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🇩🇿 Algeria

Africa

Page last updated: July 24, 2024

Introduction

Background

Algeria has known many empires and dynasties, including the ancient Numidians (3rd century B.C.), Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, over a dozen different Arab and Amazigh dynasties, Spaniards, and Ottoman Turks. Under the Turks, the Barbary pirates operated from North Africa and preyed on shipping, from about 1500 until the French captured Algiers in 1830. The French southward conquest of Algeria proceeded throughout the 19th century and was marked by many atrocities. A bloody eight-year struggle culminated in Algerian independence in 1962.

Algeria's long-dominant political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), was established in 1954 as part of the struggle for independence and has since played a large role in politics, though it is falling out of favor with the youth and current President Abdelmadjid TEBBOUNE. 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 1991 legislative election led the Algerian military 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. An army crackdown on the FIS escalated into an FIS insurgency and intense violence from 1992-98 that resulted in over 100,000 deaths, many of which were attributed to extremist groups massacring villagers. The government gained the upper hand by the late 1990s, and FIS’s armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in 2000. FIS membership is now illegal.

In 1999, Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA won the presidency with the backing of the military, in an election that was boycotted by several candidates protesting alleged fraud. He won subsequent elections in 2004, 2009, and 2014. Widespread protests against his decision to seek a fifth term broke out in early 2019. BOUTEFLIKA resigned in April 2019, and in December 2019, Algerians elected former Prime Minister Abdelmadjid TEBBOUNE as the country’s new president. A longtime FLN member, TEBBOUNE ran for president as an independent. In 2020, Algeria held a constitutional referendum on governmental reforms, which TEBBOUNE enacted in 2021. Subsequent reforms to the national electoral law introduced open-list voting to curb corruption. The new law also eliminated gender quotas in Parliament, and the 2021 legislative elections saw female representation plummet. The referendum, parliamentary elections, and local elections saw record-low voter turnout.

Geography

Location

Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia

Geographic coordinates

28°00' N, 03°00' E

Map references

Africa

Area

Total : 2,381,740 km²

Land: 2,381,740 km²

Water: 0 km²

Area - comparative

Slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas

Area comparison map:

Land boundaries

Total: 6,734 km

Border countries (6): Libya 989 km; Mali 1,359 km; Mauritania 460 km; Morocco 1,941 km; Niger 951 km; Tunisia 1,034 km

Coastline

998 km

Maritime claims

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Contiguous zone: 24 nm

Exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm

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; Atlas Mountains in the far north and Hoggar Mountains in the south; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

Elevation

Highest point: Tahat 2,908 m

Lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m

Mean elevation: 800 m

Natural resources

Petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc

Land use

Agricultural land: 17.4% (2018 est.)

Arable land: 3.2% (2018 est.)

Permanent crops: 0.4% (2018 est.)

Permanent pasture: 13.8% (2018 est.)

Forest: 0.8% (2018 est.)

Other: 81.8% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

12,605 km² (2016)

Major watersheds (area km²)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Niger (2,261,741 km²)

Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Lake Chad (2,497,738 km²)

Major aquifers

Lullemeden-Irhazer Aquifer System, Murzuk-Djado Basin, North Western Sahara Aquifer, Taoudeni-Tanezrouft Basin

Population distribution

The vast majority of the populace is found in the extreme northern part of the country along the Mediterranean Coast as shown in this population distribution map

Natural hazards

Mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season; droughts

Geography - note

Largest country in Africa but 80% desert; canyons and caves in the southern Hoggar Mountains and in the barren Tassili n'Ajjer area in the southeast of the country contain numerous examples of prehistoric art -- rock paintings and carvings depicting human activities and wild and domestic animals (elephants, giraffes, cattle) -- that date to the African Humid Period, roughly 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, when the region was completely vegetated

People and Society

Population

Total: 47,022,473

Male: 23,854,821

Female: 23,167,652 (2024 est.)

