Algeria
Authors: Central Intelligence Agency, World Wildlife Fund, US State Department
Contributing Author:C Michael Hogan
Topic Editors: Lakhdar Boukerrou, Peter Saundry
Topics: Geography (main), Countries and Regions of the World Collection
Contents
Introduction
Algeria is a North African nation of 40 million people located on the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia.
It is the largest country in Africa. Eighty percent of the country is part of the Sahara Desert lying beyond the broad ranges of the Atlas Mountains which parallel the coast.
Early peoples of the region were known as Numidians, and soon after 1000 BC coastal settlements and conquests by Carthaginians and later Romans took place. 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 since largely dominated politics
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. 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.
Abdelaziz Bouteflika, with the backing of the military, won the presidency in 1999 in an election widely viewed as fraudulent and won subsequent elections in 2004, 2009, and 2014. The government in 2011 introduced some political reforms in response to the Arab Spring, including lifting the 19-year-old state of emergency restrictions and increasing women's quotas for elected assemblies, while also increasing subsidies to the populace. Since 2014, Algeria’s reliance on hydrocarbon revenues to fund the government and finance the large subsidies for the population has fallen under stress because of declining oil prices.
Alegria's major environmental issues include:
- 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 (Water pollution) of rivers and [[coast]al waters];
- Mediterranean Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff (Surface runoff);
- inadequate supplies of potable water.
Geography
Algeria, the largest state in Africa, has a Mediterranean coastline of about 998 kilometers (620 mi.).
The Tellian and Saharan Atlas mountain ranges cross the country from east to west, dividing it into three zones:
- Between the northern zone, Tellian Atlas, and the Mediterranean is a narrow, fertile coastal plain--the Tel (hill)--with a moderate climate year round and rainfall adequate for agriculture.
- A high plateau region, averaging 914 meters (3,000 ft.) above sea level, with limited rainfall, great rocky plains, and desert, lies between the two mountain ranges. It is generally barren except for scattered clumps of trees and intermittent bush and pastureland.
- The third and largest zone, south of the Saharan Atlas mountain range, is mostly desert. About 80% of the country is desert, steppes, wasteland, and mountains.
Algeria's weather varies considerably from season to season and from one geographical location to another. In the north, the summers are usually hot with little rainfall. Winter rains begin in the north in October. Frost and snow are rare, except on the highest slopes of the Tellian Atlas Mountains. Dust and sandstorms occur most frequently between February and May.
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
Geographic Coordinates: 28 00 N, 3 00 E
Area: 2,381,740 km2 (2,381,740 km2 land and 0 km2 water)
- arable land 3.1%;
- permanent crops 0.4%;
- permanent pasture 13.8%
- forest: 0.6%
- other: 82% (2011 est.)
Algerian Sand Sea. The Issaouane Erg (sand sea), seen in this January 2005 photo from the International Space Station, is located in eastern Algeria between the Tinrhert Plateau to the north and the Fadnoun Plateau to the south. Ergs are vast areas of moving sand with little to no vegetation cover. The most common landforms in the image are star dunes and barchan (or crescent) dunes. Star dunes are formed when sand is transported from variable wind directions, whereas barchan dunes form in a single dominant wind regime. Occasional precipitation fills basins formed by the dunes; as the water evaporates, salt deposits are left behind which appear as bluish-white areas. Considered to be part of the Sahara Desert, the Issaouane Erg covers an area of more than 14,000 square miles. These complex dunes form the active southwestern border of the sand sea. Image courtesy of NASA
Land Boundaries: 6,734 km. Border countries: Libya 989 km, Mali 1,359 km, Mauritania 460 km, Morocco 1,900 km, Niger 951 km, Tunisia 1,034 km, Western Sahara 41 km
Coastline: 998 km
Maritime Claims:
- Territorial sea: 12 nautical miles
- Exclusive fishing zone: from 32 to 52 nautical miles from shore.
Terrain:
- Mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain.
- Lowest point is Chott Melrhir (-40 metres).
- Highest point is Tahat (3,003 metres).
- Mean elevation: 880 metres
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc
Irrigated Land: 5,700 sq km (2012)
Population Distribution: The vast majority of the populace is found in the extreme northern part of the country along the Mediterranean Coast
Natural Hazards: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season
Climate: Arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; the sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer.
