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Africa :: Algeria Print
Page last updated on January 02, 2019
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Africa :: Algeria Print
Flag Description
two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white; a red, 5-pointed star within a red crescent centered over the two-color boundary; the colors represent Islam (green), purity and peace (white), and liberty (red); the crescent and star are also Islamic symbols, but the crescent is more closed than those of other Muslim countries because Algerians believe the long crescent horns bring happiness
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Africa :: Algeria Print
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Africa :: Algeria
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A beach used by tourists west of Algiers.
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Algiers on the Mediterranean coast.
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A beach west of Algiers.
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The modern city of Algiers lies near the Mediterranean coast, while the older city is on a steep hill crowned by the Casbah, or Citadel. This view is of a typical Casbah stairway.
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An ornate doorway in the Algiers Casbah.
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Algiers rooftop view.
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Satellite dishes are ubiquitous in Algiers.
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Algiers rooftop view of the Mediterranean.
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The Issaouane Erg (sand sea) is located in eastern Algeria. Ergs are vast areas of moving sand with little to no vegetation cover. The most common landforms in the image are star dunes and barchan (or crescent) dunes. Star dunes are formed when sand is transported from variable wind directions, whereas barchan dunes form in a single dominant wind regime. Occasional precipitation fills basins formed by the dunes; as the water evaporates, salt deposits are left behind which appear as bluish-white areas. Image courtesy of NASA.
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10 / 21
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What look like pale yellow paint streaks slashing through a mosaic of mottled colors are ridges of wind-blown sand that make up Erg Iguidi, an area of ever-shifting sand dunes extending from Algeria into Mauritania. Erg Iguidi is one of several Saharan ergs, or sand seas, where individual dunes often surpass 500 m - nearly a third of a mile - in both width and height. The center and upper right of the enhanced satellite image is black sandstone rock. The light blue and white areas are chalky deposits and salt crusts left behind after water in the area evaporated. Image courtesy of USGS.
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Sahara dunes at sunset.
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Sahara dunes at sunset.
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Sahara dunes at sunset.
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Trekking through the desert.
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The oasis ksar (Berber village) of Beni Abbes. The site was first inhabited in the 12th century by a tribe from Mauritania. The town today has an old part made up of semi-attached houses, granaries, mosques, baths, ovens, and shops, and a new part with a research center composed of a museum, zoo, and botanical garden. The old part has been largely uninhabited for decades, but enough remains to give a good representation of traditional desert architecture.
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Another view of the oasis village of Beni Abbes.
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The oasis village of Taghit in the Sahara is known for its surrounding massive dunes. The oasis waters may be seen in the foreground. The site is southwest of Algiers, about 200 km (120 mi) from Beni Abbes.
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The oasis village of Taghit in the Sahara.
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The oasis village of Taghit in the Sahara.
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Mountains of sand loom over the oasis village of Taghit in the Sahara.
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Dunes encroaching on an oasis.
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- Introduction :: Algeria
- Background: This entry usually highlights major historic events and current issues and may include a statement about one or two key future trends.

  After more than a century of rule by France, Algerians fought through much of the 1950s to achieve independence in 1962. Algeria's primary political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), was established in 1954 as part of the struggle for independence and has since largely dominated politics. The Government of Algeria in 1988 instituted a multi-party system in response to public unrest, but the surprising first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the December 1991 legislative elections led the Algerian army to intervene and postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming power. The army began a crackdown on the FIS that spurred FIS supporters to begin attacking government targets. Fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense violence from 1992-98, resulting in over 100,000 deaths - many attributed to indiscriminate massacres of villagers by extremists. The government gained the upper hand by the late-1990s, and FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000.

  Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA, with the backing of the military, won the presidency in 1999 in an election that was boycotted by several candidates protesting alleged fraud, and won subsequent elections in 2004, 2009, and 2014. The government in 2011 introduced some political reforms in response to the Arab Spring, including lifting the 19-year-old state of emergency restrictions and increasing women's quotas for elected assemblies, while also increasing subsidies to the populace. Since 2014, Algeria’s reliance on hydrocarbon revenues to fund the government and finance the large subsidies for the population has fallen under stress because of declining oil prices. As of December 2018, the country planned to hold its next presidential elections in late spring 2019.