Comparison rankings: female 34; male 32; total 33

Nationality

Noun: Algerian(s)

Adjective: Algerian

Ethnic groups

Arab-Amazigh 99%, European less than 1%

Note: although almost all Algerians are Amazigh in origin and not Arab, only a minority identify themselves as primarily Amazigh, about 15% of the total population; these people live mostly in the mountainous region of Kabylie east of Algiers and in several other communities; the Amazigh are also Muslim but identify with their Amazigh rather than Arab cultural heritage; some Amazigh have long agitated, sometimes violently, for autonomy; the government is unlikely to grant autonomy but has officially recognized Amazigh languages and introduced them into public schools

Languages

Arabic (official), French (lingua franca), Tamazight (official) (dialects include Kabyle (Taqbaylit), Shawiya (Tacawit), Mzab, Tuareg (Tamahaq))

Major-language sample(s):

كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions

Muslim (official; predominantly Sunni) 99%, other (includes Christian, Jewish, Ahmadi Muslim, Shia Muslim, Ibadi Muslim) <1% (2012 est.)

MENA religious affiliation

Demographic profile

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.

Algeria's fertility rate experienced an unexpected upturn in the early 2000s, as the average woman's age at first marriage dropped slightly. The reversal in fertility could represent a temporary fluctuation in marriage age or, less likely, a decrease in the steady rate of contraceptive use.

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 (known as 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 (today part of Morocco). More than 100,000 Sahrawis are estimated to be living in five refugee camps in southwestern Algeria near Tindouf.

Age structure

0-14 years: 30.8% (male 7,411,337/female 7,062,794)

15-64 years: 62.3% (male 14,846,102/female 14,441,034)

65 years and over: 6.9% (2024 est.) (male 1,597,382/female 1,663,824)

2023 population pyramid:

Dependency ratios

Total dependency ratio: 58.5

Youth dependency ratio: 48.7

Elderly dependency ratio: 9.8

Potential support ratio: 10.2 (2021 est.)

Median age

Total: 29.1 years (2024 est.)

Male: 28.8 years

Female: 29.4 years

Population growth rate

1.54% (2024 est.)

Birth rate

20.2 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death rate

4.4 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Net migration rate

-0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Population distribution

The vast majority of the populace is found in the extreme northern part of the country along the Mediterranean Coast as shown in this population distribution map

Urbanization

Urban population: 75.3% of total population (2023)

Rate of urbanization: 1.99% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Major urban areas - population

2.902 million ALGIERS (capital), 936,000 Oran (2022)

Sex ratio

At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female

Total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

78 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate

Total: 18.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

Male: 19.8 deaths/1,000 live births

Female: 17.5 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth

Total population: 77.9 years (2024 est.)

Male: 77.2 years

Female: 78.7 years

Total fertility rate

2.94 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

1.43 (2024 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

53.6% (2018/19)

Drinking water source

Improved: urban: 99.6% of population

Rural: 98.8% of population

Total: 99.4% of population

Unimproved: urban: 0.4% of population

Rural: 1.2% of population

Total: 0.6% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

6.3% of GDP (2020)

Physician density

1.72 physicians/1,000 population (2018)

Hospital bed density

1.9 beds/1,000 population (2015)

Sanitation facility access

Improved: urban: 98.3% of population

Rural: 91.3% of population

Total: 96.5% of population

Unimproved: urban: 1.7% of population

Rural: 8.7% of population

Total: 3.5% of population (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Note: on 23 August 2023, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Algeria is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

27.4% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

Total: 0.59 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Beer: 0.31 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Wine: 0.2 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Spirits: 0.08 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use

Total: 21% (2020 est.)

Male: 41.3% (2020 est.)

Female: 0.7% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

2.7% (2018/19)

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

56% (2023 est.)

Child marriage

Women married by age 18: 3.8% (2019 est.)

Education expenditures

7% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Total population: 81.4%

Male: 87.4%

Female: 75.3% (2018)

Environment

Environment - current issues

Air pollution in major cities; 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 of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water

Environment - international agreements

Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

Signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban

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

Land use

Agricultural land: 17.4% (2018 est.)

Arable land: 3.2% (2018 est.)

Permanent crops: 0.4% (2018 est.)

Permanent pasture: 13.8% (2018 est.)

Forest: 0.8% (2018 est.)

Other: 81.8% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

Urban population: 75.3% of total population (2023)

Rate of urbanization: 1.99% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Revenue from forest resources

0.1% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

Particulate matter emissions: 22.68 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 150.01 megatons (2016 est.)

Methane emissions: 49.94 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

Municipal solid waste generated annually: 12,378,740 tons (2016 est.)

Municipal solid waste recycled annually: 990,299 tons (2013 est.)

Percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 8% (2013 est.)

Major watersheds (area km²)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Niger (2,261,741 km��)

Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Lake Chad (2,497,738 km²)

Major aquifers

Lullemeden-Irhazer Aquifer System, Murzuk-Djado Basin, North Western Sahara Aquifer, Taoudeni-Tanezrouft Basin

Total water withdrawal

Municipal: 3.6 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Industrial: 190 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Agricultural: 6.67 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

11.67 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Government

Country name

Conventional long form: People's Democratic Republic of Algeria

Conventional short form: Algeria

Local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Sha'biyah

Local short form: Al Jaza'ir

Etymology: the country name derives from the capital city of Algiers

Government type

Presidential republic

Capital

Name: Algiers

Geographic coordinates: 36 45 N, 3 03 E

Time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Etymology: name derives from the Arabic "al-Jazair" meaning "the islands" and refers to the four islands formerly off the coast of the capital but joined to the mainland since 1525

Administrative divisions

58 provinces (wilayas, singular - wilaya); Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger (Algiers), Annaba, Batna, Bechar, Bejaia, Beni Abbes, Biskra, Blida, Bordj Badji Mokhtar, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira, Boumerdes, Chlef, Constantine, Djanet, Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Meghaier, El Meniaa, El Oued, El Tarf, Ghardaia, Guelma, Illizi, In Guezzam, In Salah, Jijel, Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara, Medea, Mila, Mostaganem, M'Sila, Naama, Oran, Ouargla, Ouled Djellal, Oum el Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Souk Ahras, Tamanrasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Timimoun, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen, Touggourt

Independence

5 July 1962 (from France)

National holiday

Independence Day, 5 July (1962); Revolution Day, 1 November (1954)

Constitution

History: several previous; latest approved by referendum 1 November 2020

Amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or through the president with the support of three fourths of the members of both houses of Parliament in joint session; passage requires approval by both houses, approval by referendum, and promulgation by the president; the president can forego a referendum if the Constitutional Council determines the proposed amendment does not conflict with basic constitutional principles; articles including the republican form of government, the integrity and unity of the country, and fundamental citizens’ liberties and rights cannot be amended; amended 2002, 2008, 2016; last in 2020

Legal system

Mixed legal system of French civil law and Islamic law; judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of various public officials including several Supreme Court justices

International law organization participation

Has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship

Citizenship by birth: no

Citizenship by descent only: the mother must be a citizen of Algeria

Dual citizenship recognized: no

Residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

Chief of state: President Abdelmadjid TEBBOUNE (since 12 December 2019)

Head of government: Prime Minister Nadir LARBAOUI (since 11 November 2023)

Cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president

Elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in two rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 12 December 2019 (next to be held on 7 September 2024); prime minister nominated by the president after consultation with the majority party in Parliament

Election results:

2019: Abdelmadjid TEBBOUNE (FLN) 58.1%, Abdelkader BENGRINA (El-Bina) 17.4%, Ali BENFLIS (Talaie El Hurriyet) 10.6%, Azzedine MIHOUBI (RND) 7.3%, Abdelaziz BELAID (Future Front) 6.7%

2014: Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA reelected president for a fourth term; percent of vote - Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (FLN) 81.5%, Ali BENFLIS (FLN) 12.2%, Abdelaziz BELAID (Future Front) 3.4%, other 2.9%

Legislative branch

Description: bicameral Parliament consists of:

Council of the Nation or Majlis al-Umma (174 seats, statutory; 170 currently); two-thirds of members indirectly elected by simple majority vote by an electoral college composed of local assemblies within each wilaya, and one-third of members appointed by the president; members serve 6-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 3 years)

National People's Assembly or al-Majlis al-Sha'abi al-Watani (407 seats, including 8 seats for Algerian diaspora); members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by open-list proportional representation vote using the Hare quota method; members serve 5-year terms)

Elections: Council of the Nation - last held on 5 February 2022 (next expected in 2025)

National People's Assembly - snap election held on 12 June 2021 (next to be held on 12 June 2026)

