Algeria

This article is about the country. For other uses, see Algeria (disambiguation).

People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية (Arabic)
al-Jumhūriyatu l-Jazāʾiriyatu d-Dīmuqrāṭiyatu sh‑Shaʿbiyah
Motto: بِالشَّعْبِ و لِلشَّعْبِ
"Biš-šaʿb wa liš-šaʿb"
"By the people and for the people"[1][2]
Anthem: قَسَمًا
Qasaman
"We Pledge"
Location of Algeria (dark green)
Location of Algeria (dark green)
Capital
and largest city
Algiers
36°42′N 3°13′E / 36.700°N 3.217°E / 36.700; 3.217
Official languages
National vernacularAlgerian Arabic[b]
Foreign languagesFrench[c]
English[d]
Ethnic groups
See Ethnic groups
Religion
(2012)[5]
Demonym(s)Algerian
GovernmentUnitary semi-presidential republic
• President
Abdelmadjid Tebboune
Nadir Larbaoui
Salah Goudjil
Ibrahim Boughali
LegislatureParliament
• Upper house
Council of the Nation
• Lower house
People's National Assembly
Formation
• Numidia
202 BC
1235
1516
5 July 1830
5 July 1962
Area
• Total
2,381,741 km2 (919,595 sq mi) (10th)
Population
• 2024 estimate
46,700,000[6][7][8] (33rd)
• Density
19/km2 (49.2/sq mi) (171th)
GDP (PPP)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $768.52 billion, 2024 est.)[9] (39th)
• Per capita
Increase $16,483 (2024 est.)[9] (99th)
GDP (nominal)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $266.78 billion (2024 est.)[9] (50th)
• Per capita
Increase $5,722 (2024 est.)[9] (109th)
Gini (2011)27.6[10][11]
low inequality
HDI (2022)Increase 0.745[12]
high (93rd)
CurrencyAlgerian dinar (DZD)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
Calling code+213
ISO 3166 codeDZ
Internet TLD

Algeria,[e] officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria,[f] is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia; to the east by Libya; to the southeast by Niger; to the southwest by Mali, Mauritania, and Western Sahara; to the west by Morocco; and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. The capital and largest city is Algiers, located in the far north on the Mediterranean coast.

Inhabited since prehistory, Algeria has been at the crossroads of numerous cultures and civilizations, including the Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantine Greeks, and Turks. Its modern identity is rooted in centuries of Arab Muslim migration waves since the seventh century and the subsequent Arabization of the indigenous populations. Following a succession of Islamic Arab and Berber dynasties between the eighth and 15th centuries, the Regency of Algiers was established in 1516 as a largely independent tributary state of the Ottoman Empire. After nearly three centuries as a major power in the Mediterranean, the country was invaded by France in 1830 and formally annexed in 1848, though it was not fully conquered and pacified until 1903. French rule brought mass European settlement that displaced the local population, which was reduced by up to one-third due to warfare, disease, and starvation.[13] The Sétif and Guelma massacre in 1945 catalysed local resistance that culminated in the outbreak of the Algerian War in 1954. Algeria gained its independence in 1962. The country descended into a bloody civil war from 1992 to 2002.

Spanning 2,381,741 square kilometres (919,595 sq mi), Algeria is the world's tenth-largest nation by area, and the largest nation in Africa.[14] It has a semi-arid climate, with the Sahara desert dominating most of the territory except for its fertile and mountainous north, where most of the population is concentrated. With a population of 44 million, Algeria is the tenth-most populous country in Africa, and the 33rd-most populous country in the world. Algeria's official languages are Arabic and Tamazight; French is used in media, education, and certain administrative matters, but it has no official status. The vast majority of the population speak the Algerian dialect of Arabic. Most Algerians are Arabs, with Berbers forming a sizeable minority. Sunni Islam is the official religion and practised by 99 percent of the population.[15]

Algeria is a semi-presidential republic composed of 58 provinces (wilayas) and 1,541 communes. It is a regional power in North Africa and a middle power in global affairs. The country has the second-highest Human Development Index in continental Africa and one of the largest economies in Africa, due mostly to its large petroleum and natural gas reserves, which are the sixteenth and ninth-largest in the world, respectively. Sonatrach, the national oil company, is the largest company in Africa and a major supplier of natural gas to Europe. The Algerian military is one of the largest in Africa, with the highest defence budget on the continent and among the highest in the world (ranks 22nd globally).[16] Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, the OIC, OPEC, the United Nations, and the Arab Maghreb Union, of which it is a founding member.

  1. ^ "Constitution of Algeria, Art. 11". El-mouradia.dz. language: France and Arabic (government language); people of Algeria speak Arabic and Berber. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  2. ^ "Constitution of Algeria; Art. 11". Apn-dz.org. 28 November 1996. Archived from the original on 25 July 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  3. ^ Kestler-D'Amours, Jillian. "Algeria's Berbers protest for language rights". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  4. ^ "What Languages Are Spoken In Algeria?". WorldAtlas. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Algeria". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 20 March 2021. (Archived 2021 edition.)
  6. ^ https://www.ons.dz/IMG/pdf/Demographie_Algerienne2020_2023.pdf
  7. ^ "Démographie : Plus de 47 millions d'Algériens d'ici 2025".
  8. ^ https://www.elmoudjahid.dz/fr/economie/l-esperance-de-vie-moyenne-des-algeriens-est-de-79-6-ans-une-qualite-de-vie-nettement-meilleure-220929[permanent dead link‍]
  9. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2024". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Distribution of Family Income – Gini Index". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  11. ^ "GINI index (World Bank estimate)". World Bank. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  12. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Algeria – Colonial rule". Britannica. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Africa: largest countries by area 2020". Statista. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference AlgeriaFactbook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ "Defense Budget by Country (2024)". globalfirepower.com. Retrieved 2 August 2024.


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