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Algeria Index
Tuareg tribesman dancing
Courtesy ANEP
A Kabyle woman
Courtesy Nadia Benchallal and Middle East Report
The origins of the Berbers are unclear; a number of waves of
people, some from Western Europe, some from sub-Saharan Africa,
and others from Northeast Africa, eventually settled in North
Africa and made up its indigenous population. Because present-day
Berbers and the overwhelming majority of the Arabs largely
descend from the same indigenous stock, physical distinctions
carry little or no social connotation and are in most instances
impossible to make. The term Berber is derived from the
Greeks, who used it to refer to the people of North Africa. The
term was retained by the Romans, Arabs, and other groups who
occupied the region, but is not used by the people themselves.
Identification with the Berber or Arab community is largely a
matter of personal choice rather than of membership in discrete
and bounded social entities. In addition to their own language,
many adult Berbers also speak Arabic and French; for centuries
Berbers have entered the general society and merged, within a
generation or two, into the Arab group.
This permeable boundary between the two major ethnic groups
permits a good deal of movement and, along with other factors,
prevents the development of rigid and exclusive ethnic blocs. It
appears that whole groups slipped across the ethnic "boundary" in
the past--and others may do so in the future. In areas of
linguistic contiguity, bilingualism is common, and in most cases
Arabic eventually comes to predominate.
Algerian Arabs, or native speakers of Arabic, include
descendants of Arab invaders and of indigenous Berbers. Since
1966, however, the Algerian census no longer has had a category
for Berbers; thus, it is only an estimate that Algerian Arabs,
the major ethnic group of the country, constitute 80 percent of
Algeria's people and are culturally and politically dominant. The
mode of life of Arabs varies from region to region. Nomadic
herders are found in the desert, settled cultivators and
gardeners in the Tell, and urban dwellers on the coast.
Linguistically, the various Arab groups differ little from each
other, except that dialects spoken by nomadic and seminomadic
peoples are thought to be derived from beduin dialects; the
dialects spoken by the sedentary population of the north are
thought to stem from those of early seventh-century invaders.
Urban Arabs are more apt to identify with the Algerian nation,
whereas ethnic loyalties of more remote rural Arabs are likely to
be limited to the tribe.
The major Berber groups are the Kabyles of the Kabylie
Mountains east of Algiers and the Chaouia of the Aurès range
south of Constantine. Smaller groups include the Mzab of the
northern Sahara region and the Tuareg of the southern Ahaggar
highlands, both of which have clearly definable characteristics.
The Berber peasantry can also be found in the Atlas Mountains
close to Blida, and on the massifs of Dahra and Ouarsenis on
either side of the Chelif River valley. Altogether, the Berbers
constitute about 20 percent of the population.
In the hills north of the Chelif River and in some other
parts of the Tell, Berbers live in villages among the sedentary
Arabs, not sharply distinguished in their way of life from the
Arabic speakers but maintaining their own language and a sense of
ethnic identity. In addition, in some oasis towns of the Algerian
Sahara, small Berber groups remain unassimilated to Arab culture
and retain their own language and some of their cultural
differences.
By far the largest of the Berber-speaking groups, the
Kabyles, do not refer to themselves as Berbers but as Imazighen
or, in the singular, as Amazigh, which means noble or free men.
Some traces of the original blue-eyed and blond-haired Berbers
survive to contrast the people from this region with the darker-
skinned Arabic speakers of the plains. The land is poor, and the
pressure of a dense and rapidly growing population has forced
many to migrate to France or to the coastal cities. Kabyles can
be found in every part of the country, but in their new
environments they tend to gather and to retain some of their clan
solidarity and sense of ethnic identity.
Kabyle villages, built on the crests of hills, are close-
knit, independent, social and political units composed of a
number of extended patrilineal kin groups. Traditionally, local
government consisted of a jamaa (village council), which
included all adult males and legislated according to local custom
and law. Efforts to modify this democratic system were only
partially successful, and the jamaa has continued to
function alongside the civil administration. The majority of
Berber mountain peasants hold their land as mulk, or
private property, in contrast to those of the valleys and oases
where the tribe retains certain rights over land controlled by
its members.