Election results: Council of the Nation - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 54, RND 22, Future Front 7, National Construction Movement 5, FFS 4, other 6, independent 18, appointed 58; composition - men 163, women 7, percentage women 4.1%

National People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 98, MSP 65, RND 58, (Future Front) 48, Movement of National Construction 39, other 15, independent 84; composition - men 375, women 32, percentage women 7.9%; note - total Parliament percentage women 6.8%

Judicial branch

Highest court(s): Supreme Court or Le Cour Suprême, (consists of 150 judges organized into 8 chambers: Civil, Commercial and Maritime, Criminal, House of Offenses and Contraventions, House of Petitions, Land, Personal Status, and Social; Constitutional Council (consists of 12 members including the court chairman and deputy chairman); note - Algeria's judicial system does not include sharia courts

Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the High Council of Magistracy, an administrative body presided over by the president of the republic, and includes the republic vice-president and several members; judges appointed for life; Constitutional Council members - 4 appointed by the president of the republic, 2 each by the 2 houses of Parliament, 2 by the Supreme Court, and 2 by the Council of State; Council president and members appointed for single 6-year terms with half the membership renewed every 3 years

Subordinate courts: appellate or wilaya courts; first instance or daira tribunals

Political parties and leaders

Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI]

Algerian Popular Movement or MPA [Amara BENYOUNES]

Algeria's Hope Rally or TAJ [Fatma Zohra ZEROUATI]

Dignity or El Karama [Mohamed DAOUI]

El-Infitah [Omar BOUACHA]

El Mostakbal (Future Front) [Abdelaziz BELAID]

Ennour El Djazairi Party (Algerian Radiance Party) or PED [Badreddine BELBAZ]

Equity and Proclamation Party or PEP [Naima SALHI]

Islamic Renaissance Movement or Ennahda Movement [Yazid BENAICHA]

Justice and Development Front or FJD [Abdellah DJABALLAH]

Movement for National Reform or El Islah [Mohamed Ben ABDESSALAM]

Movement of Society for Peace or MSP [Abdelali Hassani CHERIF]

National Construction Movement or El-Bina (Harakat El-Binaa El-Watani) [Abdelkader BENGRINA]

National Democratic Rally (Rassemblement National Democratique) or RND [Mustapha YAHI]

National Front for Social Justice or FNJS [Redouane KHELIF]

National Liberation Front or FLN [Abdelkrim BENMBAREK]

National Militancy Front or FMN [Abdallah HADDAD]

National Party for Solidarity and Development or PNSD [Dalila YALAQUI]

National Republican Alliance or ANR [Belkacem SAHLI]

New Dawn Party (El-Fajr El-Jadid) [Tahar BENBAIBECHE]

New Generation (Jil Jadid) [Soufiane DJILALI]

Oath of 1954 or Ahd 54 [Ali Fawzi REBAINE]

Party of Justice and Liberty or PLJ [Djamel BENZIADI]

Rally for Culture and Democracy or RCD [Atmane MAZOUZ]

Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Youcef AOUCHICHE]

Union for Change and Progress or UCP [Zoubida ASSOUL]

Union of Democratic and Social Forces or UFDS [Salah ABDERAHMANE]

Vanguard of Liberties (Talaie El Hurriyet) [Reda BENOUNANE]

Workers Party or PT [Louisa HANOUNE]

Youth Party or PJ [Hamana BOUCHARMA]

Note: a law banning political parties based on religion was enacted in March 1997

International organization participation

ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BIS, CAEU, CD, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Flag description

Two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white; a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent centered over the two-color boundary; the colors represent Islam (green), purity and peace (white), and liberty (red); the crescent and star are also Islamic symbols, but the crescent is more closed than those of other Muslim countries because Algerians believe the long crescent horns bring happiness

National symbol(s)

Five-pointed star between the extended horns of a crescent moon, fennec fox; national colors: green, white, red

National anthem

Name: "Kassaman" (We Pledge)

Lyrics/music: Mufdi ZAKARIAH/Mohamed FAWZI

Note: adopted 1962; ZAKARIAH wrote "Kassaman" as a poem while imprisoned in Algiers by French colonial forces

National heritage

Total World Heritage Sites: 7 (6 cultural, 1 mixed)

Selected World Heritage Site locales: Beni Hammad Fort (c); Djémila (c); Casbah of Algiers (c); M'zab Valley (c); Tassili n'Ajjer (m); Timgad (c); Tipasa (c)

Economy

Economic overview

Suffering oil and gas economy; lack of sector and market diversification; political instability chilling domestic consumption; poor credit access and declines in business confidence; COVID-19 austerity policies; delayed promised socio-economic reforms

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$699.947 billion (2023 est.)

