Algeria Facts

by countryaah · Published June 3, 2019 · Updated April 25, 2020

Algeria, Republic of North Africa; 2.4 million km², 42.2 million residents (2019).Algeria borders in the east to Tunisia and Libya, in the southeast to Niger, in the southwest to Mali and Mauritania and in the west to Western Sahara and Morocco and to the north coast to the Mediterranean. The capital is Alger (2.2 million residents, 2010).

Country facts

Official Name: al-Jumhūrīya al-Jazā’irīya ad-Dīmuqrātiyah / Democratic People’s Republic of Algeria
Country abbreviation: DZ
Area: 2 400 000 km²
Population (2019): 42.2 million residents
Capital: Algiers
Main language: Arabic
State: Republic
Head of State: Abdelmadjid Tebboune (President)
Head of Government: Noureddine Bedoui
Per capita GDP (2018): US $ 4,279
GNI per capita (2018): US $ 4,060
Currency unit: 1 dinar = 100 centimes
Currency code: DZD
Country number (telephony): 213
Internet domain name: dz
Time difference compared to Sweden: 0
National Day: November 1 (Revolution, 1954)
Independence Day: July 5, 1962

Nature

Land use: forest (1.6%), agricultural land (3.4%), other (mainly desert, 95%)
Highest mountain: Tahat (2,918 m above sea level)

Population

Population density (2019): 18 residents per km²
Natural population growth (2019): 2.0%; birthrate 25 ‰, death count 5 ‰
Age structure (2019): 0-14 years (30%), 15-64 years (64%), 65- (6%)
Life expectancy (2019): men 77 years, women 78 years
Infant mortality (2019): 21 per 1,000 live births
Population forecast 2050: 61 million residents
HDI (2017): 0.754 (place 85 of 188)
Urbanization rate (2019): 73%
Most populous cities (2010): Algiers (2.2 million residents), Oran (678,300 residents), Constantine (460,100)

Business

Industry’s contribution to GDP (2017): agriculture (13%), industry (39%), service (48%)
Exports (2017): US $ 34 370 million
Main export products: oil, natural gas, oil products
Main exporting countries: Italy, Spain, France
Imports (2017): US $ 48,540 million
Main import products: capital goods, food
Main importing countries: China, France, Italy
Railway network (2014): 3,970 km

Algeria is crossed in the north by the Atlas Mountains. The rest of the country (about 85 percent) is occupied by the Sahara. The coastal plain is narrow, and the mountains often slope steeply towards the Mediterranean. The Atlas area has a Mediterranean climate with rain in December – March, while the south south climate is more continental. Sahara has very high temperatures in summer.

The country’s president is the head of state and commander-in-chief. The president has great power and is elected for five years. The country became independent in 1962.

The Berbers, the indigenous people of the country, according to their own data make up more than a quarter of the population. According to official calculations, this figure is only one-sixth. The population is concentrated in the coastal areas, and about 95 percent of the population lives on just over 10 percent of the country’s area.

Oil and gas extraction is Algeria’s economic base; this sector accounts for one third of GDP and just over 95 per cent of export revenues. Efforts to broaden the economy have been made, but the great dependence on oil and gas remains.