Statistical information Algeria 2022

Algeria in the World

Algeria - Introduction 2022

Algeria has known many empires and dynasties starting with the ancient Numidians (3rd century B.C.), Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, over a dozen different Arab and Berber dynasties, Spaniards, and Ottoman Turks. It was under the latter that the Barbary pirates operated from North Africa and preyed on shipping beginning in roughly 1500, peaking in the early to mid-17th century, until finally subdued by the French capture of Algiers in 1830. The French southward conquest of the entirety of Algeria proceeded throughout the 19th century and was marked by many atrocities. The country was heavily colonized by the French in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A bloody eight-year struggle culminated in Algerian 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 since largely dominated politics, though it is falling out of favor with the youth. 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 legislative elections led 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. Fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense violence from 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. FIS membership is illegal.

Algeria - Geography 2022

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

Geographic coordinates: 28 00 N, 3 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 2,381,740 km²
Land: 2,381,740 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas

Land boundaries
Total: 6,734 km
Border countries: (6) Libya 989 km; Mali 1,359 km; Mauritania 460 km; Morocco 1,941 km; Niger 951 km; Tunisia 1,034 km

Coastline: 998 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguouszone: 24 nm
Exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 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; Atlas Mountains in the far north and Hoggar Mountains in the south; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

Elevation
Highest point: Tahat 2,908 m
Lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m
Mean elevation: 800 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc

Land use

Land use
Agricultural land: 17.4% (2018 est.)

arable land: 3.2% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0.4% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 13.8% (2018 est.)

Forest: 0.8% (2018 est.)
Other: 81.8% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 12,605 km² (2016)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Niger (2,261,741 km²)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Lake Chad (2,497,738 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 3.6 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Industrial: 191 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
Agricultural: 6.671 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 11.67 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Natural hazards: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season; droughts

Geography
Note: largest country in Africa but 80% desert; canyons and caves in the southern Hoggar Mountains and in the barren Tassili n'Ajjer area in the southeast of the country contain numerous examples of prehistoric art - rock paintings and carvings depicting human activities and wild and domestic animals (elephants, giraffes, cattle) - that date to the African Humid Period, roughly 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, when the region was completely vegetated

Algeria - People 2022

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Population
Distribution: the vast majority of the populace is found in the extreme northern part of the country along the Mediterranean Coast : 44,178,884 (2022 est.)
Growth rate: 1.34% (2022 est.)
Below poverty line: 5.5% (2011 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Algerian(s)
Adjective: Algerian

Ethnic groups: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
Note: although almost all Algerians are Berber in origin (not Arab), only a minority identify themselves as primarily Berber, about 15% of the total population; these people live mostly in the mountainous region of Kabylie east of Algiers and several other communities; 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 officially recognized Berber languages and introduced them into public schools

Languages: Arabic (official), French (lingua franca), Berber or Tamazight (official); dialects include Kabyle Berber (Taqbaylit), Shawiya Berber (Tacawit), Mzab Berber, Tuareg Berber (Tamahaq)
Major language samples:

كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)
The Gheos World Guide, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions: Muslim (official; predominantly Sunni) 99%, other (includes Christian, Jewish, Ahmadi Muslims, Shia Muslims, Ibadi Muslims) <1% (2012 est.)

Demographic profile: For the first two thirds of the 20th century, Algeria's high fertility rate caused its population to grow rapidly. However, about a decade after independence from France in 1962, the total fertility rate fell dramatically from 7 children per woman in the 1970s to about 2.4 in 2000, slowing Algeria's population growth rate by the late 1980s. The lower fertility rate was mainly the result of women's rising age at first marriage (virtually all Algerian children being born in wedlock) and to a lesser extent the wider use of contraceptives. Later marriages and a preference for smaller families are attributed to increases in women's education and participation in the labor market; higher unemployment; and a shortage of housing forcing multiple generations to live together. The average woman's age at first marriage increased from about 19 in the mid-1950s to 24 in the mid-1970s to 30.5 in the late 1990s.

