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: 3.17% permanent crops: 0.28% other: 96.55% (2005)
Irrigated land:
5,690 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
14.3 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 6.07 cu km/yr (22%/13%/65%) per capita: 185 cu m/yr (2000)
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:
33,769,668 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 26.3% (male 4,528,919/female 4,349,746) 15–64 years: 68.7% (male 11,699,701/female 11,509,619) 65 years and over: 5% (male 779,467/female 902,217) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 26 years male: 25.8 years female: 26.2 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.209% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
17.03 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
4.62 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
−0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 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: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 28.75 deaths/1,000 live births male: 31.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.77 years male: 72.13 years female: 75.49 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.82 children born/woman (2008 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:
fewer than 500 (2003 est.)
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; the minority who identify themselves as Berber live mostly in the mountainous region of Kabylie east of Algiers; the Berbers are also Muslim but identify with their Berber rather than Arab cultural heritage; Berbers have long agitated, sometimes violently, for autonomy; the government is unlikely to grant autonomy but has offered to begin sponsoring teaching Berber language in schools
Religions:
Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%
Languages:
Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 69.9% male: 79.6% female: 60.1% (2002 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 13 years male: 13 years female: 13 years (2005)
Education expenditures:
5.1% of GDP (1999)
Government
Algeria
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
Government type:
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)
Administrative divisions:
48 provinces (wilayat, 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:
Revolution Day, 1 November (1954)
Constitution:
8 September 1963; revised 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, 28 November 1996, and 12 November 2008
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
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (since 28 April 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Ahmed OUYAHIA (since 23 June 2008) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible