The Algérie is a Pays of North Africa pertaining to the the Maghreb. Its capital Algiers is located at the extreme north-center, on the Mediterranean coast. Second country of Africa by its surface, Algeria is bordered in north by the Mediterranean at a distance of 1200 km. It also divides seven land borders, to start with the Tunisia with the North-East, the Libya in the east, the Niger in south-east, the territory of the the Western Sahara, the Mauritania, the Mali in south-west, and finally the Morocco in the west.

Algeria is member of UNO, the African Union and the Arab Ligue since practically its independence in 1962. It also contributed in February 1989 to the creation of UMA.

The Constitution defines “Islam, Arabité and Amazighité” like “basic components” of the identity of the Algerian people and the country as “ground of Islam, integral part of the Large Maghreb, country Arab, Mediterranean and African. ”.

Etymology

Algérie name comes from the name of the city Algiers. Extended to indicate the worldwide conquered from Algiers, the name Algérie is officially adopted the October 14th 1839 by Antoine Virgile Schneider, Minister for the War. According to the historian Eugene Guernier: “It is not without interest to note that this name devoted the Arab conquest and one can wonder why the French politicians of the moment, taking account of the past better, did not adopt the names of Numédie, Kabylie or Maurétanie. ”.

The name of Algiers is a French deformation of the Catalan Alguère , founder of the dynasty Zirides, when it builds the city into 960 on the ruins of the old city to the Roman name Icosium; Djezaïr Blessed Mezranna . Several explanations however are given as for the significance of the name given by Bologhine ibn Ziri. A first explanation would like that the name is given in reference to the islands which at the time faced the port of Algiers and which were attached to its current pier; in Arab Al-Djaza' ir (rear RTL الجزائر), “Islands”. Mezranna would be also a form arabized of Imezren , or “Berber”, which would give the original form Tiziri At Imezran , “Ziri of Berber”. Moreover, the Inhabitants of Algiers indicate themselves under the term of Dziri , the popular speech preserved in addition the formula Dzayer to indicate Algiers, they were however sometimes combined with certain local tribes of the Zénètes. These two kingdoms, then prosperous, will be largely weakened by these incursions. Zirides will then transfer their capital from Kairouan to Mahdia, Hammadides, of Al-Quala (the Kalâa of Béni Hammad, recognized today world heritage by UNESCO) with Béjaïa.

Algeria is then, on a small portion in the West, under the control of the Almoravides, Hammadides in the center, and Zirides in the East. When in 1152, they are definitively overcome by a new Berber dynasty, the Almohades, directed by Abdelmoumen Ibn Ali and whose spiritual leader is Muhammad ibn Tumart. Almohades will form one of most powerful empires the Mediterranean, unifying the the Maghreb and the country of Al-Andalus until in 1269. With the big cities of the littoral (Béjaïa, Annaba, Algiers…), the central Maghreb opens with the Christian Occident by maintaining an active trade, bringing in particular the famous barb, of the Cire or of the Cuir of quality. The fall of Almohades marks a turning in the relationships to the Christian powers of north, which are organized for the Reconquista whereas the myth of Moslem invincibility ends. On the the Maghreb, local dynasties are essential, like the Mérinides of Fès in the Western Maghreb, the Abdelwadides of Tlemcen of the central Maghreb, and the Hafsides of Tunis and Béjaïa in Ifriqiya. These dynasties which radiate on North Africa initially between the 13th century and the 14th century, undergo more and more, towards the end of the 15th century, the pressure of the rise of the powers Spanish and Portuguese, and combined with the internal conflicts for the access to the throne, their capacity then knows successive retreats and the crumbling of their empire.

Othoman period

The dismantling of the great Islamic dynasties involves the formation of a multitude of small principalities, federations of tribes or port authorities, locates Corsaire S. the Christian powers of the Iberian peninsula benefit from it; Portuguese leaves in forwarding in the Western Maghreb, followed Spanish who occupies of the Mediterranean ports (Mers el Kebir, Oran, Béjaïa…). But the formation of true “City-State Pirate” on the littoral (Côte of Barbaresque the) and the piracy which it generated worried and disturbed more and more the European powers. Also, in 1516, Spain decided to besiege the famous port of Algiers. The Inhabitants of Algiers call upon the corsairs Turkish then. The Barberousse brothers, extremely of several successes in the Algerian west, manage in 1518 after several failures to drive out the Spaniards of Algiers with partly the support of the tribes Kabyles.

Thanks to this success, Khayr AD-DIN Barberousse could obtain from the sultan Soliman the Magnificent the the official support of the Ottoman Empire, receiving the title of beylerbey (governor of province) as well as a quota of Janissaire. Khayr AD-DIN organized the area in true organized State, the regency of Algiers. Regency was successively controlled, on behalf of the Ottoman Empire, by beylerbeys of 1518 with 1587, pasha S of 1587 with 1659, aghas of 1659 with 1671 and Dey S of 1671 with 1830. The area of Constantine (because of resistance kabyle), conquered in 1525, took a relative administrative autonomy compared to Algiers and was managed by beys until the French conquest on October 13rd, 1837.