Set apart by their habitat, language, and well-organized
village and social life, Kabyles have a highly developed sense of
independence and group solidarity. They have generally opposed
incursions of Arabs and Europeans into their region, and much of
the resistance activity during the War of Independence was
concentrated in the Kabylie. Major Kabyle uprisings took place
against the French in 1871, 1876, and 1882; the Chaouia rebelled
in 1879.
Perhaps half as numerous as the Kabyles and less densely
settled, the Chaouia have occupied the rugged Aurès Mountains of
eastern Algeria since their retreat to that region from Tunisia
during the Arab invasions of the Middle Ages. In the north they
are settled agriculturalists, growing grain in the uplands and
fruit trees in the valleys. In the arid south, with its date-palm
oases, they are seminomadic, shepherding flocks to the high
plains during the summer. The distinction between the two groups
is limited, however, because the farmers of the north are also
drovers, and the seminomads of the south maintain plots of land.
In the past, the Chaouia lived in isolation broken only by
visits of Kabyle peddlers and Saharan camel raisers, and
relatively few learned to speak either French or Arabic. Like
their society, their economy was self-sufficient and closed.
Emigration was limited, but during the War of Independence the
region was a stronghold of anti-French sentiment, and more than
one-half of the population was removed to concentration camps.
During the postindependence era, the ancient Chaouia isolation
has lessened.
Far less numerous than their northern Berber kin are the
Mzab, whose number was estimated at 100,000 in the mid-1980s.
They live beside the Oued Mzab, from which comes their name.
Ghardaïa was their largest and most important oasis community.
The Mzab are
Ibadi (see Glossary) Muslims who practice a
puritanical form of Islam that emphasizes asceticism, literacy
for men and women, and social egalitarianism.
The Mzab used to be important in trans-Saharan trade but now
have moved into other occupations. Some of their members have
moved to the cities, where in Algiers, for example, they dominate
the grocery and butchery business. They have also extended their
commerce south to sub-Saharan Africa, where they and other tribal
people trade with cash and letters of exchange, make loans on the
harvest, and sell on credit.
Of all Berber subgroups, the Tuareg until recently have been
the least affected by the outside world. Known as "the blue men"
because of their indigo-dyed cotton robes and as "people of the
veil" because the men--but not the women--always veil, the Tuareg
inhabit the Sahara from southwest Libya to Mali. In southern
Algeria, they are concentrated in the highlands of Tassili-n-
Ajjer and Ahaggar and in the 1970s were estimated to number
perhaps 5,000 to 10,000. They are organized into tribes and, at
least among the Ahaggar Tuareg, into a three-tiered class system
of nobles, vassals, and slaves and servants, the last group often
being of negroid origin. Tuareg women enjoy high status and many
privileges. They do not live in seclusion, and their social
responsibilities equal those of men.
In the past, the Tuareg were famed as camel and cattle
herdsmen and as guides and protectors of caravans that plied
between West Africa and North Africa. Both occupations have
greatly declined during the twentieth century under the impact of
colonial and independent government policies, technology, and
consumerism associated with the hydrocarbon industry and, most
recently, drought. The result has been the breakup of the old
social hierarchy and gradual sedentarization around such oases as
Djanet and Tamanrasset.
Although of considerable importance before independence, the
non-Muslim minorities have shrunk to a mere fraction of their
former size. Immediately after independence approximately 1
million Europeans, including 140,000 Jews, left the country. Most
of the Europeans who left had French citizenship, and all
identified with French rather than Arab culture and society.
During colonial times, the Algerian and European groups had
effectively formed two separate subsocieties having little social
interaction or intermarriage except among highly Europeanized
Algerians.
In the early 1980s, the total foreign population was
estimated at roughly 117,000. Of this number, about 75,000 were
Europeans, including about 45,000 French. Many foreigners worked
as technicians and teachers.
Data as of December 1993
The Peoples
Tuareg tribesman dancing
Courtesy ANEP
A Kabyle woman
Courtesy Nadia Benchallal and Middle East Report
The origins of the Berbers are unclear; a number of waves of
people, some from Western Europe, some from sub-Saharan Africa,
and others from Northeast Africa, eventually settled in North
Africa and made up its indigenous population. Because present-day
Berbers and the overwhelming majority of the Arabs largely
descend from the same indigenous stock, physical distinctions
carry little or no social connotation and are in most instances
impossible to make. The term Berber is derived from the
Greeks, who used it to refer to the people of North Africa. The
term was retained by the Romans, Arabs, and other groups who
occupied the region, but is not used by the people themselves.
Identification with the Berber or Arab community is largely a
matter of personal choice rather than of membership in discrete
and bounded social entities. In addition to their own language,
many adult Berbers also speak Arabic and French; for centuries
Berbers have entered the general society and merged, within a
generation or two, into the Arab group.
This permeable boundary between the two major ethnic groups
permits a good deal of movement and, along with other factors,
prevents the development of rigid and exclusive ethnic blocs. It
appears that whole groups slipped across the ethnic "boundary" in
the past--and others may do so in the future. In areas of
linguistic contiguity, bilingualism is common, and in most cases
Arabic eventually comes to predominate.
Algerian Arabs, or native speakers of Arabic, include
descendants of Arab invaders and of indigenous Berbers. Since
1966, however, the Algerian census no longer has had a category
for Berbers; thus, it is only an estimate that Algerian Arabs,
the major ethnic group of the country, constitute 80 percent of
Algeria's people and are culturally and politically dominant. The
mode of life of Arabs varies from region to region. Nomadic
herders are found in the desert, settled cultivators and
gardeners in the Tell, and urban dwellers on the coast.
Linguistically, the various Arab groups differ little from each
other, except that dialects spoken by nomadic and seminomadic
peoples are thought to be derived from beduin dialects; the
dialects spoken by the sedentary population of the north are
thought to stem from those of early seventh-century invaders.
Urban Arabs are more apt to identify with the Algerian nation,
whereas ethnic loyalties of more remote rural Arabs are likely to
be limited to the tribe.
The major Berber groups are the Kabyles of the Kabylie
Mountains east of Algiers and the Chaouia of the Aurès range
south of Constantine. Smaller groups include the Mzab of the
northern Sahara region and the Tuareg of the southern Ahaggar
highlands, both of which have clearly definable characteristics.
The Berber peasantry can also be found in the Atlas Mountains
close to Blida, and on the massifs of Dahra and Ouarsenis on
either side of the Chelif River valley. Altogether, the Berbers
constitute about 20 percent of the population.
In the hills north of the Chelif River and in some other
parts of the Tell, Berbers live in villages among the sedentary
Arabs, not sharply distinguished in their way of life from the
Arabic speakers but maintaining their own language and a sense of
ethnic identity. In addition, in some oasis towns of the Algerian
Sahara, small Berber groups remain unassimilated to Arab culture
and retain their own language and some of their cultural
differences.
By far the largest of the Berber-speaking groups, the
Kabyles, do not refer to themselves as Berbers but as Imazighen
or, in the singular, as Amazigh, which means noble or free men.
Some traces of the original blue-eyed and blond-haired Berbers
survive to contrast the people from this region with the darker-
skinned Arabic speakers of the plains. The land is poor, and the
pressure of a dense and rapidly growing population has forced
many to migrate to France or to the coastal cities. Kabyles can
be found in every part of the country, but in their new
environments they tend to gather and to retain some of their clan
solidarity and sense of ethnic identity.
Kabyle villages, built on the crests of hills, are close-
knit, independent, social and political units composed of a
number of extended patrilineal kin groups. Traditionally, local
government consisted of a jamaa (village council), which
included all adult males and legislated according to local custom
and law. Efforts to modify this democratic system were only
partially successful, and the jamaa has continued to
function alongside the civil administration. The majority of
Berber mountain peasants hold their land as mulk, or
private property, in contrast to those of the valleys and oases
where the tribe retains certain rights over land controlled by
its members.
Set apart by their habitat, language, and well-organized
village and social life, Kabyles have a highly developed sense of
independence and group solidarity. They have generally opposed
incursions of Arabs and Europeans into their region, and much of
the resistance activity during the War of Independence was
concentrated in the Kabylie. Major Kabyle uprisings took place
against the French in 1871, 1876, and 1882; the Chaouia rebelled
in 1879.
Perhaps half as numerous as the Kabyles and less densely
settled, the Chaouia have occupied the rugged Aurès Mountains of
eastern Algeria since their retreat to that region from Tunisia
during the Arab invasions of the Middle Ages. In the north they
are settled agriculturalists, growing grain in the uplands and
fruit trees in the valleys. In the arid south, with its date-palm
oases, they are seminomadic, shepherding flocks to the high
plains during the summer. The distinction between the two groups
is limited, however, because the farmers of the north are also
drovers, and the seminomads of the south maintain plots of land.