$672.379 billion (2022 est.)

$649.015 billion (2021 est.)

Note: data in 2021 dollars

Real GDP growth rate

4.1% (2023 est.)

3.6% (2022 est.)

3.8% (2021 est.)

Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real GDP per capita

$15,300 (2023 est.)

$15,000 (2022 est.)

$14,700 (2021 est.)

Note: data in 2021 dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$239.899 billion (2023 est.)

Note: data in current dollars at official exchange rate

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

9.32% (2023 est.)

9.27% (2022 est.)

7.23% (2021 est.)

Note: annual % change based on consumer prices

Credit ratings

Note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

Agriculture: 13.3% (2017 est.)

Industry: 39.3% (2017 est.)

Services: 47.4% (2017 est.)

Comparison rankings: services 192; industry 32; agriculture 74

GDP - composition, by end use

Household consumption: 42.7% (2017 est.)

Government consumption: 20.2% (2017 est.)

Investment in fixed capital: 38.1% (2017 est.)

Investment in inventories: 11.2% (2017 est.)

Exports of goods and services: 23.6% (2017 est.)

Imports of goods and services: -35.8% (2017 est.)

Agricultural products

Potatoes, wheat, milk, watermelons, onions, tomatoes, barley, vegetables, dates, oranges (2022)

Note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

Industries

Petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing

Industrial production growth rate

3.74% (2023 est.)

Note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

Labor force

13.425 million (2023 est.)

Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

Unemployment rate

11.81% (2023 est.)

12.44% (2022 est.)

13.61% (2021 est.)

Note: % of labor force seeking employment

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

Total: 31.9% (2021 est.)

Male: 27.8%

Female: 54%

Population below poverty line

5.5% (2011 est.)

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income

27.6 (2011 est.)

Average household expenditures

On food: 37.3% of household expenditures (2021 est.)

On alcohol and tobacco: 1% of household expenditures (2021 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Lowest 10%: 2.8%

Highest 10%: 26.8% (1995)

Remittances

0.74% of GDP (2023 est.)

0.74% of GDP (2022 est.)

0.96% of GDP (2021 est.)

Note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities

Budget

Revenues: $55.185 billion (2019 est.)

Expenditures: $64.728 billion (2019 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-9.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt

27.5% of GDP (2017 est.)

20.4% of GDP (2016 est.)

Note: data cover central government debt as well as debt issued by subnational entities and intra-governmental debt

Taxes and other revenues

32.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Current account balance

$5.424 billion (2023 est.)

$19.448 billion (2022 est.)

-$4.51 billion (2021 est.)

Note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars

Exports

$58.816 billion (2023 est.)

$69.242 billion (2022 est.)

$41.851 billion (2021 est.)

Note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

Exports - partners

Italy 29%, Spain 12%, France 12%, US 5%, South Korea 5% (2022)

Note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports

Exports - commodities

Natural gas, crude petroleum, refined petroleum, fertilizers, ammonia (2022)

Note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Imports

$51.516 billion (2023 est.)

$46.63 billion (2022 est.)

$44.297 billion (2021 est.)

Note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

Imports - partners

China 18%, France 14%, Italy 7%, Turkey 6%, Brazil 6% (2022)

Note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports

Imports - commodities

Wheat, milk, plastics, corn, iron ore (2022)

Note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$81.217 billion (2023 est.)

$71.852 billion (2022 est.)

$56.211 billion (2021 est.)

Note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars

Debt - external

$5.574 billion (2019 est.)

$5.666 billion (2018 est.)

Exchange rates

Algerian dinars (DZD) per US dollar -

Exchange rates:

135.843 (2023 est.)

141.995 (2022 est.)

135.064 (2021 est.)

126.777 (2020 est.)

119.354 (2019 est.)

Energy

Electricity access

Electrification - total population: 100% (2022 est.)