French conquest

See also: Conquest of Algeria

Contrary to the Morocco and the Tunisia, the conquest of Algeria was long and particularly violent since it resulted in the disappearance of almost one the third of the Algerian population. The French Army subjected it village after village, but it should be specified that what characterizes the colonization of Algeria and holds place of characteristic is that it is about a colony of settlement.

In 1794, when the revolutionary France was attacked by the united European powers, and tested difficulties of nourishing its population and her soldiers. The dey of Algiers Hussein offered to Convention all facilitated to make his purchases of corn, authorizing also thereafter under the directory a loan of money without interests. The War finished, the modes which follow one another do not honor the debt, and when France becomes again royalist the debt is re-examined with the fall and is paid but in Paris with the deposit and consignment office; a big number of true or supposed creditors, tradesmen livournais who had been used as intermediaries appear then. Thus, under cover to satisfy their complaints, one “had made legal his spoliation”. The dey is thus in cold with the consul of France because it understands that it will not recover his money, and that the corn deliveries will never be paid to him.

In 1827, the dey of Algiers discovers that France had strengthened at the end is Regency with the Hold a warehouse of which it had the concession to make trade, and which it had been committed not strengthening. The government of the restoration and Charles X, anxious to regild the image of France abroad and to reinforce the royal authority in France, found then in this incident - an insult in France by the means of sound “representing”, the consul - a pretext to intervene militarily.

Between the 11 and the May 18th 1830, some: 37000 men divided in 675 buildings chartered by the company Seilliere, i.e. all the French marine of the time, embarked to conquer the coastal strip of the old regency, unified thereafter under the name of Algérie. The unloading took place the June 14th 1830 with Sidi-Ferruch and, the July 5th, the French troops of the general Louis Auguste Victor de Ghaisne de Bourmont made their entry in the fortress of Algiers, the dey capitulated the very same day.

But France runs up against the west with the emir Abd el-Kader and the east with the Berber tribes of which those of Kabylie carried out by Lalla Fatma Soumer. France starts negotiations with the emir Abd el-Kader in 1834 and 1837, date on which is signed the Traité of Tafna. But in 1839, Abd el-Kader declares the war in France considering forwarding with the " Doors of fer" (in the chain of the Bibans in Kabylie) by the French Army like a violation of treaty. In May 1843, the tribe and the famous treasure of Abd el-Kader are with the hands of the French.

In 1847, Abd el-Kader deposited the weapons and went, the French Army of Africa then controls all North-West of Algeria. At the conclusion of the Battle of Zaatcha, in the Aurès, in 1848, Constantinois is conquered. Between 1849 and 1852, the domination extends to the Petite Kabylie. In July 1857, the tribes of Grande Kabylie go, and Lalla Fatma Soumer captures it does not put a term at resistance but the kabyles will raise until the beginning of the Années 1870 more. The conquest of the north of Algeria is then completed. As opposed to what one could think, the conquest did not have north in the south, since the mountains once again were the last refuge of independence. In the south, the catch of Laghouat and Touggourt, the tender of Blessed-MR.' zab of the Mzab (1852) and that of Souf, move back the limits of Algeria until the large desert.

It is only after one ultimate rising, in 1871, by tribes of Kabylie, at the time of the revolt known as “of Mokranis”, that the mission of “Pacification” is completed. It made nearly a million deaths, civilians most of the time, the demographic loss concentrating in particular over the six last years of the conquest like points out it demographer R. Ricoux.

Colonial time

See also: French Algeria

Napoleon III grants French nationality to the natives by the imperial senatus consult of July 14th, 1865 what causes the anger of the French colonists. Those are delighted by the defeat of Napoleon III at the time of the conflict of 1870. October 24th, 1870, a decree is promulgated giving the French citizenship to the 37.000 Jews of Algeria. The author of this decree is Isaac Adolphe Crémieux Minister for justice. This decree involves a discrimination between the Jews and the Moslems. Another consequence of the defeat of 1870: the massive arrival the Alsatian ones and the Lorraine ones whose grounds are confiscated by the Prussians.

Discrimination culminates with the publication on June 28th, 1881 of the code the indigénat who distinguished the French citizens (from metropolitan stock) and the French subjects (natives). French subjects being private majority of their political rights.

France made come from the colonists to exploit the grounds and the autochtones in order to launch the economic machine of the French empire and to send in addition to the Mediterranean potentially dangerous social elements for the social order. The natives of Moslem culture or resulting from this culture were under the mode of the indigénat and could in theory reach the French citizenship while renonçant with their traditions. Patrick Weil, research director with CNRS, note however that the Algerian Moslem, originating in a French department, was juridically lower than a foreigner insofar as it were subjected to a procedure much more complex to obtain the statute of French citizen.