Ecology
- Mediterranean woodlands and forests stretch from the coastal plains to the hills of northern Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, and eventually surrounds the Atlas Mountains.
- Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests occur in the Tellien Atlas and the Saharan Atlas Mountain Ranges at about 2000 metres elevation.
- Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe forms a buffer between the Mediterranean forest ecoregions and the Sahara Desert farther south. The ecoregion may have been partially forested in prehistory, but today scrub vegetation predominates.
- Saharan halophytics are scattered across the Sahara, "Sebkhas" or "Chotts" are saline depressions in the desert that remain predominantly dry.
- North Saharan steppe and woodlands form the northern and the western border of the greater Sahara Desert region. In Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, this ecoregion forms a transition between the Mediterranean (Mediterranean Sea) domain towards the north and the true desert in the south. The Saharan Halophytics ecoregion is also found scattered through this ecoregion in areas of suitable saline conditions.
- Sahara desert is the largest hot desert in the world and occupies approximately ten percent of the African continent. The ecoregion includes the hyper-arid central portion of the Sahara where rainfall is minimal and sporadic.
- West Saharan montane xeric woodlands are found within disjunctive portions of the Sahara Desert and are predominantly of volcanic origin.They rise from the surrounding flat desert topography, creating islands of moister habitat that support a notable relict flora and fauna. The most important area is the Tassili-n-Ajjer Plateau, an outlier of the Ahaggar Mountains in Algeria which supports relict species, some near-endemic species and some globally threatened (Endangered species) antelopes. The human population of the ecoregion is very sparse, with less than five persons per square kilometre (km2). Because most people are nomadic, the vegetation remains fairly intact.
- South Saharan steppe and woodlands covers a narrow band on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, stretching from central Mauritania to the Red Sea.
See also: Regional biodiversity hotspot (Mediterranean Basin)
See also: Tassili N'Ajjer National Park, Algeria
People and Society
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.
Thousands of Algerian peasants – mainly Berber men from the Kabylia region – faced with land dispossession and economic hardship under French rule migrated temporarily to France to work in manufacturing and mining during the first half of the 20th century. This movement accelerated during World War I, when Algerians filled in for French factory workers or served as soldiers. In the years following independence, low-skilled Algerian workers and Algerians who had supported the French (harkis) emigrated en masse to France. Tighter French immigration rules and Algiers’ decision to cease managing labor migration to France in the 1970s limited legal emigration largely to family reunification.
Not until Algeria’s civil war in the 1990s did the country again experience substantial outmigration. Many Algerians legally entered Tunisia without visas claiming to be tourists and then stayed as workers. Other Algerians headed to Europe seeking asylum, although France imposed restrictions. Sub-Saharan African migrants came to Algeria after its civil war to work in agriculture and mining. In the 2000s, a wave of educated Algerians went abroad seeking skilled jobs in a wider range of destinations, increasing their presence in North America and Spain. At the same time, legal foreign workers principally from China and Egypt came to work in Algeria’s construction and oil sectors. Illegal migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Malians, Nigeriens, and Gambians, continue to come to Algeria in search of work or to use it as a stepping stone to Libya and Europe.
Since 1975, Algeria also has been the main recipient of Sahrawi refugees from the ongoing conflict in Western Sahara. An estimated 90,000 Sahrawis live in five refugee camps in southwestern Algeria near Tindouf.
Population: 40,263,711 (July 2016 est.)
Note: Althoughalmost all Algerians are Berber in origin (not Arab), only a minority identify themselves as Berber, about 15% of the total population; these people live mostly in the mountainous region of Kabylie east of Algiers; 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 offered to begin sponsoring teaching Berber language in schools
Languages: Arabic (official), French (lingua franca), Berber or Tamazight (official); dialects include Kabyle Berber (Taqbaylit), Shawiya Berber (Tacawit), Mzab Berber, Tuareg Berber (Tamahaq)
Religion: Muslim (official; predominantly Sunni) 99%, other (includes Christian and Jewish) <1% (2012 est.)