Electrification - urban areas: 100%

Electrification - rural areas: 99.3%

Electricity

Installed generating capacity: 21.706 million kW (2022 est.)

Consumption: 77.786 billion kWh (2022 est.)

Exports: 1.529 billion kWh (2022 est.)

Imports: 391.148 million kWh (2022 est.)

Transmission/distribution losses: 9.263 billion kWh (2022 est.)

Comparison rankings: transmission/distribution losses 176; imports 96; exports 62; consumption 42; installed generating capacity 48

Electricity generation sources

Fossil fuels: 99.2% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)

Solar: 0.7% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)

Coal

Consumption: 167,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

Imports: 168,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

Proven reserves: 223 million metric tons (2022 est.)

Petroleum

Total petroleum production: 1.443 million bbl/day (2023 est.)

Refined petroleum consumption: 428,000 bbl/day (2022 est.)

Crude oil estimated reserves: 12.2 billion barrels (2021 est.)

Natural gas

Production: 100.726 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

Consumption: 47.963 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

Exports: 49.583 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

Proven reserves: 4.504 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions

147.93 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)

From coal and metallurgical coke: 501,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)

From petroleum and other liquids: 51.989 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)

From consumed natural gas: 95.439 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)

Energy consumption per capita

58.473 million Btu/person (2022 est.)

Communications

Telephones - fixed lines

Total subscriptions: 5.576 million (2022 est.)

Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 12 (2022 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

Total subscriptions: 49.019 million (2022 est.)

Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 109 (2022 est.)

Telecommunication systems

General assessment: Algeria has a steadily developing telecom infrastructure with growth encouraged by supportive regulatory measures and by government policies aimed at delivering serviceable internet connections across the country; mobile broadband is largely based on 3G and LTE, and the data rates are also low in global terms; LTE is available in all provinces, investment is required from the mobile network operators (MNOs) to improve the quality of service; the state has previously been hesitant to commit to 5G, instead encouraging the MNOs to undertake upgrades to LTE infrastructure before investing in commercial 5G services; in March 2022, the state is in the process of freeing up the requisite spectrum to enable the MNOs to launch 5G services sometime this year; fixed internet speeds remain slow (2022)

Domestic: a limited network of fixed-lines with a teledensity of slightly less than 12 telephones per 100 persons has been offset by the rapid increase in mobile-cellular subscribership; mobile-cellular teledensity was approximately 106 telephones per 100 persons in 2020 (2021)

International: country code - 213; ALPAL-2 is a submarine telecommunications cable system in the Mediterranean Sea linking Algeria and the Spanish Balearic island of Majorca; ORVAL is a submarine cable to Spain; landing points for the TE North/TGN-Eurasia/SEACOM/SeaMeWe-4 fiber-optic submarine cable system that provides links to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia; MED cable connecting Algeria with France; microwave radio relay to Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia; Algeria part of the 4,500 Km terrestrial Trans Sahara Backbone network which connects to other fiber networks in the region; Alcomstat-1 satellite offering telemedicine network (2020)

Broadcast media

State-run Radio-Television Algerienne operates the broadcast media and carries programming in Arabic, Berber dialects, and French; use of satellite dishes is widespread, providing easy access to European and Arab satellite stations; state-run radio operates several national networks and roughly 40 regional radio stations

Internet country code

.dz

Internet users

Total: 31.24 million (2021 est.)

Percent of population: 71% (2021 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

Total: 3,790,459 (2020 est.)

Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 9 (2020 est.)

Transportation

National air transport system

Number of registered air carriers: 3 (2020)

Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 87

Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 6,442,442 (2018)

Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 28.28 million (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

7T

Airports

85 (2024)

Heliports

9 (2024)

Pipelines

2,600 km condensate, 16,415 km gas, 3,447 km liquid petroleum gas, 7,036 km oil, 144 km refined products (2013)

Railways

Total: 4,020 km (2019)

Roadways

Total: 112,696 km (2020)

Merchant marine

Total: 119 (2022)

By type: bulk carrier 1, container ship 4, general cargo 11, oil tanker 14, other 89

Ports

Total ports: 17 (2024)

