PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
People's Democratic Republic of Algeria

Geography
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia.
Area: Total--2,381,740 sq. km. Land--2,381,740 sq. km.; water--0 sq. km. More than three times the size of Texas.
Cities: Capital--Algiers; Oran, Constantine, Annaba.
Terrain: Mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain. Mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes, mud slides.
Climate: Arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; a hot, dust/sand-laden wind called sirocco is especially common in summer.
Land use: Arable land--3%; permanent crops--0%, permanent pastures--13%; forests and woodland--2%.

People
Nationality: Noun--Algerian(s); adjective--Algerian.
Population (2006 est.): 32,854,000.
Annual growth rate (2006 est.): 1.22%. Birth rate (2006 est.)--17.14 births/1,000 population; death rate (2006 est.)--4.61 deaths/1,000 population.
Ethnic groups: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%.
Religions: Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%.
Languages: Arabic (official), Berber (national language), French.
Education: Literacy (definition--age 15 and over can read and write)--total population (2004 est.), 70%; total; female 60% (2004 est.).
Health (2006 est.): Infant mortality rate--29.87 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy at birth--total population, 73.26 years; male 71.68 years, female 74.92 years.
Work force (2005): 10.15 million. Agriculture 14%, industry 13.4%, construction and public works 10%, trade 14.6%, government 32%, other 16% (2003 est.).
Unemployment rate (2005 est.): 24%; Algerian Government estimates 17.7%.

Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: July 5, 1962 (from France).
Constitution: September 8, 1963; revised November 19, 1976, November 3, 1988, February 23, 1989, and November 28, 1996.
Branches: Legal system 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; Algeria has not accepted compulsory International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction.
Administrative divisions: 48 provinces (wilayates; singular, wilaya).
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal.
National holiday: Independence Day, July 5, 1962; Revolution Day, November 1, 1954.
Major parties represented in parliament: National Liberation Front (FLN), National Democratic Rally (RND), Movement for National Reform (MRN), Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), Workers' Party (PT), Algerian National Front (FNA), Islamic Renaissance Movement (MNI), Party of Algerian Renewal (PRA), Movement of National Understanding (MEN).

Economy
GDP (2005): $233.2 billion.
GDP growth (2005): 5.3%.
Per capita GDP (PPP, 2005): $7,189.
Agriculture: Products--wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle.
Industry: Types--petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing, pharmaceuticals, cement, seawater desalination.
Sector Information as % GDP (2005): Agriculture 10%, services 29%, industry 61%.
Monetary unit: 1 dinar = 100 centimes.
Inflation, GDP deflator (2004): 10.2%.
Trade: Exports (2004)--$31.7 billion: petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97.52%. Partners (2005 est.)--U.S. 23.5%, Italy 16.7%, France 11.4%, Spain 11.25%. Imports (f.o.b., 2004)--$18.2 billion: capital goods, food and beverages, consumer goods. Partners (2004)--France 22.6%, Italy 8.53%, Germany 6.9%, U.S. 6.15%, China 5.02%, Spain 4.85%, Japan 3.65%, Argentina 3.2%, Turkey 3.24%.
Budget (2005 est.): Revenues--$31.7 billion; expenditures--$24.62 billion, including capital expenditures of $7.8 billion.
Debt (external, 2005 est.): $21.4 billion.
U.S. economic assistance (2005 est.): $4.40 million (MEPI, IMET).
Fiscal year: Calendar year.

GEOGRAPHY
Algeria, the second-largest state in Africa, has a Mediterranean coastline of about 998 kilometers (620 mi.). The Tellian and Saharan Atlas mountain ranges cross the country from east to west, dividing it into three zones. Between the northern zone, Tellian Atlas, and the Mediterranean is a narrow, fertile coastal plain--the Tell (Arabic for hill)--with a moderate climate year round and rainfall adequate for agriculture. A high plateau region, averaging 914 meters (3,000 ft.) above sea level, with limited rainfall, great rocky plains, and desert, lies between the two mountain ranges. It is generally barren except for scattered clumps of trees and intermittent bush and pastureland. The third and largest zone, south of the Saharan Atlas mountain range, is mostly desert. About 80% of the country is desert, steppes, wasteland, and mountains. Algeria's weather varies considerably from season to season and from one geographical location to another. In the north, the summers are usually hot with little rainfall. Winter rains begin in the north in October. Frost and snow are rare, except on the highest slopes of the Tellian Atlas Mountains. Dust and sandstorms occur most frequently between February and May.

Soil erosion--from overgrazing, other poor farming practices, and desertification--and the dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents are leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters. The Mediterranean Sea, in particular, is becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff. There are inadequate supplies of potable water.

PEOPLE
Ninety-one percent of the Algerian population lives along the Mediterranean coast on 12% of the country's total land mass. Forty-five percent of the population is urban, and urbanization continues, despite government efforts to discourage migration to the cities. About 1.5 million nomads and semi-settled Bedouin still live in the Saharan area.