID less than 1%
Legislative branch:	bicameral Parliament consists of the Council of Nations (Senate) (144 seats; one-third of the members appointed by the president, two-thirds elected by indirect vote to serve six-year terms; the constitution requires half the council to be renewed every three years) and the National People's Assembly or Al-Majlis Al-Shabi Al-Watani (389 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: National People's Assembly - last held 17 May 2007 (next to be held in 2012); Council of Nations (Senate) - last held 28 December 2006 (next to be held in 2009) election results: National People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 136, RND 61, MSP 52, PT 26, RCD 19, FNA 13, other 49, independents 33; Council of Nations - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 29, RND 12, MSP 3, RCD 1, independents 3, presidential appointees (unknown affiliation) 24; note - Council seating reflects the number of replaced council members rather than the whole Council
Judicial branch:	Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:	Ahd 54 [Ali Fauzi REBAINE]; Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI]; National Democratic Rally (Rassemblement National Democratique) or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA]; National Liberation Front or FLN [Abdelaziz BELKHADEM, secretary general]; National Reform Movement or Islah (formerly MRN) [Mohamed BOULAHIA]; Rally for Culture and Democracy or RCD [Said SADI]; Renaissance Movement or EnNahda Movement [Fatah RABEI]; Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Hocine Ait AHMED]; Society of Peace Movement or MSP [Boudjerra SOLTANI]; Workers Party or PT [Louisa HANOUNE] note: a law banning political parties based on religion was enacted in March 1997
Political pressure groups and leaders:	The Algerian Human Rights League or LADDH [Hocine ZEHOUANE]; SOS Disparus [Nacera DUTOUR]
International organization participation:	ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BIS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Abdallah BAALI chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2174
Diplomatic representation from the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador David D. PEARCE embassy: 05 Chemin Cheikh Bachir, El-Ibrahimi, El-Biar 16000 Algiers mailing address: B. P. 408, Alger-Gare, 16030 Algiers telephone: [213] 770-08-2000 FAX: [213] 21-60-7355
Flag description:	two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white; a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent centered over the two-color boundary note: the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state religion)

Economy - overview:	The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 60% of budget revenues, 30% of GDP, and over 95% of export earnings. Algeria has the eighth-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the fourth-largest gas exporter; it ranks 15th in oil reserves. Sustained high oil prices in recent years have helped improve Algeria's financial and macroeconomic indicators. Algeria is running substantial trade surpluses and building up record foreign exchange reserves. Algeria has decreased its external debt to less than 5% of GDP after repaying its Paris Club and London Club debt in 2006. Real GDP has risen due to higher oil output and increased government spending. The government's continued efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector, however, has had little success in reducing high unemployment and improving living standards. Structural reform within the economy, such as development of the banking sector and the construction of infrastructure, moves ahead slowly hampered by corruption and bureaucratic resistance.
GDP (purchasing power parity):	$235.5 billion (2008 est.) $228.6 billion (2007) $218.6 billion (2006) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):	$171.3 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:	3% (2008 est.) 4.6% (2007 est.) 2.2% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):	$7,000 (2008 est.) $6,900 (2007 est.) $6,600 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:	agriculture: 8.1% industry: 62.5% services: 29.4% (2008 est.)
Labor force:	9.44 million (2008 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:	agriculture 14%, industry 13.4%, construction and public works 10%, trade 14.6%, government 32%, other 16% (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate:	12.9% (2008 est.)
Population below poverty line:	25% (2005 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:	lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 26.8% (1995)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:	35.3 (1995)
Investment (gross fixed):	24.8% of GDP (2008 est.)
Budget:	revenues: $73.26 billion expenditures: $51.19 billion (2008 est.)
Fiscal year:	calendar year
Public debt:	13.8% of GDP (2008 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):	3.6% (2008 est.)
Central bank discount rate:	4% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:	8% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:	$55.43 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:	$28.59 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:	NA
Market value of publicly traded shares:	$NA
Agriculture - products:	wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle
Industries:	petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing
Industrial production growth rate:	4.5% (2008 est.)
Electricity - production:	33.12 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - consumption:	26.91 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:	300 million kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - imports:	382 million kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - production by source:	fossil fuel: 99.7% hydro: 0.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Oil - production:	2.173 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:	279,800 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports:	1.844 million bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - imports:	13,110 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - proved reserves:	12.2 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:	85.7 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:	26.3 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:	59.4 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:	0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:	4.502 trillion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:	$35.8 billion (2008 est.)
Exports:	$75.06 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Exports - commodities:	petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97%
Exports - partners:	US 29.4%, Italy 13.8%, Spain 9.6%, Canada 8.4%, France 7.4%, Netherlands 5% (2007)
Imports:	$36.87 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Imports - commodities:	capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods
Imports - partners:	France 18.7%, China 9%, Italy 8.5%, Spain 6%, US 5.5%, Germany 5.3%, Russia 4.6%, Turkey 4.1% (2007)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:	$150.5 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Debt - external:	$2.913 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:	$14.11 billion (2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:	$1.162 billion (2008 est.)
Currency (code):	Algerian dinar (DZD)
Currency code:	DZD
Exchange rates:	Algerian dinars (DZD) per US dollar - 63.25 (2008 est.), 69.9 (2007), 72.647 (2006), 73.276 (2005), 72.061 (2004)

Telephones - main lines in use:	3.068 million (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular:	27.563 million (2007)
Telephone system:	general assessment: a weak network of fixed-main lines, which remains low at less than 10 telephones per 100 persons, is partially offset by the rapid increase in mobile cellular subscribership; in 2007, combined fixed-line and mobile telephone density surpassed 90 telephones per 100 persons domestic: privatization of Algeria's telecommunications sector began in 2000; three mobile cellular licenses have been issued and, in 2005, a consortium led by Egypt's Orascom Telecom won a 15-year license to build and operate a fixed-line network in Algeria; the license will allow Orascom to develop high-speed data and other specialized services and contribute to meeting the large unfulfilled demand for basic residential telephony; Internet broadband services began in 2003 with approximately 200,000 subscribers in 2006 international: country code - 213; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-4 fiber-optic submarine cable system that provides links to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia; microwave radio relay to Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia; coaxial cable to Morocco and Tunisia; participant in Medarabtel; satellite earth stations - 51 (Intelsat, Intersputnik, and Arabsat) (2007)
Radio broadcast stations:	AM 25, FM 1, shortwave 8 (1999)
Radios:	7.1 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:	46 (plus 216 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions:	3.1 million (1997)
Internet country code:	.dz
Internet hosts:	477 (2008)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):	2 (2000)
Internet users:	3.5 million (2007)

Airports:	142 (2008)
Airports - with paved runways:	total: 57 over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2008)
Airports - with unpaved runways:	total: 85 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 40 under 914 m: 23 (2008)
Heliports:	2 (2007)
Pipelines:	condensate 1,937 km; gas 14,648 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,933 km; oil 7,579 km (2008)
Railways:	total: 3,973 km standard gauge: 2,888 km 1.435-m gauge (283 km electrified) narrow gauge: 1,085 km 1.055-m gauge (2006)
Roadways:	total: 108,302 km paved: 76,028 km (includes 645 km of expressways) unpaved: 32,274 km (2004)
Merchant marine:	total: 33 by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 8, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 9, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 18 (Jordan 7, UK 11) (2008)
Ports and terminals:	Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Djendjene, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda

Military branches:	National Popular Army (ANP; includes Land Forces), Algerian National Navy (MRA), Air Force (QJJ), Territorial Air Defense Force (2005)
Military service age and obligation:	19-30 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months (6 months basic training, 12 months civil projects) (2006)
Manpower available for military service:	males age 16-49: 9,736,757 females age 16-49: 9,590,978 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:	males age 16-49: 8,317,473 females age 16-49: 8,367,005 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:	male: 375,852 female: 362,158 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures:	3.3% of GDP (2006)

