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Algeria |
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| Background: |
After
a century of rule by France, Algeria
became independent in 1962. The surprising
first round success of the fundamentalist
FIS (Islamic Salvation Front) party in
December 1991 balloting caused the army to
intervene, crack down on the FIS, and
postpone the subsequent elections. The FIS
response has resulted in a continuous
low-grade civil conflict with the secular
state apparatus, which nonetheless has
allowed elections featuring pro-government
and moderate religious-based parties.
FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation
Army, disbanded itself in January 2000 and
many armed militants surrendered under an
amnesty program designed to promote
national reconciliation. Nevertheless,
residual fighting continues. Other
concerns include large-scale unemployment
and the need to diversify the
petroleum-based economy. |
| Location: |
Northern
Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea,
between Morocco and Tunisia |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
28
00 N, 3 00 E |
| 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 |
| Maritime
claims: |
exclusive
fishing zone: 32-52 NM
territorial sea: 12 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%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 13%
forests and woodland: 2%
other: 82% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
5,550
sq km (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
mountainous
areas subject to severe earthquakes; mud
slides |
| 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, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
Nuclear Test Ban |
| Geography
- note: |
second-largest
country in Africa (after Sudan) |
| Population: |
31,736,053
(July 2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14
years: 34.21% (male 5,528,755;
female 5,328,083)
15-64 years: 61.72% (male
9,901,319; female 9,687,449)
65 years and over: 4.07%
(male 594,973; female 695,474) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
1.71%
(2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
22.76
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
5.22
deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-0.45
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at
birth: 1.04 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: 1.02 male(s)/female
(2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
40.56
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 69.95 years
male: 68.6 years
female: 71.34 years (2001
est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
2.72
children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.07%
(1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| Nationality: |
noun:
Algerian(s)
adjective: Algerian |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Arab-Berber
99%, European less than 1% |
| 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: 61.6%
male: 73.9%
female: 49% (1995 est.) |
| 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 |
| 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; note - referendum
approving the revisions of 28 November
1996 was signed into law 7 December 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 Ali BENFLIS (since 26 August
2000)
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers
appointed by the president
elections: president elected
by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 15 April 1999 (next to
be held NA April 2004); prime minister
appointed by the president
election results: Abdelaziz
BOUTEFLIKA elected president; percent of
vote - Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA over 70%; note
- his six opposing candidates withdrew on
the eve of the election citing electoral
fraud |
| Legislative
branch: |
bicameral
Parliament consists of the National
People's Assembly or Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi
Al-Watani (380 seats; members elected by
popular vote to serve five-year terms) and
the Council of Nations (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 5 June 1997 (next to
be held NA 2002); Council of Nations -
last held 30 December 2000 (next to be
held NA 2003)
election results: National
People's Assembly - percent of vote by
party - RND 40.8%, MSP 18.2%, FLN 16.8%,
Nahda Movement 8.9%, FFS 5%, RCD 5%, PT
1.1%, Progressive Republican Party 0.8%,
Union for Democracy and Liberty 0.3%,
Social Liberal Party 0.3%, independents
2.8%; seats by party - RND 155, MSP 69,
FLN 64, Nahda Movement 34, FFS 19, RCD 19,
PT 4, Progressive Republican Party 3,
Union for Democracy and Liberty 1, Social
Liberal Party 1, independents 11; Council
of Nations - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - RND 79, FLN 12, FFS
4, MSP 1 (remaining 48 seats appointed by
the president, party breakdown NA) |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme
Court or Cour Supreme |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Democratic
National Rally or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA,
chairman]; Islamic Salvation Front or FIS
(outlawed April 1992) [Ali BELHADJ and Dr.
Abassi MADANI (imprisoned), Rabeh KEBIR
(self-exile in Germany)]; Movement of a
Peaceful Society or MSP [Mahfoud NAHNAH,
chairman]; National Liberation Front or
FLN [Boualem BENHAMOUDA, secretary
general]; Progressive Republican Party [Khadir
DRISS]; Rally for Culture and Democracy or
RCD [Said SAADI, secretary general];
Renaissance Movement or EnNahda Movement [Lahbib
ADAMI]; Social Liberal Party or PSL [Ahmed
KHELIL]; Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Hocine
Ait AHMED, secretary general (self-exile
in Switzerland)]; Union for Democracy and
Liberty [Mouley BOUKHALAFA]; Workers Party
or PT [Louisa HANOUN]
note: a party law banning
political parties based on religion was
enacted in March 1997 |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
| International
organization participation: |
ABEDA,
AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CCC, ECA, FAO,
G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU,
MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OAU,
OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief
of mission: Ambassador Idriss
JAZAIRY
chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road
NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800
FAX: [1] (202) 667-2174 |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief
of mission: Ambassador Janet A.
SANDERSON
embassy: 4 Chemin Cheikh
Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers
mailing address: B. P. Box
549, Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers
telephone: [213] (21)
69-11-86, 69-12-55, 69-18-54, 69-38-75
FAX: [213] (21) 69-39-79 |
| 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 crescent, star, and color
green are traditional symbols of Islam
(the state religion) |
| 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
fifth-largest reserves of natural gas in
the world and is the second largest gas
exporter; it ranks fourteenth for oil
reserves. Algiers' efforts to reform one
of the most centrally planned economies in
the Arab world stalled in 1992 as the
country became embroiled in political
turmoil. Algeria's financial and economic
indicators improved during the mid-1990s,
in part because of policy reforms
supported by the IMF and debt rescheduling
from the Paris Club. Algeria's finances in
2000 benefited from the spike in oil
prices and the government's tight fiscal
policy, leading to a large increase in the
trade surplus, the near tripling of
foreign exchange reserves, and reduction
in foreign debt. The government continues
efforts to diversify the economy by
attracting foreign and domestic investment
outside the energy sector, but has had
little success in reducing high
unemployment and improving living
standards. |
| GDP: |
purchasing
power parity - $171 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
5%
(2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing
power parity - $5,500 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
11%
industry: 37%
services: 52% (1999 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
23%
(1999 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest
10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 26.8% (1995) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
2%
(2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
9.1
million (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
government
29%, agriculture 25%, construction and
public works 15%, industry 11%, other 20%
(1996 est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
30%
(1999 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$15.8 billion
expenditures: $16 billion,
including capital expenditures of $5.3
billion (2001 est.) |
| Industries: |
petroleum,
natural gas, light industries, mining,
electrical, petrochemical, food processing |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
7%
(1999 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
23.215
billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil
fuel: 99.14%
hydro: 0.86%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
21.613
billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
307
million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
330
million kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
wheat,
barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus,
fruits; sheep, cattle |
| Exports: |
$19.6
billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
petroleum,
natural gas, and petroleum products 97% |
| Exports
- partners: |
Italy
22%, US 15%, France 12%, Spain 11%, Brazil
8%, Netherlands 5% (1999) |
| Imports: |
$9.2
billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
capital
goods, food and beverages, consumer goods |
| Imports
- partners: |
France
30%, Italy 9%, Germany 7%, Spain 6%, US
5%, Turkey 5% (1999) |
| Debt
- external: |
$25
billion (2000 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$100
million (1999 est.) |
| Currency: |
Algerian
dinar (DZD) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Algerian
dinars per US dollar - 74,813 (January
2001), 75.260 (2000), 66.574 (1999),
58.739 (1998), 57.707 (1997), 54.749
(1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar
year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
2.3
million (1998) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
33,500
(1999) |
| Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: telephone density in
Algeria is very low, not exceeding five
telephones per 100 persons; the number of
fixed main lines has been increased in the
last few years to a little more than
2,000,000, but only about two-thirds of
these have subscribers; much of the
infrastructure is outdated and inefficient
domestic: good service in
north but sparse in south; domestic
satellite system with 12 earth stations
(20 additional domestic earth stations are
planned)
international: 5 submarine
cables; microwave radio relay to Italy,
France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia;
coaxial cable to Morocco and Tunisia;
participant in Medarabtel; satellite earth
stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean
and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik, and 1
Arabsat (1998) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM
25, FM 1, shortwave 8 (1999) |
| Radios: |
7.1
million (1997) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
46
(plus 216 repeaters) (1995) |
| Televisions: |
3.1
million (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.dz |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
2
(2000) |
| Internet
users: |
20,000
(2000) |
| Railways: |
total:
4,820 km
standard gauge: 3,664 km
1.435-m gauge (301 km electrified; 215 km
double-track)
narrow gauge: 1,156 km
1.055-m gauge (1999) |
| Highways: |
total:
104,000 km
paved: 71,656 km (including
640 km of expressways)
unpaved: 32,344 km (1996
est.) |
| Pipelines: |
crude
oil 6,612 km; petroleum products 298 km;
natural gas 2,948 km |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Algiers,
Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Beni Saf, Dellys,
Djendjene, Ghazaouet, Jijel, Mostaganem,
Oran, Skikda, Tenes |
| Merchant
marine: |
total:
73 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
896,911 GRT/1,047,991 DWT
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo
25, chemical tanker 7, liquefied gas 10,
petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 13,
short-sea passenger 4, specialized tanker
1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports: |
135
(2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
51
over 3,047 m: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 24
1,524 to 2,437 m: 12
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
84
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 23
914 to 1,523 m: 40
under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
| Disputes
- international: |
part
of southeastern region claimed by Libya;
Algeria supports exiled West Saharan
Polisario Front and rejects Moroccan
administration of Western Sahara |
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