Age structure

Age structure
0-14 years: 29.58% (male 6,509,490/female 6,201,450)
15-24 years: 13.93% (male 3,063,972/female 2,922,368)
25-54 years: 42.91% (male 9,345,997/female 9,091,558)
55-64 years: 7.41% (male 1,599,369/female 1,585,233)
65 years and over: 6.17% (male 1,252,084/female 1,401,357) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 58.5
Youth dependency ratio: 48.7
Elderly dependency ratio: 9.8
Potential support ratio: 10.2 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 28.9 years
Male: 28.6 years
Female: 29.3 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.34% (2022 est.)

Birth rate: 18.52 births/1000 population (2022 est.)

Death rate: 4.32 deaths/1000 population (2022 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.82 migrant(s)/1000 population (2022 est.)

Population distribution: the vast majority of the populace is found in the extreme northern part of the country along the Mediterranean Coast

Urbanization
Urban population: 75.3% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 1.99% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 2.902 million ALGIERS (capital), 936,000 Oran (2022)

Environment
Current issues: air pollution in major cities; 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
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 35.17 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 150.01 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 49.94 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio: 112 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 19.72 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 21.77 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 17.55 deaths/1000 live births (2022 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78.03 years
Male: 76.57 years
Female: 79.57 years (2022 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.51 children born/woman (2022 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 53.6% (2018/19)

Drinking water source
Improved:

urban: 99.6% of population
rural: 98.8% of population
total: 99.4% of population

Unimproved:

urban: 0.4% of population
rural: 1.2% of population
total: 0.6% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 6.2% of GDP (2019)

Physicians density: 1.72 physicians/1000 population (2018)

Hospital bed density: 1.9 beds/1000 population (2015)

Sanitation facility access
Improved:

urban: 98.3% of population
rural: 91.3% of population
total: 96.5% of population

Unimproved:

urban: 1.7% of population
rural: 8.7% of population
total: 3.5% of population (2020 est.)

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: (2021 est.) <0.1%

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 27.4% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 0.59 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 0.31 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0.2 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 0.08 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 21% (2020 est.)
Male: 41.3% (2020 est.)
Female: 0.7% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 2.7% (2018/19)

Education expenditures: 7% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 81.4%
Male: 87.4%
Female: 75.3% (2018)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15-24 total: 39.3%
Rate ages 15-24 male: 33.1%
Rate ages 15-24 female: 82% (2017 est.)

Algeria - Government 2022

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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
Etymology: the country name derives from the capital city of Algiers

Government type: presidential 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)
Etymology: name derives from the Arabic "al-Jazair" meaning "the islands" and refers to the four islands formerly off the coast but joined to the mainland since 1525

Administrative divisions: 58 provinces (wilayas, singular - wilaya); Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba, Batna, Bechar, Bejaia, Beni Abbes, Biskra, Blida, Bordj Badji Mokhtar, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira, Boumerdes, Chlef, Constantine, Djanet, Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Meghaier, El Meniaa, El Oued, El Tarf, Ghardaia, Guelma, Illizi, In Guezzam, In Salah, Jijel, Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara, Medea, Mila, Mostaganem, M'Sila, Naama, Oran, Ouargla, Ouled Djellal, Oum el Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Souk Ahras, Tamanrasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Timimoun, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen, Touggourt

Dependent areas

Independence: 5 July 1962 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 5 July (1962); Revolution Day, 1 November (1954)

Constitution
History: several previous; latest approved by referendum November 2020
Amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or through the president with the support of three fourths of the members of both houses of Parliament in joint session; passage requires approval by both houses, approval by referendum, and promulgation by the president; the president can forego a referendum if the Constitutional Council determines the proposed amendment does not conflict with basic constitutional principles; articles including the republican form of government, the integrity and unity of the country, and fundamental citizens’ liberties and rights cannot be amended; amended 2002, 2008, 2016; last in 2020

