The 2005 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency

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. Algeria assumed a two-year seat on the UN Security Council in January 2004.

      Geography Algeria

      Location:

       Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco

       and Tunisia

      Geographic coordinates:

       28 00 N, 3 00 E

      Map references:

       Africa

      Area:

       total: 2,381,740 sq km

       land: 2,381,740 sq km

       water: 0 sq km

      Area - comparative:

       slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas

      Land boundaries:

       total: 6,343 km

       border countries: 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

      Maritime claims:

       territorial sea: 12 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; some mountains; narrow,

       discontinuous coastal plain

      Elevation extremes:

       lowest point: Chott Melrhir −40 m

       highest point: Tahat 3,003 m

      Natural resources:

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

      Land use: arable land: 3.22% permanent crops: 0.25% other: 96.53% (2001)

      Irrigated land:

       5,600 sq km (1998 est.)

      Natural hazards:

       mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and

       floods in rainy season

      Environment - current issues:

       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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental

       Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer

       Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

       signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

      Geography - note:

       second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)

      People Algeria

      Population:

       32,531,853 (July 2005 est.)

      Age structure:

       0–14 years: 29% (male 4,811,086/female 4,626,271)

       15–64 years: 66.3% (male 10,861,862/female 10,701,459)

       65 years and over: 4.7% (male 719,460/female 811,715) (2005 est.)

      Median age:

       total: 24.36 years

       male: 24.18 years

       female: 24.53 years (2005 est.)

      Population growth rate:

       1.22% (2005 est.)

      Birth rate:

       17.13 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

      Death rate:

       4.6 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

      Net migration rate:

       −0.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

      Sex ratio:

       at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

       under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

       15–64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

       65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female

       total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

      Infant mortality rate:

       total: 31 deaths/1,000 live births

       male: 34.83 deaths/1,000 live births

       female: 26.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

      Life expectancy at birth:

       total population: 73 years

       male: 71.45 years

       female: 74.63 years (2005 est.)

      Total fertility rate:

       1.92 children born/woman (2005 est.)

      HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

       0.1% ; note - no country specific models provided (2001 est.)

      HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

       9,100 (2003 est.)

      HIV/AIDS - deaths:

       less than 500 (2003 est.)

      Major infectious diseases:

       degree of risk: intermediate

       food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and

       typhoid fever

       vectorborne disease: cutaneous leishmaniasis is a high risk in some

       locations (2004)

      Nationality:

       noun: Algerian(s)

       adjective: Algerian

      Ethnic groups:

       Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%

       note: almost all Algerians are Berber in origin, not Arab;