Algeria
Algeria
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 did not appease the activists who progressively widened their attacks. The fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense fighting between 1992-98 and which resulted 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. However, small numbers of armed militants persist in confronting government forces and conducting ambushes and occasional attacks on villages. The army placed Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA in the presidency in 1999 in a fraudulent election but claimed neutrality in his 2004 landslide reelection victory. Longstanding problems continue to face BOUTEFLIKA in his second term, including the ethnic minority Berbers' ongoing autonomy campaign, large-scale unemployment, a shortage of housing, unreliable electrical and water supplies, government inefficiencies and corruption, and the continuing - although significantly degraded - activities of extremist militants. Algeria must also diversify its petroleum-based economy, which has yielded a large cash reserve but which has not been used to redress Algeria's many social and infrastructure problems.
Population
|
Inhabitants
33,333,216 (July 2007 est.) Ethnic groups
Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
Languages
Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects |
Life expectancy
total population: 73.52 years
Religions
Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1% Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
|
Government
|
Government type
republic Independance
5 July 1962 (from France) Constitution
8 September 1963; revised 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, and 28 November 1996 |
Capital of the country
Algiers National day
Revolution Day, 1 November (1954) 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 |
Economy
|
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$92.22 billion (2006 est.) GDP per inhabitant
$7,700 (2006 est.) Population below poverty line
25% (2005 est.) Exports
$55.6 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$78 billion (2006 est.) Military expenditures
3.3% (2006) |
Growth rate
5.6% (2006 est.) Unemployment rate
15.7% (2006 est.) Inflation rate
3% (2006 est.) Imports
$27.6 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) Currency
Algerian dinar (DZD)
|
Géographie
|
Location
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia 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 |
Area
2,381,740 sq km Natural resources
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc |
Communication
|
Number of cell phones
13.661 million (2005) Internet hosts
1,202 (2006) |
Internet code
.dz Internet users
1.92 million (2005) |
Transport
|
Airports
142 (2006) Roadways (in km)
108,302 km |
Railways (in km)
3,973 km Pipelines (in km)
condensate 1,344 km; gas 85,946 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,213 km; oil 6,496 km (2005) |