1987 Edition

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

Coastline

998 km

Comparative area

more than three times the size of Texas

Environment

mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; desertification

Land boundaries

6,260 km total

Land use

3% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 13% meadows and pastures; 2% forest and woodland; 82% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Special notes

second largest country in Africa (after Sudan)

Terrain

mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

500 km Mediterranean See ALGIERS ‘Conatentine arn

2,381,740 km?; land area: 2,381,740 km?

Ethnic divisions

99% Arab-Berber, less than 1% European

Infant mortality rate

106/1,000 (1984)

Labor force

3.7 million (1984); 40% industry and commerce, 30% agriculture, 17% government, 10% services; at least 11% of urban Jabor unemployed

Language

Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects

Life expectancy

60

Literacy

52%

Nationality

noun—Algerian(s); adjective—Algerian Algeria (continued)

Organized labor

16-19% of labor force claimed; General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA) is the only labor organization and is subordinate to the National Liberation Front

Population

23,460,614 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 3.10%

Religion

99% Sunni Muslim (state religion); 1% Christian and Jewish

Administrative divisions

31 wilayas (departments or provinces); 160 dairat (administrative districts), 691 communes

Branches

executive; unicameral legislature (National People’s Assembly); judiciary

Capital

Algiers

Communists

400 (est.); Communist Party illegal (banned 1962)

Elections

presidential, 12 January 1984; departmental] assemblies, 2 June 1974; local assemblies, 30 March 1975; legislative, 5 March 1982 Political parties and leaders: National Liberation Front (FLN), Secretary General Chadli Bendiedid

Government leaders

Col. Chadli BENDJEDID, President (since February 1979); Abdelhamid BRAHIMI, Prime Minister (since January 1984)

Legal system

based on French and Islamic law, with socialist principles; new constitution adopted by referendum November 1976; judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of various public officials, including several Supreme Court justices; Supreme Court divided into four chambers; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Member of

AfDB, AIOEC, Arab League, ASSIMER, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB—Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, 1LO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, INTERPOL, IOOC, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO,

National holiday

Anniversary of the Revolution, 1 November

Official name

Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria

Suffrage

universal adult at age 18

Type

republic

Agriculture

wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits, dates, vegetables; sheep, cattle

Budget

$20 billion revenue, $20 billion expenditure (1984) Monetary conversion rate; 4.81 Algerian dinars=US$1 (November 1986)

Crude steel

842,000 metric tons produced (1982)

Electric power

3,148,000 kW capacity; 12,410 million kWh produced, 540 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$7.0 billion (f.0.b., 1986); petroleum and gas account for 98.0% of exports; US 39.0%, France 23.0% (1984)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

$57 billion (1985 est.), $2,420 per capita; inflation rate about 15% (1986)

Imports

$6.0 billion (f.0.b., 1986); major items—capital goods 35.0%, semifinished goods 25.0%, foodstuffs 18.0%; France 25.7%, US 6.0%

Major industries

petroleum, light industries, natural gas, mining, petrochemical, electrical, automotive plants (under construction), and food processing

Major trade partners

US, FRG, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Canada

Natural resources

crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc, mercury

Airfields

154 total, 146 usable; 55 with permanent-surface runways; 28 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 74 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

40 major transport aircraft

Highways

80,000 km total; 60,000 km concrete or bituminous, 20,000 km gravel, crushed stone, unimproved earth

Pipelines

crude oil, 6,612 km; refined products, 298 km; natural gas, 2,948 km

Ports

6 major, 6 secondary, 11 minor

Railroads

4,146 km total; 2,632 km standard gauge (1.435 m), 1,258 km 1.055meter gauge, 256 km 1.000-meter gauge; 300 km electrified; 345 km double track

Telecommunications

17 AM, 0 FM, and 1 TV stations; 1,445,000 TV sets; 3,500,000 receiver sets; 1 satellite ground station

Branches

Armed Forces, Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie

Military manpower

males 15-49, 5,257,000; 3,249,000 fit for military service; 269,000 reach military age (19) annually