Age Structure:
- 0-14 years: 29.06% (male 5,991,164/female 5,709,616)
- 15-24 years: 15.95% (male 3,287,448/female 3,136,624)
- 25-54 years: 42.88% (male 8,737,944/female 8,526,137)
- 55-64 years: 6.61% (male 1,349,291/female 1,312,339)
- 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 1,027,126/female 1,186,022) (2016 est.)
Median Age:
- total: 27.8 years
- male: 27.5 years
- female: 28.1 years (2016 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 1.77% (2016 est.)
Birthrate: 23 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
Death Rate: 4.3 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
Net Migration Rate: -0.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 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: 70.7% of total population (2015)
- rate of urbanization: 2.77% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
- Algiers (capital) 2.594 million
- Oran 858,000 (2015)
Maternal Mortality Rate: 140 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
Infant Mortality Rate: 20.3 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at Birth:
- total population: 76.8 years
- male: 75.5 years
- female: 78.2 years (2016 est.)
Total Fertility Rate: 2.74 children born/woman (2016 est.)
Contraceptive Prevalence: 61.4% (2006)
Health:
- Health Expenditures: 7.2% of GDP (2014)
- Physicians Density: 1.21 physicians/1,000 population (2007)
- Adult Obesity Rate: 23.6% (2014)
Access to Improved Drinking Water:
- urban: 84.3% of population
- rural: 81.8% of population
- total: 83.6% of population
Access to Improved Sanitation Facilities:
- urban: 89.8% of population
- rural: 82.2% of population
- total: 87.6% of population
Education:
- Education Expenditures: 4.3% of GDP (2008)
- Literacy: (Age 15 and over can read and write, 2015 est.)
- total population: 80.2%
- male: 87.2%
- female: 73.1%
- School life expectancy (primary to tertiary): 14 years
Algeria's educational system has grown dramatically since the country gained its independence. Education is free and compulsory to age 16. Despite government allocation of substantial educational resources, population pressures and a serious shortage of teachers have severely strained the system. Modest numbers of Algerian students study abroad, primarily in Europe and Canada. In 2000, the government launched a major review of the country's educational system and in 2004 efforts to reform the educational system began.
History
Since the 5th century B.C., the native peoples of northern Africa (first identified by the Greeks as "Berbers") were pushed back from the coast by successive waves of Phoenician, Roman, Vandal, Byzantine, Arab, Turkish, and, finally, French invaders. The greatest cultural impact came from the Arab invasions of the 8th and 11th centuries A.D., which brought Islam and the Arabic language. The effects of the most recent (French) occupation--French language and European-inspired socialism--are still pervasive.
North African boundaries have shifted during various stages of the conquests. Algeria's modern borders were created by the French, whose colonization began in 1830. To benefit French colonists, most of whom were farmers and businessmen, northern Algeria was eventually organized into overseas departments of France, with representatives in the French National Assembly. France controlled the entire country, but the traditional Muslim population in the rural areas remained separated from the modern economic infrastructure of the European community.
Algerians began their uprising on November 1, 1954 to gain rights denied them under French rule. The revolution, launched by a small group of nationalists who called themselves the National Liberation Front (FLN), was a guerrilla war in which both sides targeted civilians and used other brutal tactics. Eventually, protracted negotiations led to a cease-fire signed by France and the FLN on March 18, 1962, at Evian, France. The Evian Accords also provided for continuing economic, financial, technical, and cultural relations, along with interim administrative arrangements until a referendum on self-determination could be held. Over 1 million French citizens living in Algeria at the time, called the pieds-noirs (black feet), left Algeria for France.
The referendum was held in Algeria on July 1, 1962, and France declared Algeria independent on July 3. In September 1962 Ahmed Ben Bella was formally elected president. On September 8, 1963, a Constitution was adopted by referendum. On June 19, 1965, President Ben Bella was replaced in a non-violent coup by the Council of the Revolution headed by Minister of Defense Col. Houari Boumediene. Ben Bella was first imprisoned and then exiled. Boumediene, as President of the Council of the Revolution, led the country as Head of State until he was formally elected on December 10, 1976. Boumediene is credited with building "modern Algeria." He died on December 27, 1978.