In the past, the Chaouia lived in isolation broken only by
visits of Kabyle peddlers and Saharan camel raisers, and
relatively few learned to speak either French or Arabic. Like
their society, their economy was self-sufficient and closed.
Emigration was limited, but during the War of Independence the
region was a stronghold of anti-French sentiment, and more than
one-half of the population was removed to concentration camps.
During the postindependence era, the ancient Chaouia isolation
has lessened.
Far less numerous than their northern Berber kin are the
Mzab, whose number was estimated at 100,000 in the mid-1980s.
They live beside the Oued Mzab, from which comes their name.
Ghardaïa was their largest and most important oasis community.
The Mzab are
Ibadi (see Glossary) Muslims who practice a
puritanical form of Islam that emphasizes asceticism, literacy
for men and women, and social egalitarianism.
The Mzab used to be important in trans-Saharan trade but now
have moved into other occupations. Some of their members have
moved to the cities, where in Algiers, for example, they dominate
the grocery and butchery business. They have also extended their
commerce south to sub-Saharan Africa, where they and other tribal
people trade with cash and letters of exchange, make loans on the
harvest, and sell on credit.
Of all Berber subgroups, the Tuareg until recently have been
the least affected by the outside world. Known as "the blue men"
because of their indigo-dyed cotton robes and as "people of the
veil" because the men--but not the women--always veil, the Tuareg
inhabit the Sahara from southwest Libya to Mali. In southern
Algeria, they are concentrated in the highlands of Tassili-n-
Ajjer and Ahaggar and in the 1970s were estimated to number
perhaps 5,000 to 10,000. They are organized into tribes and, at
least among the Ahaggar Tuareg, into a three-tiered class system
of nobles, vassals, and slaves and servants, the last group often
being of negroid origin. Tuareg women enjoy high status and many
privileges. They do not live in seclusion, and their social
responsibilities equal those of men.
In the past, the Tuareg were famed as camel and cattle
herdsmen and as guides and protectors of caravans that plied
between West Africa and North Africa. Both occupations have
greatly declined during the twentieth century under the impact of
colonial and independent government policies, technology, and
consumerism associated with the hydrocarbon industry and, most
recently, drought. The result has been the breakup of the old
social hierarchy and gradual sedentarization around such oases as
Djanet and Tamanrasset.
Although of considerable importance before independence, the
non-Muslim minorities have shrunk to a mere fraction of their
former size. Immediately after independence approximately 1
million Europeans, including 140,000 Jews, left the country. Most
of the Europeans who left had French citizenship, and all
identified with French rather than Arab culture and society.
During colonial times, the Algerian and European groups had
effectively formed two separate subsocieties having little social
interaction or intermarriage except among highly Europeanized
Algerians.
In the early 1980s, the total foreign population was
estimated at roughly 117,000. Of this number, about 75,000 were
Europeans, including about 45,000 French. Many foreigners worked
as technicians and teachers.
