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), was established in 1954 as part of the struggle for independence and has since largely dominated politics. The Government of Algeria in 1988 instituted a multi-party system in response to public unrest, but the surprising first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the December 1991 balloting led 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. Fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense violence from 1992-98, resulting 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.

Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA, with the backing of the military, won the presidency in 1999 in an election widely viewed as fraudulent and won subsequent elections in 2004, 2009, and 2014. The government in 2011 introduced some political reforms in response to the Arab Spring, including lifting the 19-year-old state of emergency restrictions and increasing women's quotas for elected assemblies, while also increasing subsidies to the populace. Algeria’s reliance on hydrocarbon revenues to finance the government and large subsidies for the population is under stress because of declining oil prices.

Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia

28 00 N, 3 00 E

Africa

slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas

998 km

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

mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

highest point: Tahat 3,003 m

petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc

arable land 3.1%; permanent crops 0.4%; permanent pasture 13.8%

5,700 sq km (2012)

the vast majority of the populace is found in the extreme northern part of the country along the Mediterranean Coast

mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season

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

largest country in Africa

40,263,711 (July 2016 est.)

Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%

Arabic (official), French (lingua franca), Berber or Tamazight (official); dialects include Kabyle Berber (Taqbaylit), Shawiya Berber (Tacawit), Mzab Berber, Tuareg Berber (Tamahaq)

Muslim (official; predominantly Sunni) 99%, other (includes Christian and Jewish) <1% (2012 est.)

For the first two-thirds of the 20th century, Algeria’s high fertility rate caused its population to grow rapidly. However, about a decade after independence from France in 1962 the total fertility rate fell dramatically from 7 children per woman in the 1970s to about 2.4 in 2000, slowing Algeria’s population growth rate by the late 1980s. The lower fertility rate was mainly the result of women’s rising age at first marriage (virtually all Algerian children being born in wedlock) and to a lesser extent the wider use of contraceptives. Later marriages and a preference for smaller families are attributed to increases in women’s education and participation in the labor market; higher unemployment; and a shortage of housing forcing multiple generations to live together. The average woman’s age at first marriage increased from about 19 in the mid-1950s to 24 in the mid-1970s to 30.5 in the late 1990s.

Thousands of Algerian peasants – mainly Berber men from the Kabylia region – faced with land dispossession and economic hardship under French rule migrated temporarily to France to work in manufacturing and mining during the first half of the 20th century. This movement accelerated during World War I, when Algerians filled in for French factory workers or served as soldiers. In the years following independence, low-skilled Algerian workers and Algerians who had supported the French (harkis) emigrated en masse to France. Tighter French immigration rules and Algiers’ decision to cease managing labor migration to France in the 1970s limited legal emigration largely to family reunification.

Not until Algeria’s civil war in the 1990s did the country again experience substantial outmigration. Many Algerians legally entered Tunisia without visas claiming to be tourists and then stayed as workers. Other Algerians headed to Europe seeking asylum, although France imposed restrictions. Sub-Saharan African migrants came to Algeria after its civil war to work in agriculture and mining. In the 2000s, a wave of educated Algerians went abroad seeking skilled jobs in a wider range of destinations, increasing their presence in North America and Spain. At the same time, legal foreign workers principally from China and Egypt came to work in Algeria’s construction and oil sectors. Illegal migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Malians, Nigeriens, and Gambians, continue to come to Algeria in search of work or to use it as a stepping stone to Libya and Europe.

Since 1975, Algeria also has been the main recipient of Sahrawi refugees from the ongoing conflict in Western Sahara. An estimated 90,000 Sahrawis live in five refugee camps in southwestern Algeria near Tindouf.

1.77% (2016 est.)

23 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)

4.3 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)

-0.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)

the vast majority of the populace is found in the extreme northern part of the country along the Mediterranean Coast

ALGIERS (capital) 2.594 million; Oran 858,000 (2015)

140 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

2.74 children born/woman (2016 est.)

61.4% (2006)

7.2% of GDP (2014)

1.21 physicians/1,000 population (2007)

urban: 84.3% of population

rural: 81.8% of population

total: 83.6% of population

urban: 15.7% of population

rural: 18.2% of population

total: 16.4% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 89.8% of population

rural: 82.2% of population

total: 87.6% of population

urban: 10.2% of population

rural: 17.8% of population

total: 12.4% of population (2015 est.)

0.04% (2015 est.)

8,800 (2015 est.)

100 (2015 est.)

23.6% (2014)

3% (2013)

4.3% of GDP (2008)

presidential republic

48 provinces (wilayas, 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, Tamanrasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen

5 July 1962 (from France)

Revolution Day, 1 November (1954)

several previous; latest approved by referendum 23 February 1989; amended several times, last in 2016 (2016)

mixed legal system of French civil law 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 submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI]

Algerian Popular Movement or MPA [Amara BENYOUNES]

Algerian Rally or RA [Ali ZAGHDOUD]

Algeria's Hope Rally or TAJ [Amar GHOUL]

Dignity or El Karama [Mohamed BENHAMOU]

Ennour El Djazairi Party (Algerian Radiance Party) or PED [Badreddine BELBAZ]

Front for Change or FC [Abdelmadjid MENASRA]

Front for Justice and Development or El Adala [Abdallah DJABALLAH]

Future Front or El Mostakbel [Abdelaziz BELAID]

Green Algeria Alliance or AAV (includes Islah, Ennahda Movement, and MSP)

Islamic Renaissance Movement or Ennahda Movement [Fatah RABEI]

Movement of Society for Peace or MSP [Abderrazak MOKRI]

National Democratic Rally (Rassemblement National Democratique) or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA]

National Front for Social Justice or FNJS [Khaled BOUNEDJEMA]

National Liberation Front or FLN [Amar SAIDANI]

National Party for Solidarity and Development or PNSD

National Reform Movement or Islah [Djahid YOUNSI]

National Republican Alliance

New Dawn Party or PFJ

New Generation or Jil Jadid [Soufiane DJILALI]

Oath of 1954 or Ahd 54 [Ali Fawzi REBAINE]

Party of Justice and Liberty [Mohammed SAID]

Rally for Culture and Democracy or RCD [Mohcine BELABBAS]

Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Mustafa BOUCHACHI]

Union of Democratic and Social Forces or UFDS [Noureddine BAHBOUH]

Youth Party or PJ [Hamana BOUCHARMA]

Workers Party or PT [Louisa HANOUNE]

Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights or LADDH [Noureddine BENISSAD]

SOS Disparus [Nacera DUTOUR]

Youth Action Rally or RAJ

ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BIS, CAEU, CD, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

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; the colors represent Islam (green), purity and peace (white), and liberty (red); the crescent and star are also Islamic symbols, but the crescent is more closed than those of other Muslim countries because Algerians believe the long crescent horns bring happiness

star and crescent, fennec fox; national colors: green, white, red

Algeria's economy remains dominated by the state, a legacy of the country's socialist postindependence development model. In recent years the Algerian Government has halted the privatization of state-owned industries and imposed restrictions on imports and foreign involvement in its economy.

Hydrocarbons have long been the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 60% of budget revenues, 30% of GDP, and over 95% of export earnings. Algeria has the 10th-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the sixth-largest gas exporter. It ranks 16th in oil reserves. Hydrocarbon exports have enabled Algeria to maintain macroeconomic stability and amass large foreign currency reserves and a large budget stabilization fund available for tapping. In addition, Algeria's external debt is extremely low at about 2% of GDP. However, Algeria has struggled to develop non-hydrocarbon industries because of heavy regulation and an emphasis on state-driven growth.

The government's efforts have done little to reduce high youth unemployment rates or to address housing shortages. A wave of economic protests in February and March 2011 prompted the Algerian Government to offer more than $23 billion in public grants and retroactive salary and benefit increases, moves which continue to weigh on public finances. Since late 2014, declining oil prices forced the government to spend down its reserves at a high rate in order to sustain social spending on salaries and subsidies, particularly since the government has been unable to boost exports of hydrocarbons or significantly grow its nonoil sector. In 2015, the Algerian Government imposed further restrictions on imports in an effort to reduce withdrawals from its foreign exchange reserves. The Government also increased the value-added tax on electricity and fuel, but said it would address subsidies at a later date.