Following nomination by an FLN Party Congress, Col. Chadli Bendjedid was elected president in 1979 and re-elected in 1984 and 1988. A new constitution was adopted in 1989 that allowed the formation of political parties other than the FLN. It also removed the armed forces, which had run the government since the days of Boumediene, from a designated role in the operation of the government. Among the scores of parties that sprang up under the new constitution, the militant Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was the most successful, winning more than 50% of all votes cast in municipal elections in June 1990 as well as in the first stage of national legislative elections held in December 1991.
Faced with the real possibility of a sweeping FIS victory, the National People's Assembly was dissolved by presidential decree on January 4, 1992. On January 11, under pressure from the military leadership, President Chadli Bendjedid resigned. On January 14, a five-member High Council of State was appointed by the High Council of Security to act as a collegiate presidency and immediately canceled the second round of elections. This action, coupled with political uncertainty and economic turmoil, led to a violent reaction by Islamists. On January 16, Mohamed Boudiaf, a hero of the Liberation War, returned after 28 years of exile to serve as Algeria's fourth president. Facing sporadic outbreaks of violence and terrorism, the security forces took control of the FIS offices in early February, and the High Council of State declared a state of emergency. In March, following a court decision, the FIS Party was formally dissolved, and a series of arrests and trials of FIS members occurred resulting in more than 50,000 members being jailed. Algeria became caught in a cycle of violence, which became increasingly random and indiscriminate. On June 29, 1992, President Boudiaf was assassinated in Annaba in front of TV cameras by Army Lt. Lembarek Boumarafi, who allegedly confessed to carrying out the killing on behalf of the Islamists.
Despite efforts to restore the political process, violence and terrorism dominated the Algerian landscape during the 1990s. In 1994, Liamine Zeroual, former Minister of Defense, was appointed Head of State by the High Council of State for a 3-year term. During this period, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) launched terrorist campaigns against government figures and institutions to protest the banning of the Islamist parties. A breakaway GIA group--the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC)--also undertook terrorist activity in the country. Government officials estimate that more than 150,000 Algerians died during this period.
Zeroual called for presidential elections in 1995, though some parties objected to holding elections that excluded the FIS. Zeroual was elected president with 75% of the vote. By 1997, in an attempt to bring political stability to the nation, the National Democratic Rally (RND) party was formed by a progressive group of FLN members. In September 1998, President Liamine Zeroual announced that he would step down in February 1999, 21 months before the end of his term, and that presidential elections would be held.
Algerians went to the polls in April 1999, following a campaign in which seven candidates qualified for election. On the eve of the election, all candidates except Abdelaziz Bouteflika pulled out amid charges of widespread electoral fraud. Bouteflika, the candidate who appeared to enjoy the backing of the military, as well as the FLN and the RND party regulars, won with an official vote count of 70% of all votes cast. He was inaugurated on April 27, 1999 for a 5-year term.
President Bouteflika's agenda focused initially on restoring security and stability to the country. Following his inauguration, he proposed an official amnesty for those who fought against the government during the 1990s with the exception of those who had engaged in "blood crimes," such as rape or murder. This "Civil Concord" policy was widely approved in a nationwide referendum in September 2000. Government officials estimate that 80% of those fighting the regime during the 1990s have accepted the civil concord offer and have attempted to reintegrate into Algerian society. Bouteflika also launched national commissions to study education and judicial reform, as well as restructuring of the state bureaucracy.
In 2001, Berber activists in the Kabylie region of the country, reacting to the death of a youth in gendarme custody, unleashed a resistance campaign against what they saw as government repression. Strikes and demonstrations in the Kabylie region were commonplace as a result, and some spread to the capital. Chief among Berber demands was recognition of Tamazight (a general term for Berber languages) as an official language, official recognition and financial compensation for the deaths of Kabyles killed in demonstrations, an economic development plan for the area and greater control over their own regional affairs. In October 2001, the Tamazight language was recognized as a national language, but the issue remains contentious as Tamazight has not been elevated to an official language.
The April 8, 2004, presidential election was the first election since independence in which several candidates competed. Besides incumbent President Bouteflika, five other candidates, including one woman, competed in the election. Opposition candidates complained of some discrepancies in the voting list; irregularities on polling day, particularly in Kabylie; and of unfair media coverage during the campaign as Bouteflika, by virtue of his office, appeared on state-owned television daily. Bouteflika was re-elected in the first round of the election with 84.99% of the vote. Just over 58% of those Algerians eligible to vote participated in the election.
