1995 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1995 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 2,381,740 sq km land area: 2,381,740 sq km comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas
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
Environment
current 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 natural hazards: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
International disputes
Libya claims part of southeastern Algeria; land boundary dispute with Tunisia settled in 1993
Irrigated land
3,360 sq km (1989 est.)
Land boundaries
total 6,343 km, Libya 982 km, Mali 1,376 km, Mauritania 463 km, Morocco 1,559 km, Niger 956 km, Tunisia 965 km, Western Sahara 42 km
Land use
arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 13% forest and woodland: 2% other: 82%
Location
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
Map references
Africa
Maritime claims
exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc
Note
second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)
Terrain
mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 41% (female 5,678,879; male 5,885,246) 15-64 years: 56% (female 7,887,885; male 8,033,508) 65 years and over: 3% (female 557,636; male 496,167) (July 1995 est.)
Birth rate
29.02 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate
6.05 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
Infant mortality rate
50.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Labor force
6.2 million (1992 est.) by occupation: government 29.5%, agriculture 22%, construction and public works 16.2%, industry 13.6%, commerce and services 13.5%, transportation and communication 5.2% (1989)
Languages
Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 68.01 years male: 66.94 years female: 69.13 years (1995 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 57% male: 70% female: 46%
Nationality
noun: Algerian(s) adjective: Algerian
Net migration rate
-0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Population
28,539,321 (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate
2.25% (1995 est.)
Religions
Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%
Total fertility rate
3.7 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
48 provinces (wilayas, singular - wilaya); Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba, Batna, Bechar, Bejaia, Biskra, Blida, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira, Boumerdes, Chlef, Constantine, Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Oued, El Tarf, Ghardaia, Guelma, Illizi, Jijel, Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara, Medea, Mila, Mostaganem, M'Sila, Naama, Oran, Ouargla, Oum el Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Souk Ahras, Tamanghasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen
Capital
Algiers
Constitution
19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988 and 23 February 1989
Digraph
AG
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Osmane BENCHERIF chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800
Executive branch
chief of state: President Lamine ZEROUAL (since 31 January 1994); next election to be held by the end of 1995 head of government: Prime Minister Mokdad SIFI (since 11 April 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister
FAX
[213] (2) 69-39-79 consulate(s): none (Oran closed June 1993)
Flag
two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white with a red five-pointed star within a red crescent; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state religion)
Independence
5 July 1962 (from France)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
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
Legislative branch
unicameral; note - suspended since 1992
Member of
ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Names
conventional long form: Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria conventional short form: Algeria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Shabiyah local short form: Al Jaza'ir
National holiday
Anniversary of the Revolution, 1 November (1954)
National People's Assembly (Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani)
elections first round held on 26 December 1991 (second round canceled by the military after President BENDJEDID resigned 11 January 1992, effectively suspending the Assembly); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (281 total); the fundamentalist FIS won 188 of the 231 seats contested in the first round; note - elections (provincial and municipal) were held in June 1990, the first in Algerian history; results - FIS 55%, FLN 27.5%, other 17.5%, with 65% of the voters participating
Political parties and leaders
Islamic Salvation Front (FIS, outlawed April 1992), Ali BELHADJ, Dr. Abassi MADANI, Abdelkader HACHANI (all under arrest), Rabeh KEBIR (self-exile in Germany); National Liberation Front (FLN), Abdelhamid MEHRI, Secretary General; Socialist Forces Front (FFS), Hocine Ait AHMED, Secretary General note: the government established a multiparty system in September 1989 and, as of 31 December 1990, over 50 legal parties existed
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Type
republic
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald E. NEUMANN embassy: 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers mailing address: B. P. Box 549, Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers telephone: [213] (2) 69-11-86, 69-18-54, 69-38-75
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 12% of GDP (1993) and employs 22% of labor force; products- wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits, sheep, cattle; net importer of food - grain, vegetable oil, sugar
Budget
revenues: $14.3 billion expenditures: $17.9 billion (1995 est.)
Currency
1 Algerian dinar (DA) = 100 centimes
Economic aid
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-85), $1.4 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $925 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $1.8 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $2.7 billion; net official disbursements (1985-89), $375 million
Electricity
capacity: 5,370,000 kW production: 18.3 billion kWh consumption per capita: 587 kWh (1993)
Exchange rates
Algerian dinars (DA) per US$1 - 42.710 (January 1995), 35.059 (1994), 23.345 (1993), 21.836 (1992), 18.473 (1991), 8.958 (1990)
Exports
$9.1 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: petroleum and natural gas 97% partners: Italy 21%, France 16%, US 14%, Germany 13%, Spain 9%
External debt
$26 billion (1994)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Imports
$9.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: capital goods 39.7%, food and beverages 21.7%, consumer goods 11.8% (1990) partners: France 29%, Italy 14%, Spain 9%, US 9%, Germany 7%
Industrial production
growth rate NA%; accounts for 35% of GDP (including hydrocarbons)
Industries
petroleum, light industries, natural gas, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
30% (1994 est.)
National product
GDP - purchasing power parity - $97.1 billion (1994 est.)
National product per capita
$3,480 (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate
0.2% (1994 est.)
Overview
The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 57% of government revenues, 25% of GDP, and almost all export earnings; Algeria has the fifth largest reserves of natural gas in the world and ranks fourteenth for oil. Algiers' efforts to reform one of the most centrally planned economies in the Arab world began after the 1986 collapse of world oil prices plunged the country into a severe recession. In 1989, the government launched a comprehensive, IMF-supported program to achieve macroeconomic stabilization and to introduce market mechanisms into the economy. Despite substantial progress toward macroeconomic adjustment, in 1992 the reform drive stalled as Algiers became embroiled in political turmoil. In September 1993, a new government was formed, and one priority was the resumption and acceleration of the structural adjustment process. Buffeted by the slump in world oil prices and burdened with a heavy foreign debt, Algiers concluded a one-year standby arrangement with the IMF in April 1994.
Unemployment rate
30% (1994 est.)
Communications
Radio
broadcast stations: AM 26, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: 5.2 million
Telephone system
822,000 telephones; excellent domestic and international service in the north, sparse in the south local: NA intercity: 12 domestic satellite links; 20 additional satellite links are planned international: 5 submarine cables; microwave radio relay to Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia; coaxial cable to Morocco and Tunisia; 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik, 1 ARABSAT earth station
Television
broadcast stations: 18 televisions: 1.6 million
Transportation
Airports
total: 139 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 9 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 5 with paved runways under 914 m: 20 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 24 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 41
Highways
total: 95,576 km paved: concrete, bituminous 57,346 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, earth 38,230 km
Merchant marine
total: 75 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 903,179 GRT/1,064,211 DWT ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 27, chemical tanker 7, liquefied gas tanker 9, oil tanker 5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 12, short-sea passenger 5, specialized tanker 1
Pipelines
crude oil 6,612 km; petroleum products 298 km; natural gas 2,948 km
Ports
Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Beni Saf, Dellys, Djendjene, Ghazaouet, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda, Tenes
Railroads
total: 4,733 km standard gauge: 3,576 km 1.435-m gauge (299 km electrified; 215 km double track) narrow gauge: 1,157 km 1.055-m gauge
Military and Security
Branches
National Popular Army, Navy, Air Force, Territorial Air Defense, National Gendarmerie
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $1.3 billion, 2.7% of GDP (1994) ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN SAMOA (territory of the US)
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 7,124,894; males fit for military service 4,373,272; males reach military age (19) annually 313,707 (1995 est.)