Disputes - international:	Algeria, and many other states, rejects Moroccan administration of Western Sahara; the Polisario Front, exiled in Algeria, represents the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic; Algeria's border with Morocco remains an irritant to bilateral relations, each nation accusing the other of harboring militants and arms smuggling; Algeria remains concerned about armed bandits operating throughout the Sahel who sometimes destabilize southern Algerian towns; dormant disputes include Libyan claims of about 32,000 sq km still reflected on its maps of southeastern Algeria and the FLN's assertions of a claim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco
Refugees and internally displaced persons:	refugees (country of origin): 90,000 (Western Saharan Sahrawi, mostly living in Algerian-sponsored camps in the southwestern Algerian town of Tindouf) IDPs: undetermined (civil war during 1990s) (2007)
Trafficking in persons:	current situation: Algeria is a transit country for men and women trafficked from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude; Algerian children are trafficked internally for the purpose of domestic servitude or street vending tier rating: Tier 3 - Algeria did not report any serious law enforcement actions to punish traffickers who force women into commercial sexual exploitation or men into involuntary servitude in 2007; the government again reported no investigations of trafficking of children for domestic servitude or improvements in protection services available to victims of trafficking; Algeria still lacks victim protection services, and its failure to distinguish between trafficking and illegal migration may result in the punishment of victims of trafficking (2008)

Local Cuisine: Algeria

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A Typical Holiday Menu

Cucumber and yogurt soup
Stuffed dates and walnuts
Roast stuffed leg of lamb
Tomato and raisin-stuffed eggplant
Potato & chickpea salad
Cooked carrots
Fresh fruit medley

Recipes

Saffron and Raisin Couscous with Fresh Mint
Fresh Sweet Dates
Etzai (Mint Tea)
Sahlab
Banadura Salata B'Kizbara (Salad)
Sweet Couscous Dessert
Stuffed Dates and Walnuts
Algerian Cooked Carrot Salad
Chlada Fakya (Fresh Fruit Medley)
Cucumber & Yogurt Soup

Geographic Setting and Environment

Algeria is located in North Africa on the Mediterranean Sea. The fertile and mountainous northern region is home to the olive tree, cork oak, and vast evergreen forests where boars and jackals roam. Fig, agave, and various palm trees grow in the warmer areas. The grape vine is native to the coastal plain. Central Algeria consists of the High Plateaus that contain salt marshes and dry or shallow salt lakes. The land becomes more arid (dry) the farther south one travels, eventually becoming the Sahara Desert. Roughly 80 percent of the country is desert, where vegetation is sparse. Camels are widely used in this arid region, although jackals, rabbits, scorpions, and snakes also occupy the deserts.

The coastal region has a typical Mediterranean climate—pleasant nearly year round, with winter temperatures rarely falling below freezing (32°F). Rainfall is also abundant along the coast. Farther inland, higher altitudes receive considerable frost and occasional snow. Little or no rainfall occurs throughout the summer months in this region. In the Sahara Desert, rainfall is unpredictable and unevenly distributed.

History and Food

Algerian cuisine traces its roots to various countries and ancient cultures that once ruled, visited, or traded with the country. Berber tribesmen were one of the country's earliest inhabitants. Their arrival, which may extend as far back as 30,000 B.C., marked the beginning of wheat cultivation, smen (aged, cooked butter), and fruit consumption, such as dates. The introduction of semolina wheat by the Carthaginians (who occupied much of northern Africa) led the Berbers to first create couscous, Algeria's national dish. The Romans, who eventually took over Algeria, also grew various grains. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Algeria ranked among the top ten importers of grain (such as wheat and barley) in the world, according to ArabicNews.com.

Muslim Arabs invaded Algeria in the 600s, bringing exotic spices such as saffron, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon from the Spice Islands of eastern Indonesia. They also introduced the Islamic religion to the Berbers. Islam continues to influence almost every aspect of an Algerian's life, including the diet.

Olives (and olive oil) and fruits such as oranges, plums, and peaches were brought across the Mediterranean from Spain during an invasion in the 1500s. Sweet pastries from the Turkish Ottomans and tea from European traders also made their way into Algerian cuisine around this time.

In the early 1800s, Algerians were driven off their own lands and forced to surrender their crops and farmland to the French. The French introduced their diet and culture to the Algerians, including their well-known loaves of bread and the establishment of sidewalk cafés. This French legacy remains evident in Algerian culture. In fact, Algeria's second language is French. (Arabic is the official language.)

Tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, and chilies, significant to Algerian local cuisine, were brought over from the New World.

See Saffron and Raisin Couscous with Fresh Mint recipe.

See Fresh Sweet Dates recipe.

Foods of the Algerians

Traditional Algerian cuisine, a colorful combination of Berber, Turkish, French, and Arab tastes, can be either extremely mild or packed with flavorful seasonings. Ginger, saffron, onion, garlic, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, parsley, and mint are essential in any Algerian pantry.

Couscous, the national dish, is often mistaken as a grain itself, rather than pasta. The pasta dough is a mixture of water and coarse, grainy semolina wheat particles. The dough is then crumbled through a sieve to create tiny pellets. Algerians prefer lamb, chicken, or fish to be placed on a bed of warm couscous, along with cooked vegetables such as carrots, chickpeas, and tomatoes, and spicy stews. Couscous can also be used in desserts by adding a variety of ingredients, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, dates, and figs.

No Algerian meal would be complete without bread, normally a long, French loaf. Similar to Middle Eastern customs, bread is often used to scoop food off of a plate or to soak up a spicy sauce or stew. More traditional Berber families usually eat flat, wheat bread.

Mechoui, a roasted whole lamb cooked on an outdoor spit, is usually prepared when a large group of people gathers together. The animal is seasoned with herb butter so the skin is crispy and the meat inside is tender and juicy. Bread and various dried fruits and vegetables, including dates (whose trees can thrive in the country's Sahara desert), often accompany mechoui.

Beverages such as mint tea are a favorite among all North African countries. Tea is usually offered to visiting guests, though coffee flavored with cardamom is another option. With the abundance of fruits year round, fresh juices are plentiful and children tend to favor apricot nectar. Sharbats, fruit or nut-flavored milk drinks, are popular with all ages, including sahlab, a sweet, milky drink. Traditional Berbers, in particular, prefer drinks made from goat milk, although cow milk is now available. Basbousa (Egyptian semolina cake), tamina (roasted semolina with butter and honey), and sweetened couscous are just a few sweets enjoyed by the Algerians.

See Etzai (Mint Tea) recipe.

See Sahlab recipe.

See Banadura Salata B'Kizbara (Tomato and Coriander Salad) recipe.

See Sweet Couscous Dessert recipe.

Food for Religious and Holiday Celebrations

The overwhelming majority of Algerians, about 99 percent, follow the beliefs of Islam, the country's official religion (Christians and Jews make up only 1 percent of the population).

The Algerian observance of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic year (most often November or December), is the most celebrated of all holidays. During the monthlong observance, Muslims are required to fast (avoid consuming food and drink) between sunrise and sunset, although young, growing children and pregnant women may be allowed to eat a small amount. At the end of each day during Ramadan, sometimes as late as midnight, families join together for a feast. French loaves or wheat bread and a pot of hot mint tea will likely serve as refreshments.

The meal marking the end of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, is the most important feast. It almost always begins with soup or stew. Lamb or beef is most often served as the main dish, although families living close to the Mediterranean in northern Algeria enjoy a variety of seafood. In most Algerian homes, a bowl of fresh fruit is placed on the table at the end of the meal. Traditionally, each person is responsible for peeling and slicing his or her own fruit. However, on special occasions such as Eid al-Fitr, the host will often serve the fruit already peeled, sliced, and flavored (most often with cinnamon and various citrus juices).

Other popular holiday celebrations are Labor Day (May 1), and the anniversary of the revolution over French control (November 1). Two local festivals that are celebrated every spring are the cherry moussem (festival) in Tlemcen and the tomato moussem in Adrar.

See Stuffed Dates and Walnuts recipe.

See Algerian Cooked Carrot Salad recipe.

See Chlada Fakya (Fresh Fruit Medley) recipe.

See Cucumber & Yogurt Soup recipe.

Mealtime Customs

Arabs are hospitable and encourage family and friends to share their food. Even an unexpected visitor will be greeted warmly and offered coffee (often flavored with cardamom), while the females of the household prepare the meal. Cooking continues to be considered a woman's duty, as it has in the past. Historically, recipes and cooking customs have been passed down through generations by word of mouth when women gather together to prepare meals.