In November 2008, the parliament adopted a set of constitutional amendments that included a removal of presidential term limits. The parliament approved the proposed amendments by a wide margin with minimal debate. President Bouteflika won a third term in the April 9, 2009, elections with, officially, 90.2% of the vote. Opposition members again complained of unfair media coverage and irregularities during voting, and some parties boycotted the vote.
Addressing the underlying issues that brought about the political turmoil of the 1990s remains the government's major task. The Algerian Government in recent years has espoused free-market competition and participatory democracy, stating that it will continue to open the political process and encourage the creation of political institutions.
In January 2011, riots sparked by increases in staple food prices spread across 24 of Algeria’s 48 provinces. A fledgling political opposition coalition failed to garner widespread public support, and the government prevented the group from staging weekly marches in Algiers. In February the government lifted the state of emergency that had been in effect since 1992. Beginning in March and extending through mid-April 2011, dozens of sectoral groups staged protests and sit-ins in public spaces and in front of government ministries in Algiers, demanding higher wages, improved benefits, and better working conditions. Most of the protests remained peaceful and ended after the government agreed to meet most demands. In April, President Bouteflika gave a speech promising sweeping political reforms. By January 2012, the government had enacted new laws on elections, political parties, female participation in politics, associations, and the media.
Abdelaziz Bouteflika won a election in 2014. Since 2014, Algeria’s reliance on hydrocarbon revenues to fund the government and finance the large subsidies for the population has fallen under stress because of declining oil prices.
Government
Under the 1976 Constitution (as modified 1979 and amended in 1988, 1989, 1996, and 2008), Algeria is a multi-party state. The Ministry of the Interior must approve all political parties. According to the Constitution, no political association may be formed "based on differences in religion, language, race, gender or region." Algeria has universal suffrage at the age of 18.
The head of state and of government is the president of the republic. The president, elected to a 5-year term, is the head of the Council of Ministers and of the High Security Council. He appoints the prime minister as well as one-third of the upper house of parliament (the Council of the Nation).
The Algerian parliament is bicameral, consisting of a lower chamber, the National People's Assembly (APN), with 389 members and the upper chamber, the Council of the Nation, with 144 members. The APN is elected every 5 years. Legislative elections for the APN were held in May 2007. Two-thirds of the Council of the Nation is elected by regional and municipal authorities; the rest are appointed by the president. The Council of the Nation serves a 6-year term with one-half of the seats up for election or reappointment every 3 years. Either the president or one of the parliamentary chambers may initiate legislation. Legislation must be brought before both chambers before it becomes law, but this cannot happen without the support of the presidency. If the APN vetoes legislation, it must technically be dissolved. Sessions of the APN are televised.
Government Type: Presidential republic
Capital: Algiers 2.594 million (2015)
Other Major Cities: Oran 858,000 (2015)
Administrative Divisions: Algeria is divided into 48 wilayat (states or provinces) headed by walis (governors) who report to the Minister of Interior. Each wilaya is further divided into communes. The wilayat and communes are each governed by an elected assembly.
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Provinces of Algeria. Source: Wikimedia Commons |
Independence Date: 5 July 1962 (from France)
Constitution: Several previous; latest approved by referendum 23 February 1989; amended several times, last in 2016 (2016)
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
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
International Environmental Agreements
Algeria is party to agreements on:
- Biodiversity,
- Climate Change,
- Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
- Desertification,
- Endangered Species,
- Environmental Modification,
- Hazardous Wastes,
- Law of the Sea,
- Ozone Layer Protection,
- Ship Pollution
- Wetlands.
Water
Total Renewable Water Resources: 14.3 cu km (1997)
Freshwater Withdrawal: Total: 6.07 cu km/yr (22% domestic, 13% industrial, 65% agricultural). Per capita: 185 cu m/yr (2000)
Agriculture
Agricultural products: wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle
Irrigated Land: 5,700 sq km (2012)
Land Use:
- arable land 3.1%;
- permanent crops 0.4%;
- permanent pasture 13.8%
Resources
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc
Economy
Algeria's economy remains dominated by the state, a legacy of the country's socialist post independence development model. In recent years the Algerian Government has halted the privatization of state-owned industries and imposed restrictions on imports and foreign involvement in its economy.