Often distributed in poor zones, many which is those became farm laborers in large farms created by the colonists in zones gained on the marshes around the area of Bône or in the inhabitant of Algiers and in Oranie. In margin of the company, they seldom had access to teaching. Their culture and their languages were oppressed, the indigenous schools were removed with the profit of French schools of very insufficient number. In 1929,6% only of the “indigenous” children went to the elementary school.

The colonists and unquestionable immigrant French could dominate the Algerian company and impose their language which became nearly exclusive in the administration, teaching and posting. According to the geographer Yves Lacoste, “in Algeria were carefully forgotten not only the principles of secularity of IIIe République, but especially the laws on the obligatory primary education which, in the interest even of colonization, would have been more useful to try to francize “the indigenous” population. The application of these laws ran up not against the refusal of the Moslems, but against that of “pied-noir”, the French citizens of Algeria (come for a great part from Spain and Italy) which, until the years 1950 and in fact to the war of Algeria, were opposed by all the means to the opening of schools for the “Arabs”. Goal of such obstruction, proclaimed without shame in press, was that Moslems learn not French, that they cannot read books which would give them subversive ideas, and also that they cannot claim with functions that the French intended to reserve The Européens rich person were however only one very weak minority.

The May 8th, 1945 take place of the Algerian demonstrations in several cities of the East of the country (Kabylie and Constantinois), which was to make it possible to point out their nationalist claims, in a concomitant way with the jubilation of the victory. To Sétif, after clashes between police officers and nationalists, the demonstration turns to the riot and the anger of the demonstrators is turned over against the “French”: 27 Europeans are assassinated (103 will find death in the following days). The repression of the French Army is of an extreme brutality (see the detailed article: Massacres of Sétif and Guelma ). Officially, it makes: 1500 died among the autochtones, underestimated figure and probably nearer to: 20000 with: 30000 according to the historian Benjamin Stora. Algerian official historiography speaks about: 45000 dead. From the toughening that they generated in the nationalist mediums, of many historians these massacres regard as the true beginning of the war of Algeria.

Algerian revolution

See also: War of Algeria

In 1954, Algeria counts eight million Moslems and a million “French of Algeria” (“pied-noir” and Jewish naturalized Séfarade S). Starting from 1954, the combat armed for independence with Algeria results in exactions against the civil populations of Moslem and European origin like by a guerilla, maquis and confrontations with the French Army, which also includes/understands units of Moslem back-up troops called “Harkis”. FLN organizes its combat on two faces. On the internal plan it organizes a resistance through its armed wing ALN, while on the diplomatic face, it organizes its activities under the banner of the GPRA, which orchestrates an overall campaign in order to plead the Algerian cause, it succeeds in 1958 introducing for the first time into the diary of the the United Nations the Algerian question, which represented one big hit for the Algerian diplomacy. This conflict was registered within the framework of the process of decolonization which proceeds after the end of the Second world war. For France, that relates to inter alia the French Indo-China, Madagascar, the Morocco, Algeria, the Tunisia, the Africa Équatoriale French and the Africa Occidentale French. The case of Algeria is different from the others in the sense that it belonged officially to the French territory, with a million citizens (the “Pieds-Noirs” and the Juif S Séfarade S) who live there, often since several generations.

The assessment of the war of Algeria gives a report on: 25000 killed among French soldiers and: 2000  died of the Foreign legion, a thousand of missings, and: 1300  dead soldiers of the continuations of their wounds. Approximately: 450000  Algerians died during the conflict (the Algerians advance the figure of 1,5 million dead), but it is without counting them: 8000  set fire to villages, a million set fire to hectares of forest, 2,1 million Moslems moved in camps of regrouping and tens of thousands of Harkis massacred with independence. Indeed, on July 5th, 1962, French anniversary of the Normandy landing day in Algeria, with Oran the massacre of more than 440 Europeans and harkis took place (see the detailed article: Massacre of Oran ). At the end of 1962, the Décolonisation is consumed, it does not remain more in Algeria but 100.000 Europeans on nearly a million of before independence.

Independent Algeria

Algeria thus became independent at the conclusion of a long and expensive war against the colonial presence. A presence which lasted 132 years, and which ended officially the July 5th 1962. This independence was acquired politically with the favor of the Référendum of self-determination envisaged by the agreements of Evian, and by the means which the Algerians decided massively for the independence of Algeria. The cultural claims gave rise to a political slogan: Tahya el Djazaïr , “lives Algeria”.

After several years of autocratic management of the businesses of the State, Algeria launches out as from the year 1988, in a new experiment of Démocratisation continuation in particular with the riots of October of the same year. This opening is accompanied in 1991 by the entry by islamist in the political field, which caused the intervention of the army, which stopped the electoral process of the year 1992 marked by a very strong rate of abstention but at the time which the islamist ones were largely at the head able of the first turn without to have the absolute majority. This evolution involved Algeria in a vague of violence and terrorism which will have lasted one decade.