Data as of December 1993
- Algeria-THE INDIVIDUAL, THE FAMILY, AND THE SEXES
- Algeria-Toward a Modern Society
- Algeria-Balance of Payments
- Algeria-The Elite
- Algeria-TRENDS
- Algeria-War of Independence
- Algeria-Health HEALTH AND WELFARE
- Algeria-Exports and Imports
- Algeria-Air Force
- Algeria-De Gaulle
- Algeria-Chapter 1 - Historical Setting
- Algeria-Urbanization and Density
- Algeria-National Consultative Council
- Algeria-Strategic Perspectives
- Algeria-EXTERNAL SECURITY PROBLEMS AND POLICIES
- Algeria-Prison Conditions
- Algeria-GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
- Algeria-Boumediene and the Socialist Experiment
- Algeria-Marabouts
- Algeria-Islamic Opposition
- Algeria-The Algerian General Workers' Union and the Workers' Movement
- Algeria-FLN
- Algeria-AGRICULTURE
- Algeria-POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND PROCESSES
- Algeria-PREFACE
- Algeria-INTERNAL SECURITY
- Algeria-The Women's Movement
- Algeria-Socialist Vanguard Party
- Algeria-Military Dictatorship
- Algeria-The Islamist Factor
- Algeria-Acknowledgments
- Algeria-Transportation
- Algeria-Democratization, October 1988-January 11, 1992
- Algeria-France and the Mediterranean Countries
- Algeria-The Sahara
- Algeria-Berber Separatism
- Algeria-Colonization and Military Control
- Algeria-Chapter 3 - The Economy
- Algeria-Climate and Hydrology
- Algeria-The Military and Boumediene
- Algeria-Wilayat
- Algeria-Hegemony of the Colons
- Algeria-The National Union of Algerian Farmers
- Algeria-Preindependence Society STRUCTURE OF SOCIETY
- Algeria-Chapter 5 - National Security
- Algeria-The Islamist Movement since the Late 1980s
- Algeria-CIVIL SOCIETY
- Algeria-Banking SERVICES
- Algeria-THE ARMED FORCES
- Algeria-Security Problems with Neighboring States
- Algeria-LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
- Algeria-Trading Partners
- Algeria-Aftermath of the War
- Algeria-Criminal Justice System
- Algeria-EDUCATION
- Algeria-Provincial Courts
- Algeria-Geographic Regions
- Algeria-Army
- Algeria-Security Interests Outside the Maghrib
- Algeria-Invasion of Algiers FRANCE IN ALGERIA, 1830-1962
- Algeria-Return to Authoritarianism, January 11, 1992
- Algeria-Roads
- Algeria-Crops
- Algeria-THE DEFENSE BURDEN
- Algeria-General Trends FOREIGN POLICY
- Algeria-GOVERNMENT ROLE
- Algeria-ALGERIA
- Algeria-Land Tenure and Reform
- Algeria-The United States
- Algeria-TRADE
- Algeria-Privateers
- Algeria-The Press
- Algeria-Africa
- Algeria-Fishing
- Algeria-TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
- Algeria-Almoravids
- Algeria-The Arabization Movement
- Algeria-Demographic Profile POPULATION
- Algeria-Family and Household
- Algeria-Currency and Exchange Rates
- Algeria-Trade Account
- Algeria-The Revolutionary Period and Independence
- Algeria-Airports
- Algeria-Hydrocarbons NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY
- Algeria-Political Movements
- Algeria-Arab and Middle East Affairs
- Algeria-DOMESTIC SECURITY CONCERNS
- Algeria-GEOGRAPHY
- Algeria-SOCIETY
- Algeria -COUNTRY PROFILE
- Algeria
- Algeria-Structure of the National Government
- Algeria-Forestry
- Algeria-Almohads
- Algeria-Philippeville
- Algeria-Minerals
- Algeria-Electoral System
- Algeria-The High Plateaus and the Saharan Atlas
- Algeria-Military Tribunals
- Algeria-European Offensive
- Algeria-Recent Political Events
- Algeria-Role of the FIS
- Algeria-Formation of the Second Algerian Republic, 1976-79
- Algeria-PHYSICAL SETTING
- Algeria-Legalization of Political Parties and Beginnings of a Pluralist System
- Algeria-Housing
- Algeria-Construction
- Algeria-Early History
- Algeria-Abd al Qadir
- Algeria-Local and Regional Government
- Algeria-The Revolution and Social Change
- Algeria-Budget
- Algeria-Table A - Selected Acronyms and Contractions
- Algeria-Carthage and the Berbers NORTH AFRICA DURING THE CLASSICAL PERIOD
- Algeria-Vandals and Byzantines
- Algeria-Zayanids
- Algeria
- Algeria
- Algeria
- Algeria-Sub-Saharan Africa
- Algeria
- Algeria-THE MILITARY HERITAGE
- Algeria
- Algeria-Conditions of Service
- Algeria-External Debt and Payments
- Algeria-Personnel and Recruitment
- Algeria-Committee of Public Safety
- Algeria-PREHISTORY OF CENTRAL NORTH AFRICA
- Algeria-The Entrepreneurial Class
- Algeria-Opposition to the Occupation
- Algeria
- Algeria-ECONOMY
- Algeria
- Algeria-Dawair
- Algeria-NATIONAL SECURITY
- Algeria-Livestock
- Algeria
- Algeria-Chapter 2 - The Society and Its Environment
- Algeria-Railroads
- Algeria-Legislative: National People's Assembly
- Algeria
- Algeria-Youth and Student Unions
- Algeria
- Algeria-The Generals' Putsch
- Algeria-FOREIGN MILITARY ASSISTANCE
- Algeria-Family Code
- Algeria-Political Configuration: The Army-Party-State Triangle
- Algeria-Foreign Aid
- Algeria-Relations with the United States
- Algeria-Algerian Nationalism
- Algeria-Telecommunications
- Algeria-Navy
- Algeria-Arabization
- Algeria
- Algeria
- Algeria-Chapter 4 - Government and Politics
- Algeria-Supreme Court
- Algeria-Tenets of Islam
- Algeria-Family Planning
- Algeria-Uniforms, Ranks, and Insignia
- Algeria-The "Heroic" Stage: Ben Bella's Regime, 1962-65
- Algeria-Judicial System
- Algeria-Men and Women
- Algeria-Role of Political Parties
- Algeria-RELIGIOUS MINORITIES
- Algeria-Social Welfare
- Algeria-The West
- Algeria-Ottoman Rule
- Algeria-Electric Power
- Algeria
- Algeria-Ports
- Algeria-EFFECTIVE INSTITUTIONS
- Algeria-Municipal Government
- Algeria-Manufacturing
- Algeria-Migration
- Algeria-The Peoples ETHNIC GROUPS AND LANGUAGES
- Algeria-Ben Bella and the FLN
- Algeria-PUBLIC FINANCES
- Algeria-Intelligence Agencies
- Algeria-Fatimids
- Algeria-Conduct of the War
- Algeria-Islam and the Algerian State
- Algeria-Terrain
- Algeria-ISLAM
- Algeria-Investments
- Algeria
- Algeria-TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
