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Algeria Index
Bendjedid, who had collaborated with Boumediene in the plot
that deposed Ben Bella, was regarded as a moderate not identified
with any group or faction; he did, however, command wide support
within the military establishment. In June 1980, he summoned an
extraordinary FLN Party Congress to examine the draft of the
five-year development plan for 1980-84. The resultant First FiveYear Plan liberalized the economy and broke up unwieldy state
corporations
(see Development Planning
, ch. 3).
The Benjedid regime was also marked by protests from Berber
university students who objected to arabization measures in
government and especially in education. Although Bendjedid
reaffirmed the government's long-term commitment to arabization,
he upgraded Berber studies at the university level and granted
media access to Berber-language programs. These concessions,
however, provoked counterprotests from Islamists (also seen as
fundamentalists).
Islamists gained increasing influence in part because the
government was unable to keep its economic promises
(see The Islamist Factor
, ch. 4). In the late 1970s, Muslim activists
engaged in isolated and relatively small-scale assertions of
their will: harassing women whom they felt were inappropriately
dressed, smashing establishments that served alcohol, and
evicting official imams from their mosques. The
Islamists escalated their actions in 1982, when they called for
the abrogation of the National Charter and the formation of an
Islamic government. Amidst an increasing number of violent
incidents on campuses, Islamists killed one student. After police
arrested 400 Islamists, about 100,000 demonstrators thronged to
Friday prayers at the university mosque. The arrests of hundreds
more activists, including prominent leaders of the movement,
Shaykh Abdelatif Sultani and Shaykh Ahmed Sahnoun, resulted in a
lessening of Islamist actions for several years. Nonetheless, in
light of the massive support the Islamists could muster, the
authorities henceforth viewed them as a potentially grave threat
to the state and alternately treated them with harshness and
respect. In 1984, for example, the government opened in
Constantine one of the largest Islamic universities in the world.
In the same year, acceding to Islamist demands, the government
changed family status law to deprive women of freedom to act on
their own by making them wards of their families before marriage
and of their husbands after marriage.
The country's economic crisis deepened in the mid-1980s,
resulting in, among other things, increased unemployment, a lack
of consumer goods, and shortages in cooking oil, semolina,
coffee, and tea. Women waited in long lines for scarce and
expensive food; young men milled in frustration on street corners
unable to find work. An already bad situation was aggravated by
the huge drop in world oil prices in 1986. Dismantling Algeria's
state capitalist system seemed to Bendjedid the only way to
improve the economy. In 1987 he announced reforms that would
return control and profits to private hands, starting with
agriculture and continuing to the large state enterprises and
banks.
Notwithstanding the introduction of reform measures,
incidents indicating social unrest increased in Algiers and other
cities as the economy foundered from 1985 to 1988. The alienation
and anger of the population were fanned by the widespread
perception that the government had become corrupt and aloof. The
waves of discontent crested in October 1988 when a series of
strikes and walkouts by students and workers in Algiers
degenerated into rioting by thousands of young men, who destroyed
government and FLN property. When the violence spread to Annaba,
Blida, Oran, and other cities and towns, the government declared
a state of emergency and began using force to quell the unrest.
By October 10, the security forces had restored a semblance of
order; unofficial estimates were that more than 500 people were
killed and more than 3,500 arrested.
The stringent measures used to put down the riots of "Black
October" engendered a ground swell of outrage. Islamists took
control of some areas. Unsanctioned independent organizations of
lawyers, students, journalists, and physicians sprang up to
demand justice and change. In response, Bendjedid conducted a
house cleaning of senior officials and drew up a program of
political reform. In December he was offered the chance to
implement the reforms when he was reelected, albeit by a reduced
margin. A new constitution, approved overwhelmingly in February
1989, dropped the word socialist from the official
description of the country; guaranteed freedoms of expression,
association, and meeting; and withdrew the guarantees of female
rights that appeared in the 1976 constitution. The FLN was not
mentioned in the document at all, and the army was discussed only
in the context of national defense, reflecting a significant
downgrading of its political status.
Politics were reinvigorated in 1989 under the new laws.
Newspapers became the liveliest and freest in the Arab world,
while political parties of nearly every stripe vied for members
and a voice. In February 1989, Abbassi Madani and Ali Belhadj
founded the Islamic Salvation Front (Front Islamique du Salut--
FIS). Although the constitution prohibited religious parties, the
FIS came to play a significant role in Algerian politics. It
handily defeated the FLN in local and provincial elections held
in June 1990, in part because most secular parties boycotted the
elections. The FLN's response was to adopt a new electoral law
that openly aided the FLN. The FIS, in turn, called a general
strike, organized demonstrations, and occupied public places.
Bendjedid declared martial law on June 5, 1991, but he also asked
his minister of foreign affairs, Sid Ahmed Ghozali, to form a new
government of national reconciliation. Although the FIS seemed
satisfied with Ghozali's appointment and his attempts to clean up
the electoral law, it continued to protest, leading the army to
arrest Belhadj, Madani, and hundreds of others. The state of
emergency ended in September.
Algeria's leaders were stunned in December 1991 when FIS
candidates won absolute majorities in 188 of 430 electoral
districts, far ahead of the FLN's fifteen seats. Some members of
Bendjedid's cabinet, fearing a complete FIS takeover, forced the
president to dissolve parliament and to resign on January 11,
1992. Leaders of the takeover included Ghozali, and generals
Khaled Nezzar (minister of defense) and Larbi Belkheir (minister
of interior). After they declared the elections void, the
takeover leaders and Mohamed Boudiaf formed the High Council of
State to rule the country. The FIS, as well as the FLN, clamored
for a return of the electoral process, but police and troops
countered with massive arrests. In February 1992, violent
demonstrations broke out in many cities, and on February 9 the
government declared a one-year state of emergency and the next
month banned the FIS.
The end of FLN rule over Algeria opened a period of uncertain
transition. Widespread discontent with the party stemmed from
many roots. People were frustrated and angry because they had no
voice in their own affairs, had few or no prospects for
employment, and had a deteriorating standard of living. In
addition, the poor and the middle class grew outraged over the
privileges enjoyed by party members, and many Algerians became
alienated by what they felt was the unwelcome encroachment of
secular, or Western, values. Algeria's brief democratic interlude
unleashed these pent-up feelings, and, as in earlier periods of
the country's history, the language of Islam served many as the
preferred medium of social and political protest.
* * *
Whereas the vast majority of the historical writings on
Algeria are in French, several excellent works are available in
English. John Ruedy's Modern Algeria provides a masterful
synthesis and analysis focusing on the period from the French
occupation to early 1992. Land Policy in Colonial Algeria
by the same author is also interesting. A History of the
Maghrib in the Islamic Period by Jamil Abu-Nasr provides a
thoughtful and detailed look at the region going back to the Arab
conquests. For an in-depth treatment of the struggle for
independence, especially political and military affairs, see
Alistair Horne's A Savage War of Peace. For the
precolonial period, see Charles-André Julien's Histoire de
l'Afrique du nord. Julien's Histoire de l'Algérie
contemporaine and Charles-Robert Ageron's book by the same
title cover the colonial period. Raphael Danziger's Abd alQadir and the Algerians is a serious and comprehensive study
of this national hero. (For further information and complete
citations,
see
Bibliography.)
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.)
|
Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | -0.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 65% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 2.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
|
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.)
|
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.)
|
Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 74.02 years male: 72.35 years female: 75.77 years (2009 est.)
|
Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 1.79 children born/woman (2009 est.)
|
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
|
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 | | name: Algiers geographic coordinates: 36 45 N, 3 03 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
|
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
|
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
|
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) 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%
|
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;
|
Judicial branch | | Supreme Court
|
Political pressure groups and leaders | | The Algerian Human Rights League or LADDH [Hocine ZEHOUANE]; SOS Disparus [Nacera DUTOUR]
|
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
|
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.
|
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
|
GDP (official exchange rate) | | $159.7 billion (2008 est.)
|
GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 3.5% (2008 est.) 3.1% (2007 est.) 2.1% (2006 est.)
|
GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $6,900 (2008 est.) $6,800 (2007 est.) $6,600 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
|
GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 8.3% industry: 62.3% services: 29.4% (2008 est.)
|
Labor force | | 9.464 million (2008 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(%) | | 12.8% (2008 est.) 11.8% (2007 est.)
|
Population below poverty line(%) | | 23% (2006 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)
|
Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 26.1% of GDP (2008 est.)
|
Budget | | revenues: $70.06 billion expenditures: $56.04 billion (2008 est.)
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 4.4% (2008 est.) 3.5% (2007 est.)
|
Stock of money | | $60.91 billion (31 December 2008) $55.43 billion (31 December 2007)
|
Stock of quasi money | | $30.36 billion (31 December 2008) $28.59 billion (31 December 2007)
|
Stock of domestic credit | | $NA (31 December 2008) $NA (31 December 2007)
|
Market value of publicly traded shares | | $NA
|
Economic aid - recipient | | $370.6 million (2005 est.)
|
Public debt(% of GDP) | | 8.4% of GDP (2008 est.) 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(%) | | 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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