Long-term economic challenges include diversifying the economy away from its reliance on hydrocarbon exports, bolstering the private sector, attracting foreign investment, and providing adequate jobs for younger Algerians.

$578.7 billion (2015 est.)

$557.8 billion (2014 est.)

$537.4 billion (2013 est.)

$172.3 billion (2015 est.)

3.7% (2015 est.)

3.8% (2014 est.)

2.8% (2013 est.)

$14,500 (2015 est.)

$14,300 (2014 est.)

$14,000 (2013 est.)

34.1% of GDP (2015 est.)

41.1% of GDP (2014 est.)

43.9% of GDP (2013 est.)

wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle

petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing

2.1% (2015 est.)

11.93 million (2015 est.)

11.2% (2015 est.)

10.6% (2014 est.)

23% (2006 est.)

35.3 (1995)

28.6% of GDP (2015 est.)

-16% of GDP (2015 est.)

9.9% of GDP (2015 est.)

7.2% of GDP (2014 est.)

calendar year

4.8% (2015 est.)

2.9% (2014 est.)

4% (31 December 2010)

4% (31 December 2009)

8% (31 December 2015 est.)

8% (31 December 2014 est.)

$86.43 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$109 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$164.5 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$152.8 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$61.78 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$35.28 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$NA

-$27.04 billion (2015 est.)

-$9.436 billion (2014 est.)

$36 billion (2015 est.)

$60 billion (2014 est.)

petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97% (2009 est.)

Spain 18.8%, France 11.2%, US 8.8%, Italy 8.7%, UK 7.1%, Brazil 5.2%, Tunisia 4.9%, Germany 4.5% (2015)

$50.7 billion (2015 est.)

$59.67 billion (2014 est.)

capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods

China 15.6%, France 14.4%, Italy 9.4%, Spain 7.4%, Germany 5.6%, Russia 4.1% (2015)

$144.9 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$179.9 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$5.143 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$5.453 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$25.89 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$26.48 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$1.95 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$1.847 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

Algerian dinars (DZD) per US dollar -

100.691 (2015 est.)

80.579 (2014 est.)

80.579 (2013 est.)

77.54 (2012 est.)

72.938 (2011 est.)

60 billion kWh (2014 est.)

49 billion kWh (2014 est.)

900 million kWh (2014 est.)

700 million kWh (2014 est.)

16 million kW (2014 est.)

98% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

1.8% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0.2% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

1.37 million bbl/day (2015 est.)

1.146 million bbl/day (2013 est.)

2,920 bbl/day (2013 est.)

12 billion bbl (1 January 2016 es)

505,900 bbl/day (2013 est.)

430,000 bbl/day (2014 est.)

435,400 bbl/day (2013 est.)

108,800 bbl/day (2013 est.)

83.29 billion cu m (2014 est.)

37.5 billion cu m (2014 est.)

40.8 billion cu m (2014 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

4.504 trillion cu m (1 January 2016 es)

128 million Mt (2013 est.)

state-run Radio-Television Algerienne operates the broadcast media and carries programming in Arabic, Berber dialects, and French; use of satellite dishes is widespread, providing easy access to European and Arab satellite stations; state-run radio operates several national networks and roughly 40 regional radio stations (2007)

.dz

7T (2016)

157 (2016)

3 (2013)

condensate 2,600 km; gas 16,415 km; liquid petroleum gas 3,447 km; oil 7,036 km; refined products 144 km (2013)

People's National Army (Armee Nationale Populaire, ANP), Land Forces (Forces Terrestres, FT), Navy of the Republic of Algeria (Marine de la Republique Algerienne, MRA), Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Jaza'eriya, QJJ), Territorial Air Defense Force (2009)

17 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; 19-30 years of age for compulsory service; conscript service obligation is 18 months (6 months basic training, 12 months civil projects) (2012)

4.48% of GDP (2012)

4.36% of GDP (2011)

4.48% of GDP (2010)

Algeria and many other states reject 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; dormant disputes include Libyan claims of about 32,000 sq km still reflected on its maps of southeastern Algeria and the National Liberation Front's (FLN) assertions of a claim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco