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), was established in 1954 as part of the struggle for independence and has largely dominated politics since. The Government of Algeria in 1988 instituted a multi-party system in response to public unrest, but 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, and fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense violence 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. He was reelected to a second term in 2004 and overwhelmingly won 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-Qa'ida to form al-Qa'ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, which has launched an ongoing series of kidnappings and bombings targeting the Algerian Government and Western interests. The government in 2011 introduced some political reforms in response to the Arab Spring, including lifting the 19-year, state of emergency restrictions and ending the state's monopoly on broadcast media. Political protest activity in the country remained low in 2011, but small, sometimes violent socioeconomic demonstrations by disparate groups continued to be a common occurence.

Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia

28 00 N, 3 00 E

Africa

slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas

998 km

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

mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc

5,700 sq km (2008)

14.3 cu km (1997)

mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season

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

largest country in Africa

Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%

Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects

Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%

34,994,937 (July 2011 est.)

1.173% (2011 est.)

16.69 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

4.69 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

-0.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

ALGIERS (capital) 2.74 million; Oran 770,000 (2009)

120 deaths/100,000 live births (2008)

1.75 children born/woman (2011 est.)

5.8% of GDP (2009)

1.207 physicians/1,000 population (2007)

1.7 beds/1,000 population (2004)

urban: 85% of population

rural: 79% of population

total: 83% of population

urban: 15% of population

rural: 21% of population

total: 17% of population (2008)

urban: 98% of population

rural: 88% of population

total: 95% of population

urban: 2% of population

rural: 12% of population

total: 5% of population (2008)

0.1%; 0.1% note - no country specific models provided (2009 est.)

18,000 (2009 est.)

fewer than 1,000 (2009 est.)

3.7% (2005)

4.3% of GDP (2008)

republic

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

5 July 1962 (from France)

Revolution Day, 1 November (1954)

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

mixed legal system of French civil law 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 submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

bicameral Parliament consists of the Council of the Nation (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)

Supreme Court

Ahd 54 [Ali Fauzi REBAINE]; Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI]; Movement of the Society of Peace or MSP [Boudjerra SOLTANI]; National Democratic Rally (Rassemblement National Democratique) or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA]; National Liberation Front or FLN [Abdelaziz BELKHADEM, secretary general]; National Reform Movement or Islah [Ahmed ABDESLAM] (formerly MRN); Rally for Culture and Democracy or RCD [Said SADI]; Renaissance Movement or EnNahda Movement [Fatah RABEI]; Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Hocine AIT AHMED]; Workers Party or PT [Louisa HANOUNE]

The Algerian Human Rights League or LADDH [Mostefa BOUCHACHI]; SOS Disparus [Nacera DUTOUR]

ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BIS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

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

star and crescent; fennec fox

Algeria's economy remains dominated by the state, a legacy of the country's socialist post-independence development model. Gradual liberalization since the mid-1990s has opened up more of the economy, but in recent years Algeria has imposed new restrictions on foreign involvement in its economy and largely halted the privatization of state-owned industries. Hydrocarbons have long been 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 16th in oil reserves. Thanks to strong hydrocarbon revenues, Algeria has a cushion of $150 billion in foreign currency reserves and a large hydrocarbon stabilization fund. In addition, Algeria's external debt is extremely low at about 1% of GDP. Algeria has struggled to develop industries outside of hydrocarbons in part because of high costs and an inert state bureaucracy. The government's efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector have done little to reduce high poverty and youth unemployment rates. In 2010, Algeria began a five-year, $286 billion development program to update the country's infrastructure and provide jobs. The costly program will boost Algeria's economy in 2011 but worsen the country's budget deficit. Long-term economic challenges include diversification from hydrocarbons, relaxing state control of the economy, and providing adequate jobs for younger Algerians.

$251.1 billion (2010 est.)

$243 billion (2009 est.)

$237.4 billion (2008 est.)

$160.3 billion (2010 est.)

3.3% (2010 est.)

2.4% (2009 est.)

2.4% (2008 est.)

$7,300 (2010 est.)

$7,100 (2009 est.)

$7,000 (2008 est.)

10.81 million (2010 est.)

10% (2010 est.)

10.2% (2009 est.)

23% (2006 est.)

35.3 (1995)

34.4% of GDP (2010 est.)

36.7% of GDP (2010 est.)

-1.1% of GDP (2010 est.)

6.6% of GDP (2010 est.)

8.1% of GDP (2009 est.)

3.9% (2010 est.)

5.7% (2009 est.)

4% (31 December 2010 est.)

4% (31 December 2009 est.)

8% (31 December 2010 est.)

8% (31 December 2009 est.)

$75.24 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$67.98 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$108.9 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$98.63 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$12.18 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$12.27 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$NA

wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle

petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing

-3.6% (2010 est.)

40.11 billion kWh (2009 est.)

30.5 billion kWh (2008 est.)

323 million kWh (2008 est.)

49 million kWh (2008 est.)

2.078 million bbl/day (2010 est.)

312,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)

1.694 million bbl/day (2009 est.)

18,180 bbl/day (2009 est.)

12.2 billion bbl (1 January 2011 est.)

85.14 billion cu m (2010 est.)

29.86 billion cu m (2010 est.)

55.28 billion cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

4.502 trillion cu m (1 January 2011 est.)

$12.74 billion (2010 est.)

$520 million (2009 est.)

$57.19 billion (2010 est.)

$45.18 billion (2009 est.)

petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97%

US 24.9%, Italy 17.5%, Spain 10%, Canada 6.3%, France 5.1%, Netherlands 5.1%, Brazil 4.3% (2010)

$38.38 billion (2010 est.)

$37.4 billion (2009 est.)

capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods

France 18%, China 10.6%, Italy 9.9%, Spain 7%, Tajikistan 4.8%, Germany 4.4% (2010)

$162.9 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$149.3 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$4.344 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$5.345 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$21.03 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$17.34 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$1.844 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.644 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Algerian dinars (DZD) per US dollar -

76 (2010)

72.65 (2009)

63.25 (2008)

69.9 (2007)

72.647 (2006)

2.923 million (2010)

32.78 million (2010)

state-run Radio-Television Algerienne operates the broadcast media and carries programming in Arabic, Berber dialects, and French; use of satellite dishes is widespread, providing easy access to European and Arab satellite stations; state-run radio operates several national networks and roughly 40 regional radio stations (2007)

.dz

572 (2010)

4.7 million (2009)

143 (2010)

2 (2010)

condensate 2,600 km; gas 16,360 km; liquid petroleum gas 3,447 km; oil 7,611 km; refined products 144 km (2010)

Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Djendjene, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda

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)

19-30 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months (6 months basic training, 12 months civil projects) (2006)

3.3% of GDP (2006)

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; 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