Legal system: 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

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descentonly: the mother must be a citizen of Algeria
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Abdelmadjid TEBBOUNE (since 12 December 2019)
Head of government: Prime Minister Ayman BENABDERRAHMANE (since 7 July 2021)

Cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president
Elections and appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in two rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 12 December 2019 (next to be held in 2024); prime minister nominated by the president after consultation with the majority party in Parliament
Election results:

2019: Abdelmadjid TEBBOUNE (FLN) 58.1%, Abdelkader BENGRINA (El-Bina) 17.4%, Ali BENFLIS (Talaie El Hurriyet) 10.6%, Azzedine MIHOUBI (National Democratic Rally, RND) 7.3%, Abdelaziz BELAID (Front El Mustakbal, FM) 6.7%
2014: Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA reelected president for a fourth term; percent of vote - Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (FLN) 81.5%, Ali BENFLIS (FLN) 12.2%, Abdelaziz BELAID (Future Front) 3.4%, other 2.9%

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral Parliament or Barlaman consists of:
Council of the Nation or Majlis al-Umma (174 seats; two-thirds of members indirectly elected by simple majority vote by an electoral college composed of local assemblies within each wilaya, and one-third of members appointed by the president; members serve 6-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 3 years)
National People's Assembly or al-Majlis al-Sha'abi al-Watani (407 seats including 8 seats for Algerian diaspora); members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by open-list proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms); note - in March 2021, President TEBBOUNE ordered the number of Assembly seats be reduced to 407 from 462
Elections:
Council of the Nation - last held on 5 February 2022 (next election NA)
National People's Assembly - snap election held on 12 June 2021 (next to be held on 12 June 2026)
Election results:

Council of the Nation - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 54, RND 22, Future Front 7, National Construction Movement 5, FFS 4, other 6, independent 18, appointed 58; composition - NA
National People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 98, MSP 65, RND 58, (Future Front) 48, Movement of National Construction 39, other 15, independent 84; composition - men 374, women 33, percent of women 8.1%; note - total Parliament percent of women 7.3%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court or Le Cour Suprême, (consists of 150 judges organized into 8 chambers: Civil, Commercial and Maritime, Criminal, House of Offenses and Contraventions, House of Petitions, Land, Personal Status, and Social; Constitutional Council (consists of 12 members including the court chairman and deputy chairman); note - Algeria's judicial system does not include sharia courts
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the High Council of Magistracy, an administrative body presided over by the president of the republic, and includes the republic vice-president and several members; judges appointed for life; Constitutional Council members - 4 appointed by the president of the republic, 2 each by the 2 houses of Parliament, 2 by the Supreme Court, and 2 by the Council of State; Council president and members appointed for single 6-year terms with half the membership renewed every 3 years
Subordinate courts: appellate or wilaya courts; first instance or daira tribunals

Political parties and leaders: Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI]
Algerian Popular Movement or MPA [Amara BENYOUNES]
Algerian Rally or RA [Ali ZAGHDOUD]
Algeria's Hope Rally or TAJ [Fatma Zohra ZEROUATI]
Democratic and Social Movement or MDS [Fethi GHARES]
Dignity or El Karama [Mohamed DAOUI]
El-Bina (Harakat El-Binaa El-Watani) [Abdelkader BENGRINA]
El-Islah [Filali GHOUINI]
Ennour El Djazairi Party (Algerian Radiance Party) or PED [Badreddine BELBAZ]
Front for Justice and Development or El Adala [Abdallah DJABALLAH]
Future Front or El Mostakbel [Abdelaziz BELAID]
Islamic Renaissance Movement or Ennahda Movement [Mohamed DOUIBI]
Justice and Development Front or FJD [Abdellah DJABALLAH]
Movement for National Reform or Islah [Filali GHOUINI]
Movement of Society for Peace or MSP [Abderrazak MAKRI]
National Construction Movement ([link]