Match 4 DB Rec# - 7,456 Dataset-WOFACT
Title :Algeria
Text :
Algeria
Geography
Location:
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and
Tunisia
Map references:
Africa
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
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
Coastline:
998 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone:
32-52 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
Libya claims part of southeastern Algeria; land boundary dispute with
Tunisia settled in 1993
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
Terrain:
mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous
coastal plain
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc
Land use:
arable land:
3%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
13%
forest and woodland:
2%
other:
82%
Irrigated land:
3,360 sq km (1989 est.)
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
Geography
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
Note:
second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)
People
Population:
28,539,321 (July 1995 est.)
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.)
Population growth rate:
2.25% (1995 est.)
Birth rate:
29.02 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate:
6.05 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate:
-0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
50.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
68.01 years
male:
66.94 years
female:
69.13 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate:
3.7 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Algerian(s)
adjective:
Algerian
Ethnic divisions:
Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
Religions:
Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%
Languages:
Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
57%
male:
70%
female:
46%
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)
Government
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
Digraph:
AG
Type:
republic
Capital:
Algiers
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
Independence:
5 July 1962 (from France)
National holiday:
Anniversary of the Revolution, 1 November (1954)
Constitution:
19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988 and 23
February 1989
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
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
Legislative branch:
unicameral; note - suspended since 1992
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
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Government
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
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
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Osmane BENCHERIF
chancery:
2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 265-2800
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
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)
Economy
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.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power parity - $97.1 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate:
0.2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita:
$3,480 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
30% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate:
30% (1994 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$14.3 billion
expenditures:
$17.9 billion (1995 est.)
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%
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%
External debt:
$26 billion (1994)
Industrial production:
growth rate NA%; accounts for 35% of GDP (including hydrocarbons)
Electricity:
capacity:
5,370,000 kW
production:
18.3 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
587 kWh (1993)
Industries:
petroleum, light industries, natural gas, mining, electrical, petrochemical,
food processing
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
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
Currency:
1 Algerian dinar (DA) = 100 centimes
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)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Transportation
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
Highways:
total:
95,576 km
paved:
concrete, bituminous 57,346 km
unpaved:
gravel, crushed stone, earth 38,230 km
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
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
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
Communications
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
Radio:
broadcast stations:
AM 26, FM 0, shortwave 0
radios:
5.2 million
Television:
broadcast stations:
18
televisions:
1.6 million
Defense Forces
Branches:
National Popular Army, Navy, Air Force, Territorial Air Defense, National
Gendarmerie
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.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $1.3 billion, 2.7% of GDP (1994)
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The printed version of this item can be found under the title:
The World Factbook 1995,
SuDoc No: PREX 3.15:995
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