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Algeria

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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 

Geographic Coordinates Center :

28 00 N, 3 00 E  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West -8.67
North 37.09
East 11.98
South 18.96

Area :

total 2 381 741 square km
land 2 381 741 square km
water 0 square km

Land boundaries :

total 6 343 km
Libya (ly) 982 km
Mali (ml) 1 376 km
Mauritania (mr) 463 km
Morocco (ma) 1 559 km
Niger (ne) 956 km
Tunisia (tn) 965 km
Western Sahara (eh) 42 km

Coastline :

998.00 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 

Terrain :

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

Elevation extremes :

lowest point 40 metres
highest point 3 003 metres

Natural resources :

iron ore lead
natural gas petroleum
phosphates uranium
zinc

Land use :

arable land 3.17 %
permanent crops 0.28 %
other 96.55 %

Irrigated land :

5 690 square km

Natural hazards :

earthquakes floods
mudslides

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 

international agreements :

Biodiversity Climate Change
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification
Endangered Species Environmental Modification
Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea
Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution
Wetlands

Population :

34 178 188 

Indicators :

Growth rate 1.20 %
Birth rate 16.90 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 1.79 children born/woman
Death rate 4.64 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate -0.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 25.40 %
15-64 years 69.50 %
65 years and over 5.10 %

Median age :

total 26.60 years
male 26.30 years
female 26.80 years

Sex ratio :

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

Health :

Infant mortality rate 27.73 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 74.02 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 72.35 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 75.77 years
HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate 0.10 %
HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS 21 000
HIV-AIDS deaths 1 000

Religions :

Sunni Muslim 99.00 %
Christian and Jewish 1.00 %

Languages :

Arabic  
French  
Berber dialects  

Literacy :

total population 69.90 %
male 79.60 %
female 60.10 %

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

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 DZ
ISO Numeric 12
ISO3 DZA
FIPS AG
ccTLD dz
English Algeria

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 

Capital :

name Algiers
geographic coordinates 36 45 N, 3 03 E
time difference 1.00

International organization participation :

ABEDA AFESD
AMF AMU
AU AfDB
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 IOC
IOM IPU
ISO ITSO
ITU ITUC
Interpol 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)

Independence :

1962-07-05 

National holiday :

Revolution Day

1954-11-01

Executive branch :

President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 244 300 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 134 800 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate 3.40 %
PPP - per capita 7 100 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 8.30 %
industry 62.50 %
services 29.40 %

Labor force - by occupation :

agriculture 14.00 %
industry 13.40 %

Other Indicators :

Labor force 9 612 000 people
Unemployment rate 12.40 %
Population below poverty line 23.00 %
Distribution of family income - Gini index 35.30
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 4.10 %
Investment (gross fixed) 26.80 % of GDP
Current account balance 5 523 000 000 $
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 149 200 000 000 $
Debt external 3 389 000 000 $
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad 1 362 000 000 $
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home 15 460 000 000 $
Military expenditures 3.30 % of GDP
Public debt 10.70 % of GDP

Household income or consumption by percentage share :

lowest 10% 2.80 %
highest 10% 26.80 %

Budget :

revenues 56 240 000 000 $
expenditures 61 340 000 000 $

Agriculture - products :

barley cattle
citrus fruits
grapes oats
olives sheep
wheat

Industries :

electrical food processing
light industry mining
natural gas petrochemicals
petroleum

Energy :

Electricity Production 34 980 000 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 28 340 000 000 kWh
Electricity Exports 273 000 000 kWh
Electricity Imports 279 000 000 kWh
Oil Production 2 180 000 bbl/day
Oil Consumption 299 000 bbl/day
Oil Exports 1 891 000 bbl/day
Oil Imports 14 320 bbl/day
Oil Proved reserves 12 200 000 000 bbl
Natural gas Production 86 500 000 000 cubic metres
Natural gas Consumption 26 830 000 000 cubic metres
Natural gas Exports 59 670 000 000 cubic metres
Electricity Exports 4 502 000 000 000 cubic metres

Value :

52 030 000 000 $

Commodities :

crude oil natural gas
petroleum products

Value :

39 510 000 000 $

Commodities :

capital products consumer products
foodstuffs

Currency-name :

Algerian dinar 

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 3 314 000
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 31 871 000
FM Radio broadcast stations 1
Television broadcast stations 46
Internet Country code (ccTLD) dz
Internet Hosts 510
Internet Users 4 099 999

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 57
Heliports 2
Pipelines - gas 14 648 km
Pipelines - oil 7 579 km
Pipelines - condensate 1 937 km
Pipelines - liquid petroleum gas 2 933 km
Roadways - total 108 302 km
Roadways - expressways 645 km
Roadways - paved 76 028 km
Roadways - unpaved 32 274 km
Railways 3 973 km

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