Algeria

People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
  • الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية (Arabic)
    al-Jumhūriyah al-Jazāʾiriyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyah ash‑Shaʿbiyah
Motto: بِالشَّعْبِ و لِلشَّعْبِ
"Biš-šaʿb wa liš-šaʿb"
"By the people and for the people"[1][2]
Anthem: قَسَمًا
Qasaman
"We Pledge"
Location of Algeria (dark green)
Location of Algeria (dark green)
Capital
and largest city
Algiers
36°42′N 3°13′E / 36.700°N 3.217°E / 36.700; 3.217
Official languages
Other languagesAlgerian Arabic
French
Ethnic groups
(2024)[3]
Religion
(2012)[3]
Demonym(s)Algerian
GovernmentUnitary semi-presidential republic
• President
Abdelmadjid Tebboune
Nadir Larbaoui
Salah Goudjil
Ibrahim Boughali
LegislatureParliament
Council of the Nation
People's National Assembly
Formation
• Numidia
202 BC
1516
5 July 1830
5 July 1962
Area
• Total
2,381,741 km2 (919,595 sq mi) (10th)
• Water (%)
1.1
Population
• 2022 estimate
45,400,000[4] (32nd)
• Density
19/km2 (49.2/sq mi) (171th)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $628.990 billion[5] (43rd)
• Per capita
Increase $13,681[5] (111th)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $224.107 billion[5] (58th)
• Per capita
Increase $4,874[5] (130th)
Gini (2011)27.6[6][7]
low
HDI (2022)Increase 0.745[8]
high (93rd)
CurrencyAlgerian dinar (DZD)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy
Driving sideright
Calling code+213
ISO 3166 codeDZ
Internet TLD

Algeria,[a] officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria,[b] is a country in North Africa. Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia; to the east by Libya; to the southeast by Niger; to the southwest by Mali, Mauritania, and Western Sahara; to the west by Morocco; and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. It is considered part of the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has a semi-arid geography, with most of the population living in the fertile north and the Sahara dominating the geography of the south. Algeria covers an area of 2,381,741 square kilometres (919,595 sq mi), making it the world's tenth largest nation by area, and the largest nation in Africa, more than 200 times as large as the continent's smallest country, The Gambia.[9] With a population of 44 million, Algeria is the tenth-most populous country in Africa, and the 32nd-most populous country in the world. The capital and largest city is Algiers, located in the far north on the Mediterranean coast.

Centuries of Arab migration to the Maghreb since the 7th century shifted the demographic scope in Algeria. The Spanish expansionism led to the establishment of the Regency of Algiers in 1516, a state that attracted people from all over the Mediterranean, making its capital Algiers one of the largest, wealthiest, and most cosmopolitan cities in the world. Its decline in the 19th century resulted in its invasion by the French in 1830. The conquest and subsequent pacification of the country that ensued lasted until 1903 and led to Algeria becoming an integral part of France in 1848 and home to over a million European settlers. While the native Algerians remained the majority of the population during this period, it is estimated that they fell by up to one-third due to warfare, disease and starvation.[10] The Sétif and Guelma massacre in 1945 marked a turning point in Franco-Algerian relations and sparked the Algerian War which concluded with Algeria gaining its independence on 5 July 1962 and the proclamation of the People's Democratic Republic on 25 September of that year.

The official languages of Algeria are Arabic and Tamazight. The majority of Algeria's population is Arab, practicing Islam.[11] The native Algerian Arabic is the main spoken language. French also serves as an administrative and educational language in some contexts, but it has no official status.

Algeria is a semi-presidential republic, with local constituencies consisting of 58 provinces, known locally as wilayas, and 1,541 communes. Algeria is a regional power in North Africa, and a middle power in global affairs. It has the highest Human Development Index of all continental African countries and one of the largest economies on the continent, based largely on energy exports. Algeria has the world's sixteenth-largest oil reserves and the ninth-largest reserves of natural gas. Sonatrach, the national oil company, is the largest company in Africa, supplying large amounts of natural gas to Europe. Algeria's military is one of the largest in Africa, and has the largest defence budget on the continent. It is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, the OIC, OPEC, the United Nations, and the Arab Maghreb Union, of which it is a founding member.

  1. ^ "Constitution of Algeria, Art. 11". El-mouradia.dz. language: France and Arabic (government language); people of Algeria speak Arabic and Berber. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  2. ^ "Constitution of Algeria; Art. 11". Apn-dz.org. 28 November 1996. Archived from the original on 25 July 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Algeria". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 20 March 2021. (Archived 2021 edition)
  4. ^ "Démographie" [Demography] (PDF). Office National des Statistiques (in French). 1 January 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Algeria)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Distribution of Family Income – Gini Index". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  7. ^ "GINI index (World Bank estimate)". World Bank. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  8. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Africa: largest countries by area 2020". Statista. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Algeria – Colonial rule". Britannica. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference AlgeriaFactbook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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