Geography

See also: Geography of Algeria

Algeria is from its surface, the largest country of the circumference the Mediterranean N and the second at the African level , after the Sudan. In its southern part, it includes/understands a notable share of the the Sahara.

In north, the Tellian Atlas form with the Saharian Atlas, more in the south, two parallel whole of relief approaching while going towards the east, and between which vast plains and high plateaus are intercalated. The two Atlases tend to merge in the east of Algeria (Aurès) and in Tunisia.

The band Such, the 80 km broad to 190 km, extends on nearly 1200 km to Mediterranean coast. It is made of assembly lines (the Ouarsenis, the Chenoua, the Djurdjura, the Babor S and the Bibans,…) skirting the littoral and often separated by valleys, rich person by their flora and their fauna, sheltering rivers like the valley of the Chelif or the Valley of Soummam. The mount Lalla-Khadîdja, in Kabylie where the mountains are covered with snow in winter, is the culminating point and rises for it with 2.308 meters of altitude. The plains of Such shelter with the adjacent valleys the large majority of the fertile grounds of the country. Between the solid masses of Such and the Saharian Atlas, a great whole of plains and semi-arid high plateaus are dug by many salt water extents, the Chott S, drained according to the seasons. The point low of Algeria, reached in Chott Melrhir, goes down to - 40 Mr. the unit runs since the Moroccan borders to the West until in the valley of the Hodna whose mounts connect sometimes the Tellian Atlases and Saharan. The Saharian Atlas, connects the High Atlas Moroccan to the Tunisian border while passing, of West in Is, by the solid masses of Ksour, Djebel Amour, of Ouled-Naïl, the Zibans and the mounts Hodna, which joined the band of Such, and continuous in the Aurès culminating with more than 2.300 Mr. It is limited to the south by several oases constituent what is often called the door of the desert .

The Saharan part which covers more than 80% of the surface of Algeria is approximately 2 million km ², is made up mainly of reg. S, of erg S, Oasis and mountainous solid mass.

In the north of the Algerian Sahara, large the ergs, Western in the west, and Eastern in the east, separated by rock plates such as the area from Mzab and bordered in the south by the plate of Tademaït, constitute immense punctuated seas of sand of Oasis sometimes giving life to the important ones palmerais. To south-west, extend the Iguidi ergs and Chech, vastness of linear sandy dunes largely spaced from/to each other. More in the south, in the middle of the Sahara, the massive of Hoggar, whose culminating point is more the high summit of Algeria with 3.003 meters with the mount Tahat, consists of ic rocks Volcan forming volcanic peaks, “needles” and desert high plateaus. In the east of Hoggar, the Tassili Ajjer, arid high plateau perched with more than 1.000 meters of altitude, draw up strongly eroded rock formations emerging from the sand dunes, sometimes giving to the relief an aspect of lunar landscape.

Climate

A Mediterranean Climat covers North, while a desert Climat reign on the South. During the summer, the hottest months are July and August.

• In north, on the coastal towns, the winter temperatures vary between 8°C and 15°C. They climb with 25°C in May to reach an average of 28°C with 30°C in July and August (28°C with Skikda, 29,5°C in Algiers). Always in North, in the mountains of Kabylie, the temperature borders the 5°C even −7°C in winter. Snow is frequent there in winter.

• In the center, in Aurès like in the high plateaus of the area of Djelfa, the temperature turns around 5°C even −2°C in winter. Snow is present there in winter. The estival temperature varies 30°C with 38°C (Constantine 36°C).

• As for the south, in the Sahara, the temperature is of 15 with 28°C in Hiver, to reach 40 with 45°C, even more in be.

Principal cities

See also: Towns of Algeria, zip codes of the towns of Algeria

The rate of Urbanisation of Algeria borders the 60%, and continuous to increase (with a more constant growth in the Algerian south) in spite of the efforts of the government to slow down the migration towards the cities. Algeria counts more than one about thirty urban centres of more than 100.000 inhabitants, almost all concentrated in the north of the country. More the big city is Algiers, Mégapole of more than four million inhabitants, that is to say more of the tenth of the global population, which makes the first agglomeration of the Maghreb of it.

There is also among the Algerian main cities, in terms of population, cultural influence or economic importance:

• Oran on the west coast, second city of the country;
• Constantine, important cultural and industrial pole;
• Annaba in the East, centers economic and commercial, sheltering the greatest steelworks of Africa;
• Béjaïa, important oil port and commercial Mediterranean;
• Sétif, great arts center and university pole.