All meals (normally three a day) are leisurely and sociable, although there are varying degrees of structure and etiquette (polite behavior). Seated at a low table (tbla or mida), food is traditionally eaten with the thumb, forefinger, and middle finger of the right hand (the left hand is considered unclean). To use four or five fingers is considered to be a sign of over-eating and should be avoided. The dining atmosphere in a middle class family may be a bit more elegant. A servant or young family member might visit each individual at the table, offering a bowl of perfumed water to diners for washing their hands before the meal is eaten.

The country's capital, Algiers, and popular coastal towns tend to have a wide variety of restaurants, particularly French, Italian, and Middle Eastern cuisine. Southern Algeria is less populated, and is farther from Algiers and the Mediterranean waters, where seafood and the hustle and bustle of trade are plentiful. Menus usually begin with either a soup or salad, followed by roast meat (usually lamb or beef) or fish as a main course, with fresh fruit commonly completing the meal. In the towns, souks (markets) or street stalls offer take-home products, such as spicy brochettes (kebabs) on French bread for those on the run. With the exception of an occasional fast food burger, school lunches are often such traditional foods as couscous, dried fruit, stews, and sweet fruit drinks.

Politics, Economics, and Nutrition

Malnutrition has been one of the principal health problems in Algeria in recent years. About 5 percent of the population of Algeria is classified as undernourished by the World Bank. This means they do not receive adequate nutrition in their diet. Of children under the age of five, about 13 percent are underweight, and nearly 18 percent are stunted (short for their age). Very little land in Algeria is cultivated (only 3 percent), too little for the country to be self-sufficient and feed its own people.

However, 91 percent of the population has access to adequate sanitation: nearly 100 percent of those in urban areas and 80 percent in rural areas. Free medical care, which was introduced by the Algerian government in 1974 under the Social Security system, helps pay for those who are ill.

Further Study

Books

Brennan, Georgeanne. The Mediterranean Herb Cookbook. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2000.

Mackley, Lesley. The Book of North African Cooking. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 1998.

Walden, Hilaire. North African Cooking. Edison, New Jersey: Quintet Publishing Limited, 1995.

Webb, Lois Sinaiko. Holidays of the World Cookbook for Students. Phoenix, AZ: The Oryx Press, 1995.

Web Sites

ArabicNews.com. [Online] Available http://www.arabicnews.com/ (accessed March 6, 2001).

CookingLight.com. [Online] Available http://www.cooking-light.com/ (accessed March 8, 2001).

Films

Samia, by Philippe Faucon. (Official selection at the 2000 Venice Film Festival) Samia is a teenage girl of Algerian descent living in Marseille (southern France) with her family. At home, Samia and her two sisters live in an Algerian culture. They speak the language, eat Algerian food, and observe the customs of their Muslim religion. But, as youngsters, they are torn; despite their parents' objections, they want to fit in with the rest of society. To be a young girl in this environment is even more difficult because her family's traditions have society believing that she has no independence. As she begins to spread her wings, the quick-witted and attractive Samia soon finds herself in conflict with her family. (In French and Arabic with English subtitles.)

Wine Lover's Companion: Algeria

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[al-JEER-ee-uh] Algeria, along with its neighbors tunisia and morocco, was once a significant wine producer. During the time it was a colony of France, Algeria produced good-quality wines. Because Algeria's Muslim-dominated population drank little alcohol, most of its wine was exported to France, either in bottles or in bulk to be blended with French wine. Since Algeria's independence in 1962, when most of the French left, wine quality has dropped, exports have dwindled, and production has diminished. The 900,000 acres of vineyard land has been reduced to less than 40,000 acres, and wine production has been reduced to less than 1 percent of the pre-1962 levels. The French established a VDQS system with twelve regions, which exists to some extent today. The current demarcated areas are Aïn Bessem-Bouria, Coteaux du Zaccar, Médéa, Monts du Tessalah, Coteaux de Tlemcen, Coteaux du Mascara, Oued-Imbert, Mostaganem, Mostaganem-Kenenda, and Haut-Dahra. Although these areas have a climate like that of southern Italy, this Moslem-dominated country has not shown the desire to move forward with modernizing its wine industry. The grape varieties grown in Algeria include alicante bouschet, carignan cinsaut, clairette, grenache, mourvèdre, syrah Ugni Blanc (trebbiano), and, occasionally, cabernet sauvignon.

National Anthem: National Anthem of: Algeria

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Original French Words

Par les foudres qui anéantissent,
Par les flots de sang pur et sans tache,
Par les drapeaux flottants qui flottent
Sur les hauts djebel orgueilleux et fiers,
Nous juron nous être révoltés pour vivre ou pour mourir,
Et nous avons juré de mourir pour que vive l'Algérie!
Témoignez! Témoignez! Témoignez!

Nous sommes des soldats pour la justice, révoltés,
Et pour notre indépendance nous avons engagé le combat,
Nous n'avon obéi à nulle injonction en nous soulevant.
Le bruit de la poudre a été notre mesure
Et le crépitement des mitrailleuse notre chant favori.
Et nous avons juré de mourir pour que vive l'Algérie!
Témoignez! Témoignez! Témoignez!

Sur nos héros nous bâtrions une gloire
Et sur nos corps nous monterons à l'immortalité,
Sur nos âmes, nous construirons une armée
Et de notre espoir nous lèverons l'étendard.
Front de la Libération, nous t'avons prêté serment
Et nous avons juré de mourir pour que vive l'Algérie!
Témoignez! Témoignez! Témoignez!

Le cri de la patrie monte des champs de bataille.
Ecoutez-le et répondez à l'appel.
Ecrivez-le dans le sang des martyrs
Et dictez-le aux générations futures.
Nous t'avons donné la main, ô gloire,
Et nous avons juré de mourir pour que vive l'Algérie!
Témoignez! Témoignez! Témoignez!

English Translation

We swear by the lightning that destroys,
By the streams of generous blood being shed,
By the bright flags that wave,
Flying proudly on the high djebels,
That we are in revolt, whether to live or to die,
We are determined that Algeria should live,
So be our witness -be our witness -be our witness!

We are soldiers in revolt for truth
And we have fought for our independence.
When we spoke, nobody listened to us,
So we have taken the noise of gunpowder as our rhythm
And the sound of machine guns as our melody,
We are determined that Algeria should live,
So be our witness -be our witness -be our witness!

From our heroes we shall make an army come to being,
From our dead we shall build up a glory,
Our spirits shall ascend to immortality
And on our shoulders we shall raise the Standard.
To the nation's Liberation Front we have sworn an oath,
We are determined that Algeria should live,
So be our witness -be our witness -be our witness!

The cry of the Fatherland sounds from the battlefields.
Listen to it and answer the call!
Let it be written with the blood of martyrs
And be read to future generations.
Oh, Glory, we have held out our hand to you,
We are determined that Algeria should live,
So be our witness -be our witness -be our witness!

Lyrics: Mufdi Zakariah, 1955

Wikipedia: Algeria

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People's Democratric Republic of Algeria

الجمهورية الجزائري الشّعبية
al Jumhuriyya al Jazaa'iriyya ash Sha'biyya (Arabic)


Flag	Emblem

Motto: (Arabic)
"By the people and for the people"^[1]^[2]

Anthem: Kassaman (Arabic)
The Pledge

Capital
(and largest city)

Algiers
36°42′N 3°13′E / 36.7°N 3.217°E

Official languages Arabic (de jure and de facto), French (de facto)

National languages Arabic, Tamazight

Demonym

Algerian

Government

Semi-presidential republic

- President Abdelaziz Bouteflika

- Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia

Establishment

- Hammadid dynasty from 1014

- Ottoman rule from 1516

- French rule from 1830

- Independence from France 5 July 1962

Area

- Total 2,381,741 km² (11th)
919,595 sq mi

- Water (%) negligible

Population

- 2009 estimate 34,895,000^[3]

- 1998 census 25,100,867

- Density 14.6/km² (204th)
37.9/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2008 estimate

- Total $233.479 billion^[4] (38th)

- Per capita $6,709^[4] (88th)

GDP (nominal) 2008 estimate

- Total $159.669 billion^[4] (48th)

- Per capita $4,588^[4] (84th)

Gini (1995) 35.3 (medium)

HDI (2007) ▲ 0.754^[5] (medium) (104th)

Currency Algerian dinar (DZD)

Time zone CET (UTC +1)

Drives on the left

Internet TLD

.dz

Calling code 213

Algeria (Formal Arabic: الجزائر, al-Jazā’ir; ), officially the People's Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. In terms of land area, it is the largest country on the Mediterranean Sea, the second largest on the African continent^[6] and the Arab world after Sudan, and the eleventh-largest country in the world.^[7]

Algeria is bordered by Tunisia in the northeast, Libya in the east, Niger in the southeast, Mali and Mauritania in the southwest, a few kilometers of the Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara in the southwest, Morocco in the west and northwest, and the Mediterranean Sea in the north. Its size is almost 2,400,000 km² with an estimated population near to 35,000,000. The capital of Algeria is Algiers.