- Algeria-INDUSTRY
- Algeria-The Land and Colonizers
- Algeria-Languages: Arabic and Berber
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 this did not appease the activists who progressively widened their attacks. The fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense fighting between 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 was reelected in a landslide victory in 2004. BOUTEFLIKA was overwhelmingly reelected to a third term in 2009 after the government amended the constitution in 2008 to remove presidential term limits. Longstanding problems continue to face BOUTEFLIKA, 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 has launched an ongoing series of kidnappings and bombings - including high-profile, mass-casualty suicide attacks targeting the Algerian Government and Western interests.
|
Location | | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
|
Area(sq km) | | total: 2,381,741 sq km land: 2,381,741 sq km water: 0 sq km
|
Geographic coordinates | | 28 00 N, 3 00 E
|
Land boundaries(km) | | 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(km) | | 998 km
|
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
|
Elevation extremes(m) | | 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(sq km) | | 5,690 sq km (2003)
|
Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 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(years) | | total: 26.6 years male: 26.3 years female: 26.8 years (2009 est.)
|
Population growth rate(%) | | 1.196% (2009 est.)
|
Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 16.9 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 4.64 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
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Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | -0.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 65% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 2.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio(male(s)/female) | | 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.)
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Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births) | | 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.)
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Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 74.02 years male: 72.35 years female: 75.77 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 1.79 children born/woman (2009 est.)
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Nationality | | noun: Algerian(s) adjective: Algerian
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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
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Religions(%) | | Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%
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Languages(%) | | Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
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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
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Government type | | republic
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Capital | | name: Algiers geographic coordinates: 36 45 N, 3 03 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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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
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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
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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
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Suffrage | | 18 years of age; universal
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Executive branch | | chief of state: President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (since 28 April 1999) note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; a November 2008 constitutional amendment separated the position of head of government from that of the prime minister head of government: President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (since 28 April 1999) 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) 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%
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Legislative branch | | bicameral Parliament consists of the National Council (upper house; 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 (lower house; 389 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: National Council - last held 28 December 2006 (next to be held 29 December 2009); National People's Assembly - last held 17 May 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; 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;
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Judicial branch | | Supreme Court
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Political pressure groups and leaders | | The Algerian Human Rights League or LADDH [Hocine ZEHOUANE]; SOS Disparus [Nacera DUTOUR]
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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)
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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; 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 the Algerians believe the long crescent horns bring happiness
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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.
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GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $233.5 billion (2008 est.) $225.6 billion (2007 est.) $218.8 billion (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP (official exchange rate) | | $159.7 billion (2008 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 3.5% (2008 est.) 3.1% (2007 est.) 2.1% (2006 est.)