Policy

See also: Political of Algeria

Interior policy

On the political plan, Algeria adopted a republican Régime since the advent of its independence in 1962. The current Constitution confers to the Head of the State a central role in the management of the businesses of the country, thus under the terms of his articles, the president of the Republic is the chief of the Exécutif, supreme leader of the armed forces and Minister for Defense. The Head of the State also holds the capacity to name its Prime Minister and the members of the government on proposal for this last. The election of the president of the Republic is made with the Vote for all direct, every five years. The current President-in-Office is Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Elected for a first mandate of 1999 with 2004, it is re-elected the same year for a second mandate which will be completed in 2009.

In addition, the Legislative power is of bicameral type since the constitutional reform of 1996, it should be noted however that the capacities which are allotted to him are strongly decreased by the preeminence of the Executive power. The distribution of the various elected officials on the level of the two rooms of the Parliament reveals the following composition:

• the the Council of the Nation (Upper House): composed of 144 members of which the third is indicated by the president of the Republic;

• the National People's Assembly (Lower House): Composed of 389 members elected by the universal direct suffrage for a five year old mandature.

The Algerian Constitution was adopted on September 10th, 1963. It was revised thereafter with three recoveries. Initially in 1976, this first constitutional revision was initiated under the impulse of Houari Boumediène, it initially aimed the finishing of the institutions of the Algerian State by equipping it with a legislative Parliament, and by also creating the position of president of the Republic, subjected to the universal direct suffrage and this, to replace the president's function of the Council of the Revolution. The second revision of the Constitution was carried out on February 28th 1989, date on which the Multipartisme and freedom of expression were founded, it is thus in the wake of this reform that the mode of the sole party was dissolved and that many political parties were consequently created occasion. The third and last constitutional revision were carried out in 1996 with like main objective the introduction of a bicameral Parliament. These institutions were elected on June 5th 1997, and constitute the first pluralist Parliament of independent Algeria.

Currently Algeria counts more than 40 political parties in activity. However, these same parties cannot under the terms of article 42 of the Constitution “being based on a base religious, linguistic, racial, of sex, supporter of corporatism or regional”, they must also receive the approval of the ministry for the Interior and local government agencies to be able to present itself to the various electoral deadlines. Most important of them remain those of the presidential alliance which is made up of three majority parties to the Parliament and the Senate, it acts of the Front of national release (FLN), the democratic national Rassemblement (RND) and the Mouvement of the company for peace (MSP). The principal parties of opposition are the Rassemblement for the culture and the democracy (RCD), the Mouvement for the national reform (MRN), the Parti the Workers (Pt) and the Front of the Socialist forces (FFS).

Foreign policy

On the external level, Algeria registers its positioning compared to the various international questions on the basis of Doctrine which it drew of the combat liberator which made it possible its people to recover his full sovereignty. It is as in the name of this morals as this country supported during the Sixties and seventies a big number of revolutionary Mouvements all over the world, which was worth to him to be regarded as “the headlight of the Tiers-monde”. By extension and thanks to its richnesses on the energy level like with its position particularly privileged in the southern side of the Mediterranean, Algeria enjoys an unquestionable influence on the level the regional units to which it belongs (African Union, Arab Ligue, euro-Mediterranean dialog, etc). Also, Algeria knew to show its important power of influence sometimes higher than its “clean potential” (economic, military, population). It indeed contributed successfully to the payment of a certain number of crises like the release of the American hostages in 1981, and more recently in 2000 with the signature of the peace agreement between the Érythrée and the Ethiopia.

The International organizations in which Algeria takes part are listed in the table below:

Military forces

See also: National popular army (Algeria), National popular army

The Algerian Army is called National popular army (ANP). It is made up of the commands of the terrestrial forces , naval, air and of the air Defense of territory (DAT). The top of the military hierarchy leads to the Head of the State, constitutionally supreme leader of the Armed forces and Minister for National defense. The composition of the Algerian army reveals a manpower of approximately 300.000 men (all confused bodies), added with the 150.000 reservists. It is also assisted by the body of the National police made up of 60.000 members, as well as crack corps of 5.000 republican guards, depend on the ministry of Defense.

In 2006, the Algerian budget of defense occupied 3,3% of the GDP, that is to say approximately 3,8 billion USD. Its leading vendor of weapons since independence was the Soviet Union. However, since the fall of the latter at the conclusion of the Cold war, Algeria carried out a diversification of its supplies weapons, while in particular turning worms of the countries like the the United States of America, the China and the South Africa. But it remains that the Russian material always occupies a dominating place within the Algerian military park, this position was more reinforced by the signature in 2006 of a very important contract of military deliveries.

In addition, the Algerian army builds certain types of armaments, that goes from the patrol craft and corvettes for the Navy, until the armored vehicles of transport of troops for the Army. It moreover launched out since the year 2000 in a process of professionalisation, which in the long term aims at adapting the organization of this institution to the international standards (in particular those of NATO), the corollary of this transformation being the integration of Algeria within.

