People's Democratic Republic of Algeria

National name: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Sha'biyah

President: Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika (1999)

Prime Minister: Ahmed Ouyahia (2003)

Total area: 919,590 sq mi (2,381,741 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 32,930,091 (growth rate: 1.2%); birth rate: 17.1/1000; infant mortality rate: 29.9/1000; life expectancy: 73.3; density per sq mi: 36

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Algiers, 3,917,000 (metro. area), 1,742,800 (city proper)

Other large cities: Oran, 752,200; Constantine, 530,100; Batna, 278,100; Annaba, 246,700

Monetary unit: Dinar

Languages: Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects

Ethnicity/race: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%

Religion: Islam (Sunni) 99% (state religion), Christian and Jewish 1%

Literacy rate: 70%

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $233.9 billion; per capita $7,200. Real growth rate: 6%. Inflation: 4.7%. Unemployment: 22.5%. Arable land: 3.17%. Agriculture: wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle. Labor force: 10.15 million; agriculture 14%, industry 13.4%, construction and public works 10%, trade 14.6%, government 32%, other 16% (2003 est.). Industries: petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc. Exports: $49.59 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97%. Imports: $22.53 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods. Major trading partners: U.S., Italy, France, Spain, Canada, Brazil, Belgium, Germany, China, Turkey (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 2.288 million (2004); mobile cellular: 4,682,700 (2004). Radio broadcast stations: AM 25, FM 1, shortwave 8 (1999). Television broadcast stations: 46 (plus 216 repeaters) (1995). Internet hosts: 1,175 (2005). Internet users: 845,000 (2005).

Transportation: Railways: total: 3,973 km (2004). Highways: total: 104,000 km; paved: 71,656 km; unpaved: 32,344 km (1999). Ports and harbors: Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Djendjene, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda. Airports: 137 (2005).

International disputes: Algeria supports the exiled Sahrawi Polisario Front and rejects Moroccan administration of Western Sahara; Algeria's border with Morocco remains an irritant to bilateral relations; each nation has accused the other of harboring militants and arms smuggling; in an attempt to improve relations after unilaterally imposing a visa requirement on Algerians in the early 1990s, Morocco lifted the requirement in mid-2004 - a gesture not reciprocated by Algeria; Algeria remains concerned about armed bandits operating throughout the Sahel who sometimes destabilize southern Algerian towns; dormant disputes include Libyan claims of about 32,000 sq km still reflected on its maps of southeastern Algeria and the FLN's assertions of a claim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco.


 

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