Hydrocarbons have long been the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 30% of GDP, 60% of budget revenues, and over 95% of export earnings. Algeria has the 10th-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the sixth-largest gas exporter.
Algiers has strengthened protectionist measures since 2015 to limit its import bill and encourage domestic production of non-oil and gas industries. Since 2015, the government has imposed additional regulatory requirements on access to foreign exchange
With declining revenues caused by falling oil prices, the government has been under pressure to reduce spending. A wave of economic protests in February and March 2011 prompted Algiers to offer more than $23 billion in public grants and retroactive salary
Long-term economic challenges include diversifying the economy away from its reliance on hydrocarbon exports, bolstering the private sector, attracting foreign investment, and providing adequate jobs for younger Algerian
GDP: (Purchasing Power Parity):
- $609.4 billion (2016 est.)
- $588.4 billion (2015 est.)
- $566.3 billion (2014 est.)
- note: data are in 2016 dollars
GDP: (Official Exchange Rate): $168.3 billion (2015 est.)
GDP Real Growth Rate:
- 3.6% (2016 est.)
- 3.9% (2015 est.)
- 3.8% (2014 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP):
- $15,000 (2016 est.)
- $14,700 (2015 est.)
- $14,500 (2014 est.)
- note: data are in 2016 dollars
Gross National Savings:
- 32.8% of GDP (2016 est.)
- 34.9% of GDP (2015 est.)
- 43.4% of GDP (2014 est.)
GDP- composition by end use:
- household consumption: 41.5%
- government consumption: 22.1%
- investment in fixed capital: 42.1%
- investment in inventories: 6.6%
- exports of goods and services: 25.1%
- imports of goods and services: -37.4% (2016 est.)
GDP - Composition by sector of origin
- agriculture: 13.1%
- industry: 38.7%
- services: 48.2% (2016 est.)
Industries: petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing
Industrial Production Growth Rate: 0.5% (2016 est.)
Labor Force:
- 11.78 million (2016 est.)
- agriculture: 30.9%
- industry: 30.9%
- services: 58.4% (2011 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line: 23% (2006 est.)
Exports: petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97% (2009 est.)
Export Partners: Spain 18.8%, France 11.2%, US 8.8%, Italy 8.7%, UK 7.1%, Brazil 5.2%, Tunisia 4.9%, Germany 4.5% (2015)
Imports: capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods
Import Partners: China 15.6%, France 14.4%, Italy 9.4%, Spain 7.4%, Germany 5.6%, Russia 4.1% (2015)
Currency: Algerian dinar (DZD)
Ports and Terminals: Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Djendjene, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda
Energy
Electricity
- Production: 60 billion kWh (2014 est.)
- Consumption: 49 billion kWh (2014 est.)
- Exports: 900 million kWh (2014 est.)
- Imports: 700 million kWh (2014 est.)
- Installed Generating Capacity: 16 million kW (2014 est.)
Electricity Sources: (of total installed capacity (2012 est.))
- Fossil Fuels: 98%
- Nuclear: 0%
- Hydroelectricity: 1.8%
- Other Renewables: 0.2%
Crude Oil:
- Production: 1.37 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
- Exports: 1.146 million bbl/day (2013 est.)
- Imports: 2,920 bbl/day (2013 est.)
- Proved Reserves: 12 billion bbl (1 January 2016 est.) 16th Largest in world
Natural gas:
- Production: 83.29 billion cu m (2014 est.)
- Consumption: 37.5 billion cu m (2014 est.)
- Exports: 40.8 billion cu m (2014 est.)
- Imports: 0 cu m (2013 est.)
- Proved Reserves: 4.504 trillion cu m (1 January 2016 es) 11th Largest in world
See: Energy profile of Algeria
Further Reading
- Charles-Robert Ageron. 1991. Modern Algeria. A History from 1830 to the Present. Translated from French and edited by Michael Brett. London: Hurst. ISBN 978-0-86543-266-6.
