Current environmental 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

Geography

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

Geographic Coordinates: 28 00 N, 3 00 E

Area:

total: 2,381,740 sq km
land: 2,381,740 sq km
water: 0 sq km

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

Natural Hazards: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season

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

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

Government

Government Type: republic

Capital: Algiers

Independence Date: 5 July 1962 (from France)

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

International Agreement

Environment-international agreement:

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

People and Society

Population: 33,769,669 (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.)

Population Growth Rate: 1.209% (2008 est.)

Birthrate: 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.)

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.)

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.)

Water

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)

Agriculture

Agricultural products: wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle

Irrigated Land: 5,690 sq km (2003)

Resources

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)

Energy

Health

Prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in adults: 9,100 (2003 est.)

Conflict

International Disputes:

Algeria, and many other states, rejects Moroccan administration of Western Sahara; the Polisario Front, exiled in Algeria, represents the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic; Algeria's border with Morocco remains an irritant to bilateral relations, each nation accusing the other of harboring militants and arms smuggling; 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

Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: refugees (country of origin): 90,000 (Western Saharan Sahrawi, mostly living in Algerian-sponsored camps in the southwestern Algerian town of Tindouf) IDPs: undetermined (civil war during 1990s) (2007)

Trafficking in Persons:

current situation: Algeria is a transit country for men and women trafficked from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude; Algerian children are trafficked internally for the purpose of domestic servitude or street vending
tier rating: Tier 3 - Algeria did not report any serious law enforcement actions to punish traffickers who force women into commercial sexual exploitation or men into involuntary servitude in 2007; the government again reported no investigations of trafficking of children for domestic servitude or improvements in protection services available to victims of trafficking; Algeria still lacks victim protection services, and its failure to distinguish between trafficking and illegal migration may result in the punishment of victims of trafficking (2008)

Economy

The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 60% of budget revenues, 30% of GDP, and over 95% of export earnings. Algeria has the eighth-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the fourth-largest gas exporter; it ranks 14th in oil reserves. Sustained high oil prices in recent years have helped improve Algeria's financial and macroeconomic indicators. Algeria is running substantial trade surpluses and building up record foreign exchange reserves. Algeria has decreased its external debt to less than 10% of GDP after repaying its Paris Club and London Club debt in 2006. Real GDP has risen due to higher oil output and increased government spending. The government's continued efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector, however, has had little success in reducing high unemployment and improving living standards. Structural reform within the economy, such as development of the banking sector and the construction of infrastructure, moves ahead slowly hampered by corruption and bureaucratic resistance.

GDP: (Purchasing Power Parity): $224.7 billion (2007 est.)

GDP: (Official Exchange Rate): $131.6 billion (2007 est.)

GDP-real growth rate: 4.6% (2007 est.)

GDP- per capita (PPP): $6,500 (2007 est.)

GDP- composition by sector:

agriculture: 8.2%
industry: 61.4%
services: 30.4% (2007 est.)

Population Below Poverty Line: 25% (2005 est.)

Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share:

lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 26.8% (1995)

Industries: petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing

Exports: petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97%

Export Partners: US 29.4%, Italy 13.8%, Spain 9.6%, Canada 8.2%, France 7.4%, Netherlands 5%, Brazil 4.2% (2006)

Imports: capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods

Import Partners: France 19.1%, China 8.9%, Italy 8.7%, Spain 6.1%, US 5.6%, Germany 5.5%, Turkey 4.2% (2006)

Economic Aid Recipient: $370.6 million (2005 est.)

Currency: Algerian dinar (DZD)

Communications

Telephones-main line in use: 2.841 million (2006)

Telephones- mobile/cellular: 20.998 million (2006)

Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 25, FM 1, shortwave 8 (1999)

Television Broadcast Stations: 46 (plus 216 repeaters) (1995)

Internet Hosts: 2,077 (2007)

Internet Users: 2.46 million (2006)

Transportation

Airports: 150 (2007)

Pipelines: condensate 1,532 km; gas 13,861 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,408 km; oil 6,878 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 3,973 km
standard gauge: 2,888 km 1.435-m gauge (283 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 1,085 km 1.055-m gauge (2006)

Ports and Terminals: Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Djendjene, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda