1988 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

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 labor unemployed

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

Language

Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects

Life expectancy

60

Literacy

52%

Member of

CEMA, FAO, IAEA, IPU, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO; has not participated in CEMA since rift with USSR in 1961; officially withdrew from Warsaw Pact 13 September 1968

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

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

2,381,740 km2; land area: 2,381,740 km2

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 Bendjedid

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, IDE— Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, INTERPOL, IOOC, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, QIC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

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

corn, wheat, potatoes, tobacco, sugar beets, cotton

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

Budget

revenues $2.24 billion, expenditures $2.23 billion; state investment $1.1 billion (1986)

$20 billion revenue, $20 billion expenditure (1984)

Crude steel

842,000 metric tons produced (1982)

Electric power

1,840,000 kW capacity; 4,900 million kWh produced, 1,610 kWh per capita (1986)

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

Exports

$345 million (1985 est); asphalt, bitumen, petroleum products, metals and metallic ores, electricity, oil, vegetables, fruits, and tobacco

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

Fiscal year

calendar year

calendar year

GDP

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

GNP

$2.7-2.9 billion (1986); about $930 per capita (1986)

Imports

$335 million (1985 est.); machinery, machine tools, iron and steel products, textiles, chemicals, Pharmaceuticals

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

Major industries

agricultural products and processing, textiles and clothing, lumber, and extractive industries (chrome and oil)

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

Major trade partners

exports — Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Italy, Poland, France; imports — Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, FRG, Romania, Poland, Italy, Greece, France

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

Monetary conversion rate

4.14 leks=US$l (1986)

4.81 Algerian dinars=US$l (November 1986)

Natural resources

oil, gas, coal, chromium

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

Shortages

spare parts, machinery and equipment, some food products and consumer goods

Airfields

10 total; 6 with runways 2,500 m or longer

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

Branches

Albanian People's Army, Frontier Troops, Interior Troops, Albanian Coastal Defense Command, Air and Air Defense Force

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

Civil air

none

40 major transport aircraft

Freight carried

total freight— 85.75 million metric tons; 1.946 billion metric tons/km; highways 1.298 billion metric tons/km; railways 618.8 million metric tons/km; internal waterways 29.2 million metric tons/km (1983)

Highways

4,989 km total; 1,287 km paved, 1,609 km crushed stone and/or gravel, 2,093 km improved or unimproved earth (1975)

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

Inland waterways

43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1979)

Military budget

announced for fiscal year ending 31 December 1986, 1 billion leks; 10.6% of total budget Mediterranean Sea Set rt|ioiul mip VII

Military manpower

males 15-49, 830,000; 687,000 fit for military service; 34,000 reach military age (19) annually

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

Pipelines

crude oil, 117 km; refined products, 65 km; natural gas, 64 km

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

Ports

1 major (Durre's), 3 minor

6 major, 6 secondary, 1 1 minor

Railroads

437 km— 425 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track, government owned; 12 km narrow gauge, single track (1986); line connecting Titograd (Yugoslavia) and Shkoder (Albania) completed August 1986

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

14 AM, 4 FM, 9 TV stations; 50,000 TV sets; 210,000 receiver sets Defense Forces

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