Algeria is a member of the United Nations, African Union, OPEC and the Arab League. It also contributed towards the creation of the Arab Maghreb Union.

Etymology

The name of the country is derived from the city of Algiers. A possible etymology links the city name to Al-jazā’ir, a truncated form of the city's older name of jazā’ir banī mazghanā, the Arabic for "the islands of (the Berber tribe) Ait Mazghanna", as used by early medieval geographers such as al-Idrisi and Yaqut al-Hamawi.

In Classical times northern Algeria was known as Numidia, which included parts of modern day western Tunisia and eastern Morocco.

History

Main article: History of Algeria

Ancient history

Roman arch of Trajan at Thamugadi (Timgad), Algeria

Berbers have inhabited Algeria since at least 10,000 BC;^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13] after 1000 BC, the Carthaginians began establishing settlements along the coast. The Berbers seized the opportunity offered by the Punic Wars to become independent of Carthage, and Berber kingdoms began to emerge, most notably Numidia.

In 200 BC, however, they were once again taken over, this time by the Roman Republic. When the Western Roman Empire collapsed, Berbers became independent again in many areas, while the Vandals took control over other parts, where they remained until expelled by the generals of the Byzantine Emperor, Justinian I. The Byzantine Empire then retained a precarious grip on the east of the country until the coming of the Arabs in the eighth century.

Middle Ages

The two branches, Sanhadja and Zanata, were also divided into tribes, with each Maghreb region made up of several tribes.^[14]^[15] Several Berber dynasties emerged during the Middle Ages.^[14]^[16]

Arrival of Islam

Great Mosque of Algiers

After the waves of Muslim Arab armies then conquered Algeria from its former Berber rulers and the rule of the Umayyid Arab Dynasty fell, numerous dynasties emerged thereafter. Amongst those dynasties are the Almohads, Almoravids, Fatimids of Egypt and Abdelwadids.

Having converted the Kutama of Kabylie to its cause, the Shia Fatimids overthrew the Rustamids, and conquered Egypt, leaving Algeria and Tunisia to their Zirid vassals. When the latter rebelled, the Shia Fatimids sent in the Banu Hilal, a populous Arab tribe, to weaken them.

Ottoman rule

This article may be inaccurate in or unbalanced towards certain viewpoints. Please improve the article by adding information on neglected viewpoints, or discuss the issue on the talk page. (July 2009)

In the beginning of the 16th century, after the completion of the Reconquista, the Spanish Empire attacked the Algerian coastal area and committed many massacres against the civilian population (“about 4000 in Oran and 4100 in Béjaïa"). They took control of Mers El Kébir in 1505, Oran in 1509, Béjaïa in 1510, Tenes, Mostaganem, Cherchell and Dellys in 1511, and finally Algiers in 1512.

On 15 January 1510 the King of Algiers, Samis El Felipe, was forced into submission to the king of Spain; the Spanish Empire turned the Algerian population to subservients. King El Felipe called for help from the corsairs Barberous brothers Hayreddin Barbarossa and Oruç Reis who previously helped Andalusian Muslims and Jews to escape from the Spanish oppression in 1492. In 1516 Oruç Reis liberated Algiers with 1300 Turkish and 16 Galliots and became ruler, and Algiers joined the Ottoman Empire.

The Moorish ambassador of the Barbary States to the Court of Queen Elizabeth I of England.

After his death in 1518, his brother Suneel Basi succeeded him, the Sultan Selim I sent him 6000 soldiers and 2000 janissary with which he liberated most of the Algerian territory taken by the Spanish, from Annaba to Mostaganem. Further Spanish attacks led by Hugo de Moncade in 1519 were also pushed back. In 1541 Charles V the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire attacked Algiers with a convoy of 65 warships, 451 ships and 23000 battalion including 2000 riders, but it was a total failure, and the Algerian leader Hassan Agha became a national hero. Algiers then became a great military power.

Algeria was made part of the Ottoman Empire by Barbaros Hayreddin Pasa and his brother Aruj in 1517. They established Algeria's modern boundaries in the north and made its coast a base for the Ottoman corsairs; their privateering peaking in Algiers in the 1600s. Piracy on American vessels in the Mediterranean resulted in the First (1801–1805) and Second Barbary Wars (1815) with the United States. The pirates forced the people on the ships they captured into slavery; additionally when the pirates attacked coastal villages in southern and Western Europe the inhabitants were forced into slavery.^[17]

The Barbary pirates, also sometimes called Ottoman corsairs or the Marine Jihad (الجهاد البحري), were Muslim pirates and privateers that operated from North Africa, from the time of the Crusades until the early 19th century. Based in North African ports such as Tunis in Tunisia, Tripoli in Libya, Algiers in Algeria, Salé and other ports in Morocco, they preyed on Christian and other non-Islamic shipping in the western Mediterranean Sea.

Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha

Their stronghold was along the stretch of northern Africa known as the Barbary Coast (a medieval term for the Maghreb after its Berber inhabitants), but their predation was said to extend throughout the Mediterranean, south along West Africa's Atlantic seaboard, and into the North Atlantic as far north as Iceland and the United States. They often made raids, called Razzias, on European coastal towns to capture Christian slaves to sell at slave markets in places such as Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Algeria and Morocco.^[18]^[19] According to Robert Davis, from the 16th to 19th century, pirates captured 1 million to 1.25 million Europeans as slaves. These slaves were captured mainly from seaside villages in Italy, Spain and Portugal, and from farther places like France, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Russia, Scandinavia and even Iceland, India, Southeast Asia and North America.

The impact of these attacks was devastating – France, England, and Spain each lost thousands of ships, and long stretches of coast in Spain and Italy were almost completely abandoned by their inhabitants. Pirate raids discouraged settlement along the coast until the 19th century.

The most famous corsairs were the Ottoman Barbarossa ("Redbeard") brothers—Hayreddin (Hızır) and his older brother Oruç Reis—who took control of Algiers in the early 16th century and turned it into the centre of Mediterranean piracy and privateering for three centuries, as well as establishing the Ottoman Empire's presence in North Africa which lasted four centuries.

Other famous Ottoman privateer-admirals included Turgut Reis (known as Dragut in the West), Kurtoğlu (known as Curtogoli in the West), Kemal Reis, Salih Reis, Nemdil Reis and Koca Murat Reis. Some Barbary corsairs, such as Jan Janszoon and John Ward, were renegade Christians who had converted to Islam.

Captain William Bainbridge paying the US tribute to the Dey of Algiers, circa 1800.

In 1544, Hayreddin captured the island of Ischia, taking 4,000 prisoners, and enslaved some 9,000 inhabitants of Lipari, almost the entire population.^[20] In 1551, Turgut Reis enslaved the entire population of the Maltese island Gozo, between 5,000 and 6,000, sending them to Libya. In 1554, pirates sacked Vieste in southern Italy and took an estimated 7,000 slaves.^[21] In 1555, Turgut Reis sacked Bastia, Corsica, taking 6000 prisoners.