Large: 2

Medium: 1

Small: 6

Very small: 8

Ports with oil terminals: 3

Key ports: Alger, Annaba, Arzew, Arzew El Djedid, Bejaia, Mers El Kebir, Oran, Port Methanier, Skikda

Military and Security

Military and security forces

Algerian People's National Army (ANP): Land Forces, Naval Forces (includes Coast Guard), Air Forces, Territorial Air Defense Forces, Republican Guard (under ANP but responsible to the President), National Gendarmerie

Ministry of Interior: General Directorate of National Security (national police) (2023)

Note: the National Gendarmerie performs police functions outside urban areas under the auspices of the Ministry of National Defense; it is comprised of territorial, intervention/mobile, border guard, railway, riot control, and air support units; General Directorate of National Security share responsibility for maintaining law and order

Military expenditures

9% of GDP (2023 est.)

4.8% of GDP (2022 est.)

5.6% of GDP (2021 est.)

6.7% of GDP (2020 est.)

6% of GDP (2019 est.)

Military and security service personnel strengths

Approximately 250,000 active armed forces personnel (100,000 Army, 15,000 Air Force/Air Defense, 10,000 Navy, 1,000 Republican Guard, 125,000 Gendarmerie); approximately 200,000 General Directorate of National Security (2023)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

The ANP is one of the better-equipped militaries in North Africa; over the past decade, it has made large investments in more modern equipment, including armored vehicles, air defense systems, fighter aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and warships, largely from Russia, its traditional supplier, but also China and Western European suppliers (2023)

Military service age and obligation

18 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service for men and women; 19-30 years of age for mandatory national service for men (all Algerian men must register at age 17); service obligation reduced from 18 to 12 months in 2014 (2024)

Note: conscripts comprise an estimated 70% of the military

Military - note

The ANP is responsible for external defense but also has some internal security responsibilities; key areas of concern include border and maritime security, terrorism, regional instability, and tensions with Morocco; Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front in Western Sahara and accuses Morocco of supporting the Algerian separatist Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie (MAK); border security and counterterrorism have received additional focus since the Arab Spring events of 2011 and the rise of terrorist threats emanating from Libya and the Sahel; the Army and Ministry of Defense (MND) paramilitary forces of the Gendarmerie and the border guards have beefed up their presence along the frontiers with Tunisia, Libya, Niger, and Mali to interdict and deter cross-border attacks by Islamic militant groups; the ANP and MND paramilitary forces have also increased counterterrorism cooperation with some neighboring countries, particularly Tunisia, including joint operations

The ANP has also played a large role in the country’s politics since independence in 1962, including coups in 1965 and 1991; it was a key backer of BOUTEFLIKA’s election in 1999 and remained a center of power during his 20-year rule; the military was instrumental in BOUTEFLIKA’s resignation in 2019, when it withdrew support and called for him to be removed from office (2023)

Space

Space agency/agencies

Algerian Space Agency (Agence Spatiale Algérienne, ASAL; established 2002) (2024)

Space launch site(s)

None; note - in 1947, Algeria began hosting a French military rocket test site, which was the continent of Africa's first rocket launch site; it was called the Centre Interarmées d’Essais d’Engins Spéciaux (CIEES or Interarmy Special Vehicles Test Center) and was in service until 1967

Space program overview

Has a national space policy and a national space research program with stated goals of supporting internal development, managing resource usage, mastering space technology, and reinforcing national sovereignty; builds and operates communications and remote sensing (RS) satellites; researching and developing a range of space-related capabilities, including satellites and satellite payloads, communications, RS, instrumentation, satellite image processing, and geo-spatial information; has bilateral relationships with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Argentina, China, France, Germany, India, Russia, Ukraine, and the UK; also a member of the Arab Space Coordination Group, established by the UAE in 2019 (2024)

Note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in the Space Programs reference guide

Terrorism

Terrorist group(s)

Terrorist group(s): al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM); Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) – Algeria; al-Mulathamun Battalion (al-Mourabitoun)

Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

Transnational Issues

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Refugees (country of origin): more than 100,000 (Sahrawi, mostly living in Algerian-sponsored camps in the southwestern Algerian town of Tindouf); 7,345 (Syria) (mid-year 2022)

Trafficking in persons

Tier rating: Tier 2 Watch list — update pending (2024)

Illicit drugs

NA