- Geography :: Algeria
- Location: This entry identifies the country's regional location, neighboring countries, and adjacent bodies of water.
  Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
  Geographic coordinates: This entry includes rounded latitude and longitude figures for the centroid or center point of a country expressed in degrees and minutes; it is based on the locations provided in the Geographic Names Server (GNS), maintained by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on behalf of the US Board on Geographic Names.
  28 00 N, 3 00 E
  Map references: This entry includes the name of the Factbook reference map on which a country may be found. Note that boundary representations on these maps are not necessarily authoritative. The entry on Geographic coordinates may be helpful in finding some smaller countries.
  Africa
  Area: This entry includes three subfields. Total area is the sum of all land and water areas delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines. Land area is the aggregate of all surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines, excluding inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers). Water area is the sum of the surfaces of all inland water bodies, such as lakes, reservoirs, or rivers, as delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines.
  total: 2,381,740 sq km
  land: 2,381,740 sq km
  water: 0 sq km
  country comparison to the world: 11
  Area - comparative: This entry provides an area comparison based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states based on area measurements (1990 revised) provided by the US Bureau of the Census. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres).
  slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas
  Land boundaries: This entry contains the total length of all land boundaries and the individual lengths for each of the contiguous border countries. When available, official lengths published by national statistical agencies are used. Because surveying methods may differ, country border lengths reported by contiguous countries may differ.
  total: 6,734 km
  border countries (7): Libya 989 km, Mali 1359 km, Mauritania 460 km, Morocco 1900 km, Niger 951 km, Tunisia 1034 km, Western Sahara 41 km
  Coastline: This entry gives the total length of the boundary between the land area (including islands) and the sea.
  998 km
  Maritime claims: This entry includes the following claims, the definitions of which are excerpted from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which alone contains the full and definitive descriptions: territorial sea - the sovereignty of a coastal state extends beyond its land territory and internal waters to an adjacent belt of sea, described as the territorial sea in the UNCLOS (Part II); this sovereignty extends to the air space over the territorial sea as well as its . . . more
  territorial sea: 12 nm
  exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm
  Climate: This entry includes a brief description of typical weather regimes throughout the year.
  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: This entry contains a brief description of the topography.
  mostly high plateau and desert; Atlas Mountains in the far north and Hoggar Mountains in the south; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
  Elevation: This entry includes both the mean elevation and the elevation extremes.
  mean elevation: 800 m
  elevation extremes: -40 m lowest point: Chott Melrhir
  2908 highest point: Tahat
  Natural resources: This entry lists a country's mineral, petroleum, hydropower, and other resources of commercial importance, such as rare earth elements (REEs). In general, products appear only if they make a significant contribution to the economy, or are likely to do so in the future.
  petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc
  Land use: This entry contains the percentage shares of total land area for three different types of land use: agricultural land, forest, and other; agricultural land is further divided into arable land - land cultivated for crops like wheat, maize, and rice that are replanted after each harvest, permanent crops - land cultivated for crops like citrus, coffee, and rubber that are not replanted after each harvest, and includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees, and vines, and permane . . . more
  agricultural land: 17.4% (2014 est.)
  arable land: 18.02% (2014 est.) / permanent crops: 2.34% (2014 est.) / permanent pasture: 79.63% (2014 est.)
  forest: 0.82% (2014 est.)
  other: 81.8% (2014 est.)
  Irrigated land: This entry gives the number of square kilometers of land area that is artificially supplied with water.
  13,600 sq km (2014)
  Population distribution: This entry provides a summary description of the population dispersion within a country. While it may suggest population density, it does not provide density figures.
  the vast majority of the populace is found in the extreme northern part of the country along the Mediterranean Coast
  Natural hazards: This entry lists potential natural disasters. For countries where volcanic activity is common, a volcanism subfield highlights historically active volcanoes.
  mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season; droughts
  Environment - current issues: This entry lists the most pressing and important environmental problems. The following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry: Acidification - the lowering of soil and water pH due to acid precipitation and deposition usually through precipitation; this process disrupts ecosystem nutrient flows and may kill freshwater fish and plants dependent on more neutral or alkaline conditions (see acid rain). Acid rain - characterized as containing harmful levels of sulfur dioxi . . . more
  air pollution in major cities; 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
  Environment - international agreements: This entry separates country participation in international environmental agreements into two levels - party to and signed, but not ratified. Agreements are listed in alphabetical order by the abbreviated form of the full name.
  party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
  signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
  Geography - note: This entry includes miscellaneous geographic information of significance not included elsewhere.
  largest country in Africa but 80% desert; canyons and caves in the southern Hoggar Mountains and in the barren Tassili n'Ajjer area in the southeast of the country contain numerous examples of prehistoric art - rock paintings and carvings depicting human activities and wild and domestic animals (elephants, giraffes, cattle) - that date to the African Humid Period, roughly 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, when the region was completely vegetated
- People and Society :: Algeria
- Population: This entry gives an estimate from the US Bureau of the Census based on statistics from population censuses, vital statistics registration systems, or sample surveys pertaining to the recent past and on assumptions about future trends. The total population presents one overall measure of the potential impact of the country on the world and within its region. Note: Starting with the 1993 Factbook, demographic estimates for some countries (mostly African) have explicitly taken into account t . . . more
  41,657,488 (July 2018 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 34
  Nationality: This entry provides the identifying terms for citizens - noun and adjective.
  noun: Algerian(s)
  adjective: Algerian
  Ethnic groups: This entry provides an ordered listing of ethnic groups starting with the largest and normally includes the percent of total population.
  Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%