Administrative cutting

See also: Wilayas d' Algérie

Algeria is divided on the administrative level into 48 wilayas. The wilaya constitutes an administrative unit, left Préfecture, equipped with an assembly elected, the APW (“Popular Assembly of wilaya”) and placed under the authority of a wali (Préfet) named by the president of the Republic. They are divided into Daïra S, which are divided in their turn, in common (1541). Each commune has its own deliberating authority, the APC (“Popular communal assembly”) which elects itself its president, acting as Maire. Each wilaya and will daïras door the name of sound Chef-lieu and has an independent budget collected at the local level. Last Algerian administrative cutting goes back to 1985. The wilayas, classified by their code, are:

Economy

See also: Economy of Algeria

Algeria is among the richest countries of the African continent. It is the second economic power in Africa with an annual GDP of 120 billion USD in 2006, after South Africa with 255.0 billion USD. Its Monnaie is the Algerian Dinar (DA) current abbreviation or (DZD) banking abbreviation.

Algeria is an important producer and exporter of Natural gas (5th producer and 4th exporter) and of Pétrole (13th producer and 9th exporter), and also has important reserves of Fer in South-west, as well as Or, of Uranium and Zinc in the extreme South. The Oil and the Natural gas, exploited by the national company Sonatrach, are the independent sources of incomes. Algeria knew to diversify its economy by reforming its agrarian system and by modernizing its heavy industry, but the hydrocarbons still constitute the near total of exports. Moreover, even if among the agricultural productions of Algeria, the country is in the world the 1st producer of string bean, 5th of Figue, 6th of Datte, 9th of Abricot or 10th of almond, it is the 5th country which exports less its agricultural production. The foreign debt of Algeria protested in December 2006 to 4,7 billion USD against 17,5 billion USD in 2005 - the country is refunding by anticipation of vast shares of its debts, thus using the surge of unexpected currencies related to the rise of the oil price (see: oil Peak ).

In 2006, Algeria completed the advance payment of the totality of its re-spread debt. Indeed, of the agreements were signed on refunding by anticipation of debts in particular with the Poland, the Saudi Arabia, the Turkey, the India, the Slovenia and the Portugal, according to the local press. With its public creditors of the Club of Paris, Algeria closed mid-November all the process of advance payment for an global amount of 7,75 billion dollars. It had also refunded by anticipation its debt re-spread with the Club of London last September for an amount of 800 million dollars.

Thanks to the rise of the oil prices on the international market, the treasury of Algeria, member of the Organization of the oil exporting countries (OPEC), is relatively solid, which not only enables him to refund by anticipation its foreign debts, but also of launching several important projects of infrastructures.

According to the the World Bank, the classification of 2006 by Gross domestic product (GDP) of the principal economic powers of the African continent positions Algeria in the second place. Below the established ranking:

With the progressive Liberalization of its economy, Algeria starts to allure more and more Investisseur S foreigners, in particular after the promulgation of the Loi n° 02-01 of February 5th, 2002 which poses the basic principles of the liberalization of the markets of the electricity and the distribution of gas by drains and the creation of the Commission of regulation of electricity and the gas (CREG). Algeria comes at the head from the area MEDA in terms of “flow of investments”, underlines a study on the direct foreign investment in 2004 in area MEDA, of the euro-Mediterranean network of the agencies of promotion of the investments (Animated). The document specifies that the “very clear” recovery observed in 2004 is largely due to the sector of the energy. IDE however start to be extended to other fields that the Hydrocarbure S such as the Télécommunication S, the Tourisme, the Industrie, etc Autant of projects which make than today, note the document of Animated, Algeria becomes a destination for the IDE, in spite of a climate of investment which remains to be improved. The amount of the investments announced by the Mediterranean Investiment Project Observatory (MIPO) for Algeria is of 5,857 billion euros for 59 projects compared with 2,519 billion euros in 2003 per 31 projects. The Economic growth was obtained initially by the sector of the building and of public works (+ 7,1%), followed that of the hydrocarbons (+ 5,8%) and services (+ 5,6%), whereas the Agriculture has increases only by 1,9%.

Telecommunication

The network of the Telecommunications in Algeria east still little developed, and the inequality of the services according to the areas is very important. Apart from the residential areas of the north of Algeria, the network is still largely underdeveloped, and the fixed telephones, Ordinateur S there are very limited. Since 2000 with the privatization of the market of telecommunications, the sector is however in clear improvement. The market evolution of fixed telephone is however relatively stagnates and the access to Internet is still not very widespread in spite of the important deployment of new technologies (of which the network of Fiberoptic of 23.457 km). According to the the World Bank, in 2005, Algeria had on average 494 phone lines for 1.000 people and approximately 58 for users Internet. |}