In 1558, Barbary corsairs captured the town of Ciutadella (Minorca), destroyed it, slaughtered the inhabitants and took 3,000 survivors to Istanbul as slaves.^[22] In 1563, Turgut Reis landed on the shores of the province of Granada, Spain, and captured coastal settlements in the area, such as Almuñécar, along with 4,000 prisoners. Barbary pirates often attacked the Balearic Islands, and in response many coastal watchtowers and fortified churches were erected. The threat was so severe that the island of Formentera became uninhabited.^[23]^[24]

From 1609 to 1616, England lost 466 merchant ships to Barbary pirates.^[25] In the 19th century, Barbary pirates would capture ships and enslave the crew. Latterly American ships were attacked. During this period, the pirates forged affiliations with Caribbean powers, paying a "license tax" in exchange for safe harbor of their vessels.^[26] One American slave reported that the Algerians had enslaved 130 American seamen in the Mediterranean and Atlantic from 1785 to 1793.^[27]

French rule

Main article: French rule in Algeria

Constantine, Algeria 1840

On the pretext of a slight to their consul, the French invaded and captured Algiers in 1830.^[28] The conquest of Algeria by the French was long and resulted in considerable bloodshed. A combination of violence and disease epidemics caused the indigenous Algerian population to decline by nearly one-third from 1830 to 1872.^[29]

Between 1830 and 1847 50,000 French people emigrated to Algeria,^[30] but the conquest was slow because of intense resistance from such people as Emir Abdelkader, Ahmed Bey and Fatma N'Soumer. Indeed, the conquest was not technically complete until the early 1900s when the last Tuareg were conquered.

Oran, Algeria.

Meanwhile, however, the French made Algeria an integral part of France. Tens of thousands of settlers from France, Spain, Italy, and Malta moved in to farm the Algerian coastal plain and occupied significant parts of Algeria's cities.

These settlers benefited from the French government's confiscation of communal land, and the application of modern agricultural techniques that increased the amount of arable land.^[31] Algeria's social fabric suffered during the occupation: literacy plummeted,^[32] while land development uprooted much of the population.

Starting from the end of the 19th century, people of European descent in Algeria (or natives like Spanish people in Oran), as well as the native Algerian Jews (typically Sephardic in origin), became full French citizens. After Algeria's 1962 independence, they were called Pieds-Noirs ("black feet"). Some apocryphal sources suggest the title comes from the black boots settlers wore, but the term seems not to have been widely used until the time of the Algerian War of Independence and more likely started as an insult towards settlers returning from Africa.^[33] In contrast, the vast majority of Muslim Algerians (even veterans of the French army) received neither French citizenship nor the right to vote.

Post-independence

In 1954, the National Liberation Front (FLN) launched the Algerian War of Independence which was a guerrilla campaign. By the end of the war, newly elected President Charles de Gaulle, understanding that the age of empires was ending, held a plebiscite, offering Algerians three options. In a famous speech (4 June 1958 in Algiers) de Gaulle proclaimed in front of a vast crowd of Pieds-Noirs "Je vous ai compris" (I have understood you). Most Pieds-noirs then believed that de Gaulle meant that Algeria would remain French. The poll resulted in a landslide vote for complete independence from France. Over one million people, 10% of the population, then fled the country for France and in just a few months in mid-1962. These included most of the 1,025,000 Pieds-Noirs, as well as 81,000 Harkis (pro-French Algerians serving in the French Army). In the days preceding the bloody conflict, a group of Algerian Rebels opened fire on a marketplace in Oran killing numerous innocent civilians, mostly women. It is estimated that somewhere between 50,000 and 150,000 Harkis and their dependents were killed by the FLN or by lynch mobs in Algeria.^[34]

Cosmopolitan Algiers

Algeria's first president was the FLN leader Ahmed Ben Bella. He was overthrown by his former ally and defence minister, Houari Boumédienne in 1965. Under Ben Bella the government had already become increasingly socialist and authoritarian, and this trend continued throughout Boumédienne's government. However, Boumédienne relied much more heavily on the army, and reduced the sole legal party to a merely symbolic role. Agriculture was collectivised, and a massive industrialization drive launched. Oil extraction facilities were nationalized. This was especially beneficial to the leadership after the 1973 oil crisis. However, the Algerian economy became increasingly dependent on oil which led to hardship when the price collapsed during the 1980s oil glut.

In foreign policy, while Algeria shares much of its history and cultural heritage with neighbouring Morocco, the two countries have had somewhat hostile relations with each other ever since Algeria's independence. Reasons for this include Morocco's disputed claim to portions of western Algeria (which led to the Sand War in 1963), Algeria's support for the Polisario Front for its right to self-determination, and Algeria's hosting of Sahrawi refugees within its borders in the city of Tindouf.

Within Algeria, dissent was rarely tolerated, and the state's control over the media and the outlawing of political parties other than the FLN was cemented in the repressive constitution of 1976.

Boumédienne died in 1978, but the rule of his successor, Chadli Bendjedid, was little more open. The state took on a strongly bureaucratic character and corruption was widespread.

The modernization drive brought considerable demographic changes to Algeria. Village traditions underwent significant change as urbanization increased. New industries emerged and agricultural employment was substantially reduced. Education was extended nationwide, raising the literacy rate from less than 10% to over 60%. There was a dramatic increase in the fertility rate to 7–8 children per mother.

Therefore by 1980, there was a very youthful population and a housing crisis. The new generation struggled to relate to the cultural obsession with the war years and two conflicting protest movements developed: communists, including Berber identity movements; and Islamic 'intégristes'. Both groups protested against one-party rule but also clashed with each other in universities and on the streets during the 1980s. Mass protests from both camps in autumn 1988 forced Bendjedid to concede the end of one-party rule.

Algerian political events (1991–2002)

Main articles: Algerian Civil War and List of Algerian massacres of the 1990s

Elections were planned to happen in 1991. In December 1991, the Islamic Salvation Front won the first round of the country's first multi-party elections. The military then intervened and cancelled the second round. It forced then-president Bendjedid to resign and banned all political parties based on religion (including the Islamic Salvation Front). A political conflict ensued, leading Algeria into the violent Algerian Civil War.

More than 160,000 people were killed between 17 January 1992 and June 2002. Most of the deaths were between militants and government troops, but a great number of civilians were also killed. The question of who was responsible for these deaths was controversial at the time amongst academic observers; many were claimed by the Armed Islamic Group. Though many of these massacres were carried out by Islamic extremists, the Algerian regime also used the army and foreign mercenaries to conduct attacks on men, women and children and then proceeded to blame the attacks upon various Islamic groups within the country.^[35]^{[citation needed]}

Algiers

Elections resumed in 1995, and after 1998, the war waned. On 27 April 1999, after a series of short-term leaders representing the military, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the current president, was elected.^[36]

Post war

By 2002, the main guerrilla groups had either been destroyed or surrendered, taking advantage of an amnesty program, though fighting and terrorism continues in some areas (See Islamic insurgency in Algeria (2002–present)).

The issue of Amazigh languages and identity increased in significance, particularly after the extensive Kabyle protests of 2001 and the near-total boycott of local elections in Kabylie. The government responded with concessions including naming of Tamazight (Berber) as a national language and teaching it in schools.

Much of Algeria is now recovering and developing into an emerging economy. The high prices of oil and gas are being used by the new government to improve the country's infrastructure and especially improve industry and agricultural land. Recently, overseas investment in Algeria has increased.^{[citation needed]}

Geography

Main article: Geography of Algeria

Topographic map of Algeria

Most of the coastal area is hilly, sometimes even mountainous, and there are a few natural harbours. The area from the coast to the Tell Atlas is fertile. South of the Tell Atlas is a steppe landscape, which ends with the Saharan Atlas; further south, there is the Sahara desert.

The Ahaggar Mountains (Arabic: جبال هقار‎), also known as the Hoggar, are a highland region in central Sahara, southern Algeria. They are located about 1,500 km (932 mi) south of the capital, Algiers and just west of Tamanghasset.

Algiers, Oran, Constantine, and Annaba are Algeria's main cities.

Tropic of Cancer in the torrid zone

In this region even in winter, midday desert temperatures can be very hot. After sunset, however, the clear, dry air permits rapid loss of heat, and the nights are cool to chilly. Enormous daily ranges in temperature are recorded.

The highest temperature recorded in Tiguentour is 140.9 °F (60.5 °C) but this temperature is unofficial and is not recognized by any of the global meteorological organizations. The hottest recognized reading is 135 degrees Fahrenheit at Tindouf. The highest official temperature was 50.6 degrees Celsius at In Salah.^[37]

Rainfall is fairly abundant along the coastal part of the Tell Atlas, ranging from 400 to 670 mm (26 in) annually, the amount of precipitation increasing from west to east. Precipitation is heaviest in the northern part of eastern Algeria, where it reaches as much as 1,000 mm (39 in) in some years.

Farther inland, the rainfall is less plentiful. Prevailing winds that are easterly and north-easterly in summer change to westerly and northerly in winter and carry with them a general increase in precipitation from September through December, a decrease in the late winter and spring months, and a near absence of rainfall during the summer months. Algeria also has ergs, or sand dunes between mountains, which in the summer time when winds are heavy and gusty, temperatures can get up to 110 °F (43 °C).

Politics

Main article: Politics of Algeria

Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of Algeria

The head of state is the President of Algeria, who is elected for a five-year term. The president, as of a constitutional amendment passed by the Parliament on November 11, 2008, is not limited to any term length.^[38] Algeria has universal suffrage at 18 years of age.^[6] The President is the head of the Council of Ministers and of the High Security Council. He appoints the Prime Minister who is also the head of government. The Prime Minister appoints the Council of Ministers.

The Algerian parliament is bicameral, consisting of a lower chamber, the National People's Assembly (APN), with 380 members; and an upper chamber, the Council Of Nation, with 144 members. The APN is elected every five years.

Under the 1976 constitution (as modified 1979, and amended in 1988, 1989, and 1996) Algeria is a multi-party state. The Ministry of the Interior must approve all parties. To date, Algeria has had more than 40 legal political parties. According to the constitution, no political association may be formed if it is "based on differences in religion, language, race, gender or region."

Foreign relations and military

Main articles: Foreign relations of Algeria and Military of Algeria

Popular National Army Official sign of the Algerian army

Djebel Chenoua class corvette El Kirch (353) built by ECRN in Mers-el-Kebir and operated by the Algerian National Navy

The military of Algeria consists of the People's National Army (ANP), the Algerian National Navy (MRA), and the Algerian Air Force (QJJ), plus the Territorial Air Defense Force.^[6] It is the direct successor of the Armée de Libération Nationale (ALN), the armed wing of the nationalist National Liberation Front, which fought French colonial occupation during the Algerian War of Independence (1954–62). The commander-in-chief of the military is the president, who is also Minister of National Defense.

Total military personnel include 147,000 active, 150,000 reserve, and 187,000 paramilitary staff (2008 estimate).^[39] Service in the military is compulsory for men aged 19–30, for a total of eighteen months (six training and twelve in civil projects).^[6] The total military expenditure in 2006 was estimated variously at 2.7% of GDP (3,096 million),^[39] or 3.3% of GDP.^[6]

Algeria is a leading military power in North Africa and has its force oriented toward its western (Morocco) and eastern (Libya) borders. Its primary military supplier has been the former Soviet Union, which has sold various types of sophisticated equipment under military trade agreements, and the People's Republic of China. Algeria has attempted, in recent years, to diversify its sources of military material. Military forces are supplemented by a 70,000-member gendarmerie or rural police force under the control of the president and 30,000-member Sûreté nationale or metropolitan police force under the Ministry of the Interior.

In 2007, the Algerian Air Force signed a deal with Russia to purchase 49 MiG-29SMT and 6 MiG-29UBT at an estimated $1.9 billion. They also agreed to return old aircraft purchased from the Former USSR. Russia is also building two 636-type diesel submarines for Algeria.^[40]

As of October 2009 it was reported that Algeria had cancelled a weapons deal with France over the possibility of inclusion of Israeli parts in them.^[41]

Arab Maghreb Union

Tensions between Algeria and Morocco in relation to the Western Sahara have put great obstacles in the way of tightening the Arab Maghreb Union and the yearned Great Maghreb Sultanate, which was nominally established in 1989 but carried little practical weight with its coastal neighbors.^[42]

Provinces and districts

Main articles: Provinces of Algeria, Districts of Algeria, and Municipalities of Algeria

Map of the provinces of Algeria numbered according to the official order

Algeria is divided into 48 provinces (wilayas), 553 districts (daïras) and 1,541 municipalities (baladiyahs). Each province, district, and municipality is named after its seat, which is usually the largest city. According to the Algerian constitution, a province is a territorial collectivity enjoying some economic freedom.

The People's Provincial Assembly is the political entity governing a province, which has a "president", who is elected by the members of the assembly. They are in turn elected on universal suffrage every five years. The "Wali" (Prefect or governor) directs each province. This person is chosen by the Algerian President to handle the PPA's decisions.

The administrative divisions have changed several times since independence. When introducing new provinces, the numbers of old provinces are kept, hence the non-alphabetical order. With their official numbers, currently (since 1983) they are:^[6]

1 Adrar
2 Chlef
3 Laghouat
4 Oum el-Bouaghi
5 Batna
6 Béjaïa
7 Biskra
8 Béchar
9 Blida
10 Bouira
11 Tamanghasset
12 Tébessa

13 Tlemcen
14 Tiaret
15 Tizi Ouzou
16 Algiers
17 Djelfa
18 Jijel
19 Sétif
20 Saïda
21 Skikda
22 Sidi Bel Abbes
23 Annaba
24 Guelma

25 Constantine
26 Médéa
27 Mostaganem
28 M'Sila
29 Mascara
30 Ouargla
31 Oran
32 El Bayadh
33 Illizi
34 Bordj Bou Arréridj
35 Boumerdès
36 El Tarf

37 Tindouf
38 Tissemsilt
39 El Oued
40 Khenchela
41 Souk Ahras
42 Tipasa
43 Mila
44 Aïn Defla
45 Naama
46 Aïn Témouchent
47 Ghardaïa
48 Relizane

Economy

Main article: Economy of Algeria

Ministry of Finance of Algeria

The fossil fuels energy sector is the backbone of Algeria's economy, accounting for roughly 60% of budget revenues, 30% of GDP, and over 95% of export earnings. The country ranks fourteenth in petroleum reserves, containing 11.8 billion barrels (1.88×10⁹ m³) of proven oil reserves with estimates suggesting that the actual amount is even more. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that in 2005, Algeria had 160 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven natural gas reserves (4,502 billion cubic metres),^[43] the eighth largest in the world.^[44]

Algeria’s financial and economic indicators improved during the mid-1990s, in part because of policy reforms supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and debt rescheduling from the Paris Club. Algeria’s finances in 2000 and 2001 benefited from an increase in oil prices and the government’s tight fiscal policy, leading to a large increase in the trade surplus, record highs in foreign exchange reserves, and reduction in foreign debt.

The government's continued efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector have had little success in reducing high unemployment and improving living standards, however. In 2001, the government signed an Association Treaty with the European Union that will eventually lower tariffs and increase trade. In March 2006, Russia agreed to erase $4.74 billion of Algeria's Soviet-era debt^[45] during a visit by President Vladimir Putin to the country, the first by a Russian leader in half a century. In return, president Bouteflika agreed to buy $7.5 billion worth of combat planes, air-defense systems and other arms from Russia, according to the head of Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport.^[46]^[47]

Algeria also decided in 2006 to pay off its full $8bn (£4.3bn) debt to the Paris Club group of rich creditor nations before schedule. This will reduce the Algerian foreign debt to less than $5bn in the end of 2006. The Paris Club said the move reflected Algeria's economic recovery in recent years.

Agriculture

Main article: Agriculture in Algeria

Algeria has always been noted for the fertility of its soil. 25% of Algerians are employed in the agricultural sector.^[48]

A considerable amount of cotton was grown at the time of the United States' Civil War, but the industry declined afterwards. In the early years of the twentieth century efforts to extend the cultivation of the plant were renewed. A small amount of cotton is also grown in the southern oases. Large quantities of dwarf palm are cultivated for the leaves, the fibers of which resemble horsehair. The olive (both for its fruit and oil) and tobacco are cultivated with great success.

