Algeria Beachfront Hotels and Desert Lodging

Algeria

OFFICIAL NAME:
People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
Geography
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia.
Area: Total--2,381,740 sq. km. Land--2,381,740 sq. km.; water--0 sq. km. More than three times the size of Texas.
Cities: Capital--Algiers; Oran, Constantine, Annaba.
Terrain: Mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain. Mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes, mud slides.
Climate: Arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; a hot, dust/sand-laden wind called sirocco is especially common in summer.
Land use: Arable land--3%; permanent crops--0%, permanent pastures--13%; forests and woodland--2%.

People
Nationality: Noun--Algerian(s); adjective--Algerian.
Population (2007 est.): 33,333,216.
Annual growth rate (2007 est.): 1.22%. Birth rate (2007 est.)--17.11 births/1,000 population; death rate (2007 est.)--4.62 deaths/1,000 population.
Ethnic groups: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%.
Religions: Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%.
Languages: Arabic (official), Berber (national language), French.
Education: Literacy (age 15 and over can read and write)--total population 70% (2004 est.); female 60% (2004 est.).
Health (2007 est.): Infant mortality rate--28.78 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy at birth--total population, 73.52 years; male 71.91 years, female 75.21 years.
Work force (2006): 9.31 million.
Unemployment rate (2006 est.): 23%; Algerian Government estimates 13%.

Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: July 5, 1962 (from France).
Constitution: September 8, 1963; revised November 19, 1976, November 3, 1988, February 23, 1989, and November 28, 1996.
Branches: Legal system 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; Algeria has not accepted compulsory International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction.
Administrative divisions: 48 provinces (wilayates; singular, wilaya).
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal.
National holiday: Independence Day, July 5, 1962; Revolution Day, November 1, 1954.
Major parties represented in parliament: National Liberation Front (FLN), National Democratic Rally (RND), Movement for National Reform (MRN), Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), Workers' Party (PT), Algerian National Front (FNA), Islamic Renaissance Movement (MNI), Party of Algerian Renewal (PRA), Movement of National Understanding (MEN).

Economy
GDP (2006): $92.22 billion.
GDP growth rate (2006): 5.6%.
Per capita GDP (PPP, 2006): $7,777.
Agriculture: Products--wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle.
Industry: Types--petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing, pharmaceuticals, cement, seawater desalination.
Sector Information as % GDP (2006): Agriculture 9.4%, services 32.5%, industry 58.1%.
Monetary unit: Algerian dinar.
Inflation, GDP deflator (2004): 10.2%.
Trade: Exports (f.o.b., 2006 est.)--$55.6 billion: petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97.52%. Partners (2005 est.)--U.S. 23.5%, Italy 16.7%, France 11.4%, Spain 11.25%. Imports (f.o.b., 2006 est.)--$27.6 billion: capital goods, food and beverages, consumer goods. Partners (2005)--France 28%, Italy 7.8%, Germany 6.3%, U.S. 5.4%, China 6.6%, Spain 7.2%.
Budget (2006 est.): Revenues--$59.26 billion; expenditures--$49.14 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.8 billion.
Debt (external, 2006 est.): $5 billion.
U.S. economic assistance (2005 est.): $4.40 million (MEPI, IMET).

GEOGRAPHY
Algeria, the second-largest state in Africa, has a Mediterranean coastline of about 998 kilometers (620 mi.). The Tellian and Saharan Atlas mountain ranges cross the country from east to west, dividing it into three zones. Between the northern zone, Tellian Atlas, and the Mediterranean is a narrow, fertile coastal plain--the Tell (Arabic for hill)--with a moderate climate year round and rainfall adequate for agriculture. A high plateau region, averaging 914 meters (3,000 ft.) above sea level, with limited rainfall, great rocky plains, and desert, lies between the two mountain ranges. It is generally barren except for scattered clumps of trees and intermittent bush and pastureland. The third and largest zone, south of the Saharan Atlas mountain range, is mostly desert. About 80% of the country is desert, steppes, wasteland, and mountains. Algeria's weather varies considerably from season to season and from one geographical location to another. In the north, the summers are usually hot with little rainfall. Winter rains begin in the north in October. Frost and snow are rare, except on the highest slopes of the Tellian Atlas Mountains. Dust and sandstorms occur most frequently between February and May.

Soil erosion--from overgrazing, other poor farming practices, and desertification--and the dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents are leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters. The Mediterranean Sea, in particular, is becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff. There are inadequate supplies of potable water.

PEOPLE
Ninety-one percent of the Algerian population lives along the Mediterranean coast on 12% of the country's total land mass. Forty-five percent of the population is urban, and urbanization continues, despite government efforts to discourage migration to the cities. About 1.5 million nomads and semi-settled Bedouin still live in the Saharan area.

Nearly all Algerians are Muslim, of Arab, Berber, or mixed Arab-Berber stock. Official data on the number of non-Muslim residents is not available; however, practitioners report it to be less than 5,000. Most of the non-Muslim community is comprised of Methodist, Roman Catholic and Evangelical faiths; the Jewish community is virtually non-existent. There are about 1,100 American citizens in the country, the majority of whom live and work in the oil/gas fields in the south.

Algeria's educational system has grown dramatically since the country gained its independence. In the last 12 years, attendance has doubled to more than 5 million students. Education is free and compulsory to age 16. Despite government allocation of substantial educational resources, population pressures and a serious shortage of teachers have severely strained the system. Modest numbers of Algerian students study abroad, primarily in Europe and Canada. In 2000, the government launched a major review of the country's educational system and in 2004 efforts to reform the educational system began.

Housing and medicine continue to be pressing problems in Algeria. Failing infrastructure and the continued influx of people from rural to urban areas have overtaxed both systems. According to the United Nations Development Program, Algeria has one of the world's highest per housing unit occupancy rates, and government officials have publicly stated that the country has an immediate shortfall of 1.5 million housing units.