ALGERIA
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 2,381,740 km2; land area: 2,381,740 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas
Land boundaries: 6,343 km total; Libya 982 km, Mali 1,376 km,
Mauritania 463 km, Morocco 1,559 km, Niger 956 km, Tunisia 965 km,
Western Sahara 42 km
Coastline: 998 km
Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: Libya claims about 19,400 km2 in southeastern Algeria
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
Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates,
uranium, lead, zinc
Land use: arable land 3%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 13%; forest and woodland 2%; other 82%; includes irrigated
NEGL%
Environment: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes;
desertification
Note: second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)
PEOPLE
Population: 26,022,188 (July 1991), growth rate 2.5% (1991)
Birth rate: 32 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 57 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 68 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 4.2 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Algerian(s); adjective--Algerian
Ethnic divisions: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than
1%
Religion: Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and
Jewish 1%
Language: Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
Literacy: 50% (male 63%, female 36%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1987)
Labor force: 3,700,000; industry and commerce 40%, agriculture
24%, government 17%, services 10% (1984)
Organized labor: 16-19% of labor force claimed; General Union of
Algerian Workers (UGTA) is the only labor organization and is
subordinate to the National Liberation Front
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria
Type: republic
Capital: Algiers
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
Independence: 5 July 1962 (from France)
Constitution: 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976
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
National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 1 November (1954)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Assembly
(Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Chadli BENDJEDID (since 7 February 1979);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Sid Ahmed GHOZALI (since
6 June 1991)
Political parties and leaders:
National Liberation Front (FLN), Chadli BENDJEDID, president;
Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), Abassi MADANI;
the government established a multiparty system in September 1989 and as
of 31 December 1990 over 30 legal parties existed
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President--last held on 22 December 1988 (next to be held December
1993); results--President BENDJEDID was reelected without opposition;
National People's Assembly--last held on 26 February 1987 (next
were to be held 27 June 1991 but postponed indefinitely because
of civil unrest);
results--FLN was the only party;
seats--(281 total) FLN 281; note--the government held multiparty
elections (municipal and wilaya) in June 1990, the first in Algerian
history; results--FIS 55%, FLN 27.5%, other 17.5%, with 65% of the voters
participating
Communists: 400 (est.); Communist party banned 1962
Member of: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-19,
G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OAS
(observer), OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Abderrahmane BENSID;
Chancery at 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
(202) 328-5300;
US--Ambassador Christopher W. S. ROSS; Embassy at 4 Chemin Cheich
Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers (mailing address is B. P. Box 549,
Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers); telephone 213 (2) 601-425 or 255, 186;
there is a US Consulate in Oran
Flag: two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white
with a red five-pointed star within a red crescent; the crescent,
star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state
religion)
ECONOMY
Overview: The exploitation of oil and natural gas products forms
the backbone of the economy. Algeria depends on hydrocarbons for nearly
all of its export receipts, about 30% of government revenues, and nearly
25% of GDP. In 1973-74 the sharp increase in oil prices led to a booming
economy and helped to finance an ambitious program of industrialization.
Plunging oil and gas prices, combined with the mismanagement of Algeria's
highly centralized economy, have brought the nation to its most serious
social and economic crisis since independence. The government has
promised far-reaching reforms, including giving public-sector companies
more autonomy, encouraging private-sector activity, boosting gas and
nonhydrocarbon exports, and proposing a major overhaul of the banking
and financial systems, but to date has made little progress.
GDP: $54 billion, per capita $2,130; real growth rate 2.5%
(1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16.6% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 26% (1990 est.)
Budget: revenues $16.7 billion; expenditures $17.3 billion,
including capital expenditures of $6.6 billion (1990 est.)
Exports: $10.2 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--petroleum and natural gas 98%;
partners--Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Italy, France, US
Imports: $9.2 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--capital goods 29%, consumer goods 30%;
partners--France 25%, Italy 8%, FRG 8%, US 6-7%
External debt: $26.6 billion (December 1990)
Industrial production: growth rate -3% (1989 est.); accounts for
30% of GDP, including petroleum
Electricity: 5,156,000 kW capacity; 14,900 million kWh
produced, 580 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: petroleum, light industries, natural gas, mining,
electrical, petrochemical, food processing
Agriculture: accounts for 11% of GDP and employs 24% of labor
force; net importer of food--grain, vegetable oil, and sugar; farm
production includes wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits,
sheep,and cattle
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-85), $1.4
billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $8.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $1.8 billion;
Communist countries (1970-89), $2.7 billion
Currency: Algerian dinar (plural--dinars); 1 Algerian dinar
(DA) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Algerian dinars (DA) per US$1--13.581 (January
1991), 8.958 (1990), 7.6086 (1989), 5.9148 (1988), 4.8497 (1987), 4.7023
(1986), 5.0278 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 4,146 km total; 2,632 km standard gauge (1.435 m),
1,258 km 1.055-meter gauge, 256 km 1.000-meter gauge; 300 km electrified;
215 km double track
Highways: 80,000 km total; 60,000 km concrete or bituminous,
20,000 km gravel, crushed stone, unimproved earth
Pipelines: crude oil, 6,612 km; refined products, 298 km; natural
gas, 2,948 km
Ports: Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Jijel, Mers el Kebir,
Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda
Merchant marine: 75 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 903,179
GRT/1,063,994 DWT; includes 5 short-sea passenger, 27 cargo, 2 vehicle
carrier, 10 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 5 petroleum, oils, and lubricants
(POL) tanker, 9 liquefied gas, 7 chemical tanker, 9 bulk, 1 specialized
tanker
Civil air: 42 major transport aircraft
Airports: 145 total, 134 usable; 53 with permanent-surface runways;
3 with runways over 3,659 m; 30 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 66 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: excellent domestic and international service in
the north, sparse in the south; 693,000 telephones; stations--26 AM, no
FM, 113 TV; 1,550,000 TV sets; 3,500,000 receiver sets; 6 submarine
cables; coaxial cable or radio relay to Italy, France, Spain, Morocco,
and Tunisia; satellite earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1
Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Intersputnik, 1 ARABSAT, and 15 domestic
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Territorial Air Defense,
National Gendarmerie
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 6,142,818; 3,780,873 fit for
military service; 293,175 reach military age (19) annually
Defense expenditures: $857 million, 1.8% of GDP (1991)