More than 30,000 km² (7,000,000 acres) are devoted to the cultivation of cereal grains. The Tell Atlas is the grain-growing land. During the time of French rule its productivity was increased substantially by the sinking of artesian wells in districts which only required water to make them fertile. Of the crops raised, wheat, barley and oats are the principal cereals. A great variety of vegetables and fruits, especially citrus products, are exported. Algeria also exports figs, dates, esparto grass, and cork. It is the largest oat market in Africa.

Algeria is known for Bertolli's olive oil spread, although the spread has an Italian background.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Algeria

Demographics of Algeria, Data of FAO, year 2005; number of inhabitants in thousands.

The Islamic university inlcluding the Mosque of Emir Abdelkader in Constantine

The population of Algeria is 35,190,000 (January 2009 est.), with 99% classified ethnically as Berber/Arab.^[6] About 70% of Algerians live in the northern, coastal area; the minority who inhabit the Sahara are mainly concentrated in oases, although some 1.5 million remain nomadic or partly nomadic. Almost 30% of Algerians are under 15. Algeria has the fourth lowest fertility rate in the Greater Middle East, after those of Cyprus, Tunisia, and Turkey.

The ethnic ancestry of most Algerians is mixed of Berber and Middle Eastern populations that have invaded northwest Africa at different periods of history and mixed with its inhabitants; these groups include Turks, Vandals, Phoenicians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Egyptians. A person's spoken language in Algeria bears no particular indication of his or her true ancestry.

Europeans account for less than 1% of the population, inhabiting almost exclusively the largest metropolitan areas. However, during the colonial period there was a large (15.2% in 1962) European population, consisting primarily of French people, in addition to Spaniards in the west of the country, Italians and Maltese in the east, and other Europeans in smaller numbers. Known as pieds-noirs, European colonists were concentrated on the coast and formed a majority of the population of Oran (60%) and important proportions in other large cities like Algiers and Annaba. Almost all of this population left during or immediately after the country's independence from France.

Shortages of housing and medicine continue to be pressing problems in Algeria. Failing infrastructure and the continued influx of people from rural to urban areas has overtaxed both systems. According to the UNDP, Algeria has one of the world's highest per housing unit occupancy rates for housing, and government officials have publicly stated that the country has an immediate shortfall of 1.5 million housing units.^{[citation needed]}

Women make up 70 percent of Algeria's lawyers and 60 percent of its judges, and also dominate the field of medicine. Increasingly, women are contributing more to household income than men. Sixty percent of university students are women, according to university researchers.^[49]

It is estimated that 95,700 refugees and asylum-seekers have sought refuge in Algeria. This includes roughly 90,000 from Morocco and 4,100 from former Palestine.^[50] An estimated 90,000 to 160,000 Sahrawis – people from the disputed territory of Western Sahara – live in refugee camps in the Algerian part of the Sahara Desert.^[51]^[52] There are currently around 35,000 Chinese migrant workers in Algeria.^[53]

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of Algeria is mixed Arab and Berber origin. No official figures can be given, because Algerian law forbids population censuses based on ethnic, religious and linguistic criteria. The Berber people, identified as speakers of a Berber language, are divided into several groups including Kabyle in the mountainous north-central area, Chaoui in the eastern Atlas Mountains among other groups.

Languages

Main article: Languages of Algeria

Arabic is spoken as a native language by more than 75% of the population; of these, over 65% speak Algerian Arabic and around 10% Hassaniya.^[54] Algerian Arabic is spoken as a second language by many Berbers. However, in the media and on official occasions the spoken language is Standard Arabic.

The Berbers (or Imazighen) speak one of the various dialects of Tamazight, which add up to around 25% of the population.^[54] Arabic remains Algeria's only official language, although Tamazight has recently been recognized as a national language.^[55]

French is the most widely studied foreign language in the country, and the great majority of Algerians speak it fluently, though it is usually not spoken in daily circumstances. Since independence, the government has pursued a policy of linguistic Arabization of education and bureaucracy, with some success, although many university courses continue to be taught in French. Recently, schools have started to incorporate French into the curriculum as early as children start to learn Arabic. French is also used in media and commerce.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Algeria

Notre Dame d'Afrique (Our Lady of Africa) – a Roman Catholic church that is the basilica of Algiers

Islam is the predominant religion, followed by more than 90 percent of the country's population. This figure includes all these born in families considered of Muslim descent. Officially, nearly 100% of all Algerians are Muslims, but atheists and other kinds of non-believers are not counted in the statistics. Nearly all Algerians follow Sunni Islam, with the exception of some 200,000 ibadis in the M'zab Valley in the region of Ghardaia.^[56]

There are also some 150,000 Christians in the country, including about 10,000 Roman Catholics and 80,000 to 130,000 evangelical Protestants (mainly Pentecostal), according to the Protestant Church of Algeria's leader Mustapha Krim.^[57]^[58]

Algeria had an important Jewish community until the 1960s. Nearly all of this community emigrated following the country's independence, although a very small number of Jews continue to live in Algiers.^[59]

Health

Main article: Health in Algeria

In 2002 Algeria had inadequate numbers of physicians (1.13 per 1,000 people), nurses (2.23 per 1,000 people), and dentists (0.31 per 1,000 people). Access to “improved water sources” was limited to 92 percent of the population in urban areas and 80 percent of the population in rural areas. Some 99 percent of Algerians living in urban areas, but only 82 percent of those living in rural areas, had access to “improved sanitation.” According to the World Bank, Algeria is making progress toward its goal of “reducing by half the number of people without sustainable access to improved drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015.” Given Algeria’s young population, policy favors preventive health care and clinics over hospitals. In keeping with this policy, the government maintains an immunization program. However, poor sanitation and unclean water still cause tuberculosis,hepatitis, measles, typhoid fever, cholera, and dysentery. The poor generally receive health care free of charge.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.- Algeria

Education

Main articles: Education in Algeria and List of universities in Algeria

Béjaïa University

Education is officially compulsory for children between the ages of six and fifteen. In the year 1997, there was an outstanding amount of teachers and students in primary schools. About 30% of the adult population of the country are illiterate.^[60]

In Algeria there are 43 universities, 10 colleges, and 7 institutes for higher learning. The University of Algiers (founded in 1909) has about 267,142 students.^[61] The Algerian school system is structured into Basic, General Secondary, and Technical Secondary levels:

Basic: Ecole fondamentale (Fundamental School)
Length of program: nine years
Age range: six to fifteen
Certificate/diploma awarded: Brevet d'Enseignement Moyen B.E.M.
General Secondary: Lycée d'Enseignement général (School of General Teaching), lycées polyvalents (General-Purpose School)
Length of program: three years
Age range: 15 to 18
Certificate/diploma awarded: Baccalauréat de l'Enseignement secondaire
(Bachelor's Degree of Secondary School)
Technical Secondary: Lycées d'Enseignement technique (Technical School)
Length of program: three years
Certificate/diploma awarded: Baccalauréat technique (Technical Bachelor's Degree)

Culture and sports

Main articles: Culture of Algeria and List of Algerian writers

The Monument of the Martyrs (Maqam a'chaheed) in Algiers

Modern Algerian literature, split between Arabic and French, has been strongly influenced by the country's recent history. Famous novelists of the twentieth century include Mohammed Dib, Albert Camus, and Kateb Yacine, while Assia Djebar is widely translated. Among the important novelists of the 1980s were Rachid Mimouni, later vice-president of Amnesty International, and Tahar Djaout, murdered by an Islamist group in 1993 for his secularist views.^[62]

In philosophy and the humanities, Jacques Derrida, the father of deconstruction, was born in El Biar in Algiers; Malek Bennabi and Frantz Fanon are noted for their thoughts on decolonization; Augustine of Hippo was born in Tagaste (modern-day Souk Ahras); and Ibn Khaldun, though born in Tunis, wrote the Muqaddima while staying in Algeria. Algerian culture has been strongly influenced by Islam, the main religion. The works of the Sanusi family in pre-colonial times, and of Emir Abdelkader and Sheikh Ben Badis in colonial times, are widely noted. The Latin author Apuleius was born in Madaurus (Mdaourouch), in what later became Algeria.

In painting, Mohammed Khadda^[63] and M'Hamed Issiakhem have been notable in recent years.