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GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $6,900 (2008 est.) $6,800 (2007 est.) $6,600 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 8.3% industry: 62.3% services: 29.4% (2008 est.)
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Labor force | | 9.464 million (2008 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture 14%, industry 13.4%, construction and public works 10%, trade 14.6%, government 32%, other 16% (2003 est.)
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Unemployment rate(%) | | 12.8% (2008 est.) 11.8% (2007 est.)
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Population below poverty line(%) | | 23% (2006 est.)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 26.8% (1995)
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Distribution of family income - Gini index | | 35.3 (1995)
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Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 26.1% of GDP (2008 est.)
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Budget | | revenues: $70.06 billion expenditures: $56.04 billion (2008 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 4.4% (2008 est.) 3.5% (2007 est.)
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Stock of money | | $60.91 billion (31 December 2008) $55.43 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of quasi money | | $30.36 billion (31 December 2008) $28.59 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of domestic credit | | $NA (31 December 2008) $NA (31 December 2007)
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Market value of publicly traded shares | | $NA
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Economic aid - recipient | | $370.6 million (2005 est.)
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Public debt(% of GDP) | | 8.4% of GDP (2008 est.) 37.4% of GDP (2004 est.)
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Agriculture - products | | wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle
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Industries | | petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing
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Industrial production growth rate(%) | | 3.2% (2008 est.)
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Current account balance | | $35.27 billion (2008 est.) $30.6 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports | | $78.23 billion (2008 est.) $60.6 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports - commodities(%) | | petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97%
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Exports - partners(%) | | US 23.9%, Italy 15.5%, Spain 11.4%, France 8%, Netherlands 7.8%, Canada 6.8% (2008)
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Imports | | $39.16 billion (2008 est.) $26.4 billion (2007 est.)
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Imports - commodities(%) | | capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods
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Imports - partners(%) | | France 16.5%, Italy 11%, China 10.3%, Spain 7.4%, Germany 6.1%, US 5.5% (2008)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $143.5 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $110.6 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Debt - external | | $3.753 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $3.957 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | | $13.76 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $11.91 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | | $1.162 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $962 million (31 December 2007 est.)
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Exchange rates | | Algerian dinars (DZD) per US dollar - 63.25 (2008 est.), 69.9 (2007), 72.647 (2006), 73.276 (2005), 72.061 (2004)
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Currency (code) | | Algerian dinar (DZD)
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Telephones - main lines in use | | 3.314 million (2008)
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Telephones - mobile cellular | | 31.871 million (2008)
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Telephone system | | general assessment: a weak network of fixed-main lines, which remains at roughly 10 telephones per 100 persons, is offset by the rapid increase in mobile cellular subscribership; in 2008, combined fixed-line and mobile telephone density surpassed 100 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 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) (2008)
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Internet country code | | .dz
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Internet users | | 4.1 million (2008)
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Airports | | 143 (2009)
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Pipelines(km) | | condensate 1,937 km; gas 14,648 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,933 km; oil 7,579 km (2008)
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Roadways(km) | | total: 108,302 km paved: 76,028 km (includes 645 km of expressways) unpaved: 32,274 km (2004)
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Ports and terminals | | Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Djendjene, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda
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Military branches | | 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)
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Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 19-30 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months (6 months basic training, 12 months civil projects) (2006)
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Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 9,736,757 females age 16-49: 9,590,978 (2008 est.)
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Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 8,317,473 females age 16-49: 8,367,005 (2009 est.)
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Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 375,852 female: 362,158 (2009 est.)
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Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 3.3% of GDP (2006)
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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
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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)
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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)
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Electricity - production(kWh) | | 34.98 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 99.7% hydro: 0.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
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Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 28.34 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 273 million kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 279 million kWh (2007 est.)
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Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 2.18 million bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 299,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 1.891 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 14,320 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 12.2 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
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Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 86.5 billion cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 26.83 billion cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 59.67 billion cu m (2008)
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Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 4.502 trillion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | 0.1%; note - no country specific models provided (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 21,000 (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths | | fewer than 1,000 (2007 est.)
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Literacy(%) | | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 69.9% male: 79.6% female: 60.1% (2002 est.)
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years) | | total: 13 years male: 13 years female: 13 years (2005)
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Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 5.1% of GDP (1999)
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