Transport

Even if some Algerian areas remain still isolated because of the absence of road infrastructure, the Algerian Highway network remains densest of the African continent, its length is estimated at 108.302 km of roads (whose 76.028 km tarred) and more than 3.756 works of Article This network should be supplemented by an important section of 1.216 km which is in the process of realization, and which should in the long term connect the town of Annaba of the extreme Is to the town of Tlemcen in the extreme West. The railway network as for him is estimated at 4.200 km, it recently knows an electrification on the level of certain sections, which must lead without delay to the installation of trains at high speed which should connect the most important cities of the country. The opening expected for 2008 of the Subway of Algiers, length a 14 km and serving 16 stations, will make of Algiers the first city of the Maghreb to being equipped with a subway. For the port activity, it is mainly dominated by hydrocarbon exports. The first wearing of Algeria east by far that of Arzew, by which the greatest part of the oil exportations rough of Algeria forwards, and with an annual traffic of 40 million tons of cargoes. Algeria counts 35 Aéroport S, including 13 international. Most important is the Aéroport of Algiers with a capacity, since 2006, of 6 million passengers per annum. Air Algérie, the national Airline company, dominates as for it the market of air transport which counts since its opening to competition 8 other private companies.

Demography

See also: Demography of Algeria

Algeria counted 33,8 million inhabitants in January 2007 with an annual growth rate of 1,21%. Approximately 90% of the Algerians live on a little more than 10% of the territory, concentrated along the Mediterranean coasts. The average population density of the country of 14 habitants/km ² is thus misleading: it exceeds indeed the 100 habitants/km ² for the areas of north, principal populated areas of Algeria. About half of the Algerians has less than 19 years. The country knows also an important rate of emigration. France shelters the most important Algerian community, estimated abroad at 900.000 people, including nearly 450.000 binationaux. The rate of migration is however negative (- 0,33 ‰), because the rate of emigration is partly compensated by the Immigration of population come from the countries of the south. Algeria shelters in particular in the area of Tindouf nearly 165.000 refugees sahraouis having fled the the Sahara Occidental following the Moroccan invasion of 1975.

The Algerians are mainly of stocks Berber ( amazigh ), and the various waves of settlement made up of Phéniciens, Romains, Vandales, Byzantine and finally of Arab which followed one another until the first millenium of our era modified the ethnic composition of the population< little! -- y-a it not confusion between genetics and ethnic? -->. The Eastern Musulmans converted the whole of the Maghreb to the Islam at the 7th century and established there their religion and the Arab language, liturgical language. The Arab demographic contribution was significant in Algeria only as from the 11th century, in particular by the arrival of tribes of Hilaliens, estimated however at a few tens of thousands and approximately: 250000 on the whole of the Ifriqiya. Also according to these estimates, the principal very majority stock of the Algerians is berbère^, . The “invasions hilaliennes” were thus a mainly important factor in the linguistic Arabisation of the Berbérie. According to the historian Charles-Robert Ageron, in 1886, Algeria counted approximately 1,2 million berbérophones (Kabyles and others) against approximately 1,1 million “Arabs”. The more massive Arabisation of relatively recent Algeria east thus and especially accelerated, paradoxically, during French colonization between 1850 and 1950. Among the areas remained berbérophones, in particular because of their geographical enclavement (mountains, oasis) or monk, the Kabyles and the Chaouis are most numerous.

• Population: : 33800000 inhabitants according to ONS at January 1st 2007). 0  -   14 years: 27,2  %; 15  -   64 years: 67,9  %; +  65  years: 4,8  % (estimate 2007)
• Density: 13,9  hab. /km ²
• Life expectancy: 73,5  years (is. 2007) (76,1  years according to a report/ratio of the Algerian ministry of Health, September 2006)
• Life expectancy of the men: 71,9  years (is. 2007)
• Life expectancy of the women: 75,2  years (is. 2007)
• Growth rate the pop one: 1,21  % (is. 2007) (1,71  % in 2001)
• Birth rate: 17,11  ‰ (is. 2007)
• Death rate: 4,62  ‰ (is. 2007) (4,61  ‰ in 2004)
• infantile Death rate: 28,78  ‰ (in 2007)
• Fertility rate: 1,86 children/woman (is. 2007) (2,7 in 2001)
• Rate of migration: -0,33  ‰ (is. 2007) (- 0,37  ‰ in 2004)

Source: The CIA World Factbook.

• Index of human development (IDH): 104e on 177 in 2007

• Indicating of human poverty (IPH-1) (in 2007): 51e on 108 developing countries (IPH-1 of 21,5  %).

Culture

Rich person of the various contributions which compose it, the Algerian culture will have been worked by the various influences inherent in the geographical space to which Algeria belongs, and which makes of it a true crossroads of meetings between the cultures arabo-Islamic Berbère, , Méditerranéenne, African and Occidentale. However, although she asserts the whole of these influences, the Algerian culture is dissociated by a strong specificity, which finds its anchoring in the particular advance which characterizes the Histoire of Algeria compared to its under-area. In the radiation which it could have on the world, undoubtedly it is possible to quote of great names such as Saint Augustin, Juba II, the Emir Abdelkader, Ibn Badis or Kateb Yacine and Mohammed Dib.