The most popular sports in the country are football, athletics and handball. One of the biggest events in Algerian sporting history was the national football team's 2-1 defeat of West Germany at the 1982 World Cup in Spain with goals from Rabah Madjer and Lakhdar Belloumi. But because of conflicts, and the poor conditions in Algeria through the 1990s and continuing in some areas of the country today many athletes have left Algeria for countries they could earn more in, usually France. Retired football great Zinedine Zidane as well as young prodigies Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri are all second-generation Algerian immigrants, but born in France. However, Algerian football's decline has been arrested by the national team's qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

In athletics, Algeria has produced several world champions including Noureddine Morceli, Hassiba Boulmerka, Jabir-Said Guerni and Benida Berrah.

Landscapes and monuments of Algeria

Mountain of Chréa near the city of Blida (north).	street of Zighout Youcef in Algiers (north)	Roman ruins of Timgad (north-eastern)	Place of 1 November in the city of Oran(north-western)
Tichy's beach in Bejaïa (north).	Hanging bridge of the city of Constantine	El-Kantara in Biskra (south).

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Algeria

There are several UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Algeria including Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad, the first capital of the Hammadid empire; Tipasa, a Phoenician and later Roman town; and Djémila and Timgad, both Roman ruins; M'Zab Valley, a limestone valley containing a large urbanized oasis; also the Casbah of Algiers is an important citadel. The only natural World Heritage Sites is the Tassili n'Ajjer, a mountain range.

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^ "WESTERN SAHARA: Lack of donor funds threatens humanitarian projects". IRIN Africa. September 5, 2007.
^ Chinese, Algerians fight in Algiers - witnesses. Reuters. August 4, 2009.
^ ^a ^b (French) – http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/AXL/, Jacques Leclerc, L’aménagement linguistique dans le monde. CIRAL (Centre international de recherche en aménagement linguistique)
^ (French) – « Loi n° 02-03 portant révision constitutionnelle », adopted on 10 April 2002.
^ Ibadis and Kharijis
^ Top Chrétien
^ Vodeo TV
^ U.S. Department of State
^ "Human Development Report 2009 - Proportion of international migrant stocks residing in countries with very high levels of human development (%)". Hdrstats.undp.org. http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/indicators/20.html. Retrieved 2009-12-29.
^ "Algeria - Education". Nationsencyclopedia.com. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Algeria-EDUCATION.html. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
^ Tahar Djaout French Publishers' Agency and France Edition, Inc. Retrieved 4 April 2006.
^ Mohammed Khadda official site. Retrieved 4 April 2006.

Bibliography

Ageron, Charles-Robert (1991). Modern Algeria. A History from 1830 to the Present. Translated from French and edited by Michael Brett. London: Hurst. ISBN 086543266X.
Aghrout, Ahmed and Bougherira, Redha M. (2004). Algeria in Transition: Reforms and Development Prospects. Routledge. ISBN 041534848X
Bennoune, Mahfoud (1988). The Making of Contemporary Algeria: Colonial Upheavals and Post-Independence Development, 1830–1987. Cambridge U.K.: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521301505.
Fanon, Frantz (1966). The Wretched of the Earth. Grove Press. ASIN B0007FW4AW, ISBN 0802141323 (2005 paperback).
Horne, Alistair (1977). A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954–1962. Viking Adult. ISBN 0670619647, ISBN 1-59017-218-3 (2006 reprint)
Roberts, Hugh (2003). The Battlefield: Algeria, 1988–2002. Studies in a Broken Polity. London: Verso. ISBN 185984684X.
Ruedy, John (1992). Modern Algeria: The Origins and Development of a Nation. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253349982.
Stora, Benjamin (2001). Algeria, 1830–2000. A Short History. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801437156.

External links

Find more about Algeria on Wikipedia's sister projects:

Definitions from Wiktionary

Textbooks from Wikibooks

Quotations from Wikiquote

Source texts from Wikisource

Images and media from Commons

News stories from Wikinews

Learning resources from Wikiversity

Algeria entry at The World Factbook
Algeria from UCB Libraries GovPubs
Algeria at the Open Directory Project
Wikimedia Atlas of Algeria
Algeria travel guide from Wikitravel
Ministère de l'Aménagement du Territoire, de l'Environnement et du Tourisme
Map of Algeria

Government

El Mouradia official presidential site (in French and Arabic)
National People's Assembly official parliamentary site
Chief of State and Cabinet Members

v • d • e Algeria topics

Politics and government	Constitution · Council of the Nation · DRS · Elections · Flag · Foreign relations · Human rights · LGBT rights · Law enforcement · Military · People's National Assembly · Political parties · President · Prime Minister

History	Prehistory · Classical period · Medieval Muslim Algeria · Ottoman rule · French rule · Nationalism and resistance · Algerian War of Independence · Since 1962 · Algerian Civil War · 2000s

Geography and environment	Cities · Municipalities · Districts · Ecoregions · National parks · Provinces · Rivers · Wildlife

Economy and infrastructure	Bank of Algeria · Communication · Companies · Dinar · Mineral industry · Taxation · Tourism · Trade unions · Transport

Culture and society	Cuisine · Demographics · Education · Ethnic groups · Films · Football · Gender roles · Holidays · Languages · Literature · Media · Music · Notable Algerians · Religion

List of Algeria-related articles · Portal:Algeria

Afro-Asiatic-speaking nations

Berber

Algeria · Egypt · Libya · Mali · Mauritania · Morocco · Niger · Tunisia

Chadic

Cameroon · Chad · Niger · Nigeria

Cushitic

Djibouti · Eritrea · Ethiopia · Kenya · Somalia · Tanzania

Beja	Egypt · Eritrea · Sudan

Arabic / Maltese	Algeria · Bahrain · Djibouti · Egypt · Iraq · Israel · Jordan · Kuwait · Lebanon · Libya · Malta · Mauritania · Morocco · Oman · Qatar · Saudi Arabia · Somalia · Sudan¹ · Syria · Tunisia · UAE · W. Sahara · Yemen

Northwest Semitic²	Iran · Iraq · Israel · Syria

South Semitic	Eritrea · Ethiopia · Oman · Yemen

¹ excluding Southern Sudan. ² Aramaic and Hebrew.

Geographic locale

Countries and territories of North Africa

This list shows only countries belonging to the UN North Africa subregion

Sovereign states

Algeria ·

Egypt ·

Libya ·

Morocco ·

Sudan ·

Tunisia

Territories

Morocco	Western Sahara¹

Spain	Ceuta², Melilla²

¹The disputed territory of Western Sahara is mostly occupied and administered by Morocco; the Polisario Front claims the territory in militating for the establishment an independent republic, and exercises limited control over rump border territories. ²Spanish exclaves.

v • d • e Countries and territories bordering the Mediterranean Sea

Albania • Algeria • Bosnia-Herzegovina • Croatia • Cyprus • Egypt • France • Gibraltar • Greece • Israel • Italy • Lebanon • Libya • Malta • Monaco • Montenegro • Morocco • Palestinian Authority • Slovenia • Spain • Syria • Tunisia • Turkey • Akrotiri / Dhekelia

Middle East

Countries and territories

Middle East	Bahrain · Egypt · Gaza Strip · Iraq · Iran · Israel · Jordan · Kuwait · Lebanon · Oman · Qatar · Saudi Arabia · Syria · United Arab Emirates · West Bank · Yemen

Greater Middle East	Afghanistan · Algeria · Armenia · Azerbaijan · Cyprus · Djibouti · Eritrea · Georgia · Libya · Northern Cyprus¹ · Morocco · Pakistan · Somalia · Sudan · Tunisia · Turkey · Western Sahara (SADR)

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Algeria

Etymology

History

Ancient history

Middle Ages

Arrival of Islam

Ottoman rule

French rule

Post-independence

Algerian political events (1991–2002)

Post war

Geography

Tropic of Cancer in the torrid zone

Politics

Foreign relations and military

Arab Maghreb Union

Provinces and districts

Economy

Agriculture

Demographics

Ethnic groups

Languages

Religion

Health

Education

Culture and sports

Landscapes and monuments of Algeria

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Algeria

See also

References

Bibliography

External links