Dialing code +213
ISO 2 code DZ
ISO 3 code DZA
Capital Algiers
Main Language Arabic
Currency Dinar (DZD)
GDP $235.5 billion 47th
Population 34,586,184 35th

Geography

Continent Africa
Location Northern Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea between Morocco and Tunisia
Land 2,381,740 km2 10th
Terrain Mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow discontinuous coastal plain
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
Natural Hazards Mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow discontinuous coastal plain
Note: Second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)

Neighbouring Countries

Libya Mali Mauritania Morocco Niger Tunisia Western Sahara

History

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.
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Demographics

Life Expectancy 74.02 years 82nd
Median Age 26.6 years 109th
Birth Rate 16.9 births/1,000 population 116th
Death Rate 4.64 births/1,000 population 183rd
Sex Ratio 0.86 male(s)/female 54th
Literacy 69.9% 159th
Population

34.6 million

Transportation

Roadways 108302 km 37th
Railways 3973 km 42nd
Airports 142 40th
Waterways None km
Heliports 2 48th
Airports paved 1 187th

Economy

Currency Dinar (DZD)
GDP $235.5 billion 47th
GDP per capita (PPP) $7000 113th