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Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
Map references: Africa
Area:
total area: 2,381,740 sq km
land area: 2,381,740 sq km
comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas
Land boundaries: total 6,343 km, 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
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: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc
Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 13%
forest and woodland: 2%
other: 82%
Irrigated land: 3,360 sq km (1989 est.)
Population: 28,539,321 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 41% (female 5,678,879; male 5,885,246)
15-64 years: 56% (female 7,887,885; male 8,033,508)
65 years and over: 3% (female 557,636; male 496,167) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.25% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 29.02 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.05 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 50.3 deaths/1,000live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.01 years
male: 66.94 years
female: 69.13 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Algerian(s)
adjective: Algerian
Ethnic divisions: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
Religions: Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%
Languages: Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population: 57%
male: 70%
female: 46%
Labor force: 6.2 million (1992 est.)
by occupation: government 29.5%, agriculture 22%, construction and public works 16.2%,
industry 13.6%, commerce and services 13.5%, transportation and communication
5.2% (1989)
Names:
conventional long form: Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria
conventional short form: Algeria
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Shabiyah
local short form: Al Jaza'ir
Digraph: AG
Type: republic
Capital: Algiers
Administrative divisions: 48 provinces (wilayas, 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)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 1 November (1954)
Constitution: 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988 and 23 February 1989
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
Overview: The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 57% of government revenues, 25% of GDP, and almost all export earnings; Algeria has the fifth largest reserves of natural gas in the world and ranks fourteenth for oil. Algiers' efforts to reform one of the most centrally planned economies in the Arab world began after the 1986 collapse of world oil prices plunged the country into a severe recession. In 1989, thegovernment launched a comprehensive, IMF-supported program to achieve macroeconomic stabilization and to introduce market mechanisms into the economy. Despite substantial progress toward macroeconomic adjustment, in 1992 the reform drive stalled as Algiers became embroiled in political turmoil. In September 1993, a new government was formed, and one priority was the resumption and acceleration of the structural adjustment process. Buffeted by the slump in world oil prices and burdened with a heavy foreign debt, Algiers concluded a one-year standby arrangement with the IMF in April 1994.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $97.1 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 0.2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $3,480 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 30% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 30% (1994 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $14.3 billion
expenditures: $17.9 billion (1995 est.)
Exports: $9.1 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: petroleum and natural gas 97%
partners: Italy 21%, France 16%, US 14%, Germany 13%, Spain 9%
Imports: $9.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: capital goods 39.7%, food and beverages 21.7%, consumer goods 11.8%
(1990)
partners: France 29%, Italy 14%, Spain 9%, US 9%, Germany 7%
External debt: $26 billion (1994)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for 35% of GDP (including hydrocarbons)
Electricity:
capacity: 5,370,000 kW
production: 18.3 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 587 kWh (1993)
Industries: petroleum, light industries, natural gas, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing
Agriculture: accounts for 12% of GDP (1993) and employs 22% of labor force; products- wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits, sheep, cattle; net importer of food - grain, vegetable oil, sugar
Currency: 1 Algerian dinar (DA) = 100 centimes
Fiscal year: calendar year
Railroads:
total: 4,733 km
standard gauge: 3,576 km 1.435-m gauge (299 km electrified; 215 km double track)
narrow gauge: 1,157 km 1.055-m gauge
Highways:
total: 95,576 km
paved: concrete, bituminous 57,346 km
unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, earth 38,230 km
Pipelines: crude oil 6,612 km; petroleum products 298 km; natural gas 2,948 km
Ports: Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Beni Saf, Dellys, Djendjene, Ghazaouet, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda, Tenes
Merchant marine:
total: 75 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 903,179 GRT/1,064,211 DWT
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 27, chemical tanker 7, liquefied gas tanker 9, oil tanker
5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 12, short-sea passenger 5, specialized tanker 1
Airports:
total: 139
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 9
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 5
with paved runways under 914 m: 20
with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 24
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 41