Festivals

In Algeria, contrary to the majority of the Islamic country of tradition which adopted either the universal Weekend (Saturday/Sunday) or the arranged weekend (Friday/Saturday), was adopted into 1976 the days of Thursday and Friday. Algerian bank holidays are registered in the law n°63/278 July 26th 1963, modified and supplemented ordinances n°66/153 and n°68/149. However, other festivals not-official, Islamic, Berber or nationalist, are also celebrated. The four principal Berber festivals are: Yennayer (New year of the Berber Calendar, 12 January 13rd), Tafsut Imazighen (“Berber Spring”, April 20th), Amenzu N tfsut (July 27th), and Amenzu N tyerza (October 29th). Among the nationalist festivals are commemorated the massacres of Sétif of May 8th, 1945 or the date birthday of the Congrès of Soummam, held in 1956 and which organized the fight of the Algerians for their independence.

Religions

The Islam sunnite is the Religion of State, and the religion of 99  % of the Algerians. There would be also a little more than 0,1% of Christians (catholic and Protestant) in the country (figures of UNO for the year 2002) (see the article: Christianity in the Maghreb ). The catholic community Chrétienne is distributed in four Diocèse S: the Diocese of Oran, of Laghouat, the Archdiocese of Algiers and the diocese of Constantine (- Hippone). There exists also a community Juive of approximately 200 people, whereas it hoped nearly 130.000 people in 1962 (see the article: History of the Jews in Algeria ).

The Algerian Constitution guarantees to all the citizens a freedom of the Culte, and the State ensures protection of it. The Imam S, priest S and Rabbin S depend on the ministry for the Worships and are remunerated by the Algerian State. Freedom of worship is accompanied however by certain restrictions for the worships other than Islamic, in agreement with the statute of Islam like religion of State, the prohibition of the Prosélytisme or the obligation of an authorization to preach by the religious authority approved by the Algerian authorities.

The government contributes to the financing of the Mosquée S, the Imam S, and the study of Islam in the schools. The teaching of the Charia (laws of the Islamic religion) became since obligatory September 2005 in all the dies of the secondary. Moreover, the government, in a fight against the deviance extremist, intensified the control of school religious teaching, the sermons in the religious establishments and the prohibition of the distribution of religious works making the promotion of violence.

Language

See also: Languages of Algeria

The classical Arabic is the official language of the country, and since April 2002 the Berbère is recognized National language. In the everyday life, the Algerians Arabic-speaking people speak a Dialectical Arabic in general, the darija , differentiated enough from the classical Arabic compared to the vocabulary, but remaining rather near syntactically and grammatically. The darija preserved many words and Berber syntactic structures. The French is also extremely widespread: with nearly 16 million French-speaking speakers, Algeria is the second larger country French-speaking in the world after France.

French colonization had a certain linguistic influence. Indeed, certain words employed by the Algerians are of French origin, whereas these same words have their Berber or Arab equivalent, of use before the Colonisation of Algeria by France. Also since the Independence of Algeria, the Algerian government started a systematic policy of Arabisation of the country, consisting in imposing on the population, and in all the fields, the Classical Arabic with the contempt of the darija and the Berber one. The March 2nd 2006, forty-two French-speaking schools private were summoned by the president Bouteflika to conform to the law on the Arabisation and the program of state education in order to fight against this “linguistic drift”. This movement, which is sometimes in competition with the general tendency of opening of the Algerian population, is accompanied by the persistent refusal to grant the statute of official language to the Berber language, recognized national language.

Literature

See also: Algerian Literature

Algeria conceals, within its literary landscape, of great names having not only marked the Algerian literature but also the universal literary inheritance in three languages: Arabic, the Berber one and French. Among the greatest figures of this literature: Jean Amrouche, Mohammed Dib, Assia Djebar, Tahar Djaout, Mouloud Feraoun, Yasmina Khadra, Mouloud Mammeri, Jean Sénac and Kateb Yacine.

Music

See also: Algerian Music

The Algerian music is a perfect reflection of the great cultural diversity which characterizes this large country, the musical repertories are characterized by several styles such as the chaâbi, the Musique kabyle, the Musique chaouie, the Raï, the music terguie, as well as the universities of Andalusian music (Tlemcen for the hawzi, Algiers and Constantine for the Malouf) and more recently the Rock, or the Rap.

The modern music is declined under several facets (Raï, rap, Gnawa, rock'n'roll), these various styles of the modern song met a great success as well in Algeria as with the international scales, making known on the occasion a big number of Algerian singers among whom one can quote: Baaziz, Biyouna, Cheb Khaled, Idir, Cheb Hasni, Cheb Mami, Gnawa Diffusion, Lounès Matoub, Rachid Taha, Grooved spoke, Souad Massi, Warda Al Jazairia and others.

Appendices

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