Introduction

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 crack down 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 the ethnic minority Berbers' ongoing autonomy campaign, large-scale unemployment, a shortage of housing, unreliable electrical and water supplies, government inefficiencies and corruption, and the continuing - although significantly degraded - activities of extremist militants. 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. Algeria assumed a two-year seat on the UN Security Council in January 2004.

Geography

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: 3.22%

permanent crops: 0.25%

other: 96.53% (2001)

Irrigated land: 5,600 sq km (1998 est.)

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)

People

Population: 32,531,853 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 29% (male 4,811,086/female 4,626,271)

15-64 years: 66.3% (male 10,861,862/female 10,701,459)

65 years and over: 4.7% (male 719,460/female 811,715) (2005 est.)

Median age: total: 24.36 years,male: 24.18 years,female: 24.53 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.22% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 17.13 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 4.6 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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: 0.89 male(s)/female

total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 31 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 34.83 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 26.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 73 years

male: 71.45 years

female: 74.63 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.92 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.1%

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 9,100 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 500 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: intermediate; food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea; hepatitis A, and typhoid fever; vectorborne disease: cutaneous leishmaniasis is a high risk in some locations (2004)

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: 70%,male: 78.8%,female: 61% (2003 est.)

Government

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: Algiers

Administrative divisions: 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, Tamanghasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen

Independence: 5 July 1962 (from France)

National holiday: Revolution Day, 1 November (1954)

Constitution: 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, and 28 November 1996

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 9 May 2003)

cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president

elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 8 April 2004 (next to be held NA April 2009); prime minister appointed by the president

election results: Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA reelected president for second term;

percent of vote - Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA 85%, Ali BENFLIS 6.4%, Abdellah DJABALLAH 5%

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the National People's Assembly or Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani (389 seats - changed from 380 seats in the 2002 elections; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Council of Nations (Senate) (144 seats; one-third of the members appointed by the president, two-thirds elected by indirect vote; members serve six-year terms; the constitution requires half the council to be renewed every three years)

elections: National People's Assembly - last held 30 May 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); Council of Nations (Senate) - last held 30 December 2003 (next to be held NA 2006)

election results: National People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FLN 199, RND 48, Islah 43, MSP 38, PT 21, FNA 8, EnNahda 1, PRA 1, MEN 1, independents 29; Council of Nations - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party NA%

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Court Supreme

Economy

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 seventh-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the second-largest gas exporter; it ranks 14th in oil reserves. Sustained high oil prices in recent years, along with macroeconomic policy reforms supported by the IMF, have helped improve Algeria's financial and macroeconomic indicators. Algeria is running substantial trade surpluses and building up record foreign exchange reserves. 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 moves ahead slowly.
 

GDP: purchasing power parity - $212.3 billion (2004 est.)
 

GDP - real growth rate: 6.1% (2004 est.)
 

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2004 est.)
 

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 10.3%;industry: 57.4%,services: 32.3% (2004 est.)
 

Labor force: 9.91 million (2004 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: 25.4% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line: 23% (1999 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)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.1% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 26.2% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $31.47 billion

expenditures: $29.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.8 billion (2004 est.)

Public debt: 37.4% of GDP (2004 est.)

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: 6% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production: 25.76 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - consumption: 23.61 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports: 500 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports: 150 million kWh (2002)

Oil - production: 1.2 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption: 209,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports: N/A

Oil - imports: N/A

Oil - proved reserves: 11.87 billion bbl (2004 est.)

Natural gas - production: 80.3 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 22.32 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 57.98 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 4.739 trillion cu m (2004)

Current account balance: $11.9 billion (2004 est.)

Exports: $32.16 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities: petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97%

Exports - partners: US 22.5%, Italy 17.8%, France 11.8%, Spain 10.2%, Canada 7.8%, Belgium 4.8% (2004)

Imports: $15.25 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities: capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods

Imports - partners: France 31.6%, Italy 8.5%, Germany 6.3%, Spain 5.6%, China 5.3%, US 4.9%, Turkey 4.5% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $43.55 billion (2004 est.)

Debt - external: $21.9 billion (2004 est.)