  note: although almost all Algerians are Berber in origin (not Arab), only a minority identify themselves as Berber, about 15% of the total population; these people live mostly in the mountainous region of Kabylie east of Algiers; the Berbers are also Muslim but identify with their Berber rather than Arab cultural heritage; Berbers have long agitated, sometimes violently, for autonomy; the government is unlikely to grant autonomy but has officially recognized Berber languages and introduced them into public schools

  Languages: This entry provides a listing of languages spoken in each country and specifies any that are official national or regional languages. When data is available, the languages spoken in each country are broken down according to the percent of the total population speaking each language as a first language. For those countries without available data, languages are listed in rank order based on prevalence, starting with the most-spoken language.
  Arabic (official), French (lingua franca), Berber or Tamazight (official); dialects include Kabyle Berber (Taqbaylit), Shawiya Berber (Tacawit), Mzab Berber, Tuareg Berber (Tamahaq)
  Religions: This entry is an ordered listing of religions by adherents starting with the largest group and sometimes includes the percent of total population. The core characteristics and beliefs of the world's major religions are described below. Baha'i - Founded by Mirza Husayn-Ali (known as Baha'u'llah) in Iran in 1852, Baha'i faith emphasizes monotheism and believes in one eternal transcendent God. Its guiding focus is to encourage the unity of all peoples on the earth so that justice and peace m . . . more
  Muslim (official; predominantly Sunni) 99%, other (includes Christian and Jewish) <1% (2012 est.)
  Demographic profile: This entry describes a country’s key demographic features and trends and how they vary among regional, ethnic, and socioeconomic sub-populations. Some of the topics addressed are population age structure, fertility, health, mortality, poverty, education, and migration.

  For the first two thirds of the 20th century, Algeria's high fertility rate caused its population to grow rapidly. However, about a decade after independence from France in 1962, the total fertility rate fell dramatically from 7 children per woman in the 1970s to about 2.4 in 2000, slowing Algeria's population growth rate by the late 1980s. The lower fertility rate was mainly the result of women's rising age at first marriage (virtually all Algerian children being born in wedlock) and to a lesser extent the wider use of contraceptives. Later marriages and a preference for smaller families are attributed to increases in women's education and participation in the labor market; higher unemployment; and a shortage of housing forcing multiple generations to live together. The average woman's age at first marriage increased from about 19 in the mid-1950s to 24 in the mid-1970s to 30.5 in the late 1990s.

  Algeria's fertility rate experienced an unexpected upturn in the early 2000s, as the average woman's age at first marriage dropped slightly. The reversal in fertility could represent a temporary fluctuation in marriage age or, less likely, a decrease in the steady rate of contraceptive use.

  Thousands of Algerian peasants - mainly Berber men from the Kabylia region - faced with land dispossession and economic hardship under French rule migrated temporarily to France to work in manufacturing and mining during the first half of the 20th century. This movement accelerated during World War I, when Algerians filled in for French factory workers or served as soldiers. In the years following independence, low-skilled Algerian workers and Algerians who had supported the French (known as Harkis) emigrated en masse to France. Tighter French immigration rules and Algiers' decision to cease managing labor migration to France in the 1970s limited legal emigration largely to family reunification.

  Not until Algeria's civil war in the 1990s did the country again experience substantial outmigration. Many Algerians legally entered Tunisia without visas claiming to be tourists and then stayed as workers. Other Algerians headed to Europe seeking asylum, although France imposed restrictions. Sub-Saharan African migrants came to Algeria after its civil war to work in agriculture and mining. In the 2000s, a wave of educated Algerians went abroad seeking skilled jobs in a wider range of destinations, increasing their presence in North America and Spain. At the same time, legal foreign workers principally from China and Egypt came to work in Algeria's construction and oil sectors. Illegal migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Malians, Nigeriens, and Gambians, continue to come to Algeria in search of work or to use it as a stepping stone to Libya and Europe.

  Since 1975, Algeria also has been the main recipient of Sahrawi refugees from the ongoing conflict in Western Sahara. More than 1000,000 Sahrawis are estimated to be living in five refugee camps in southwestern Algeria near Tindouf.

  Age structure: This entry provides the distribution of the population according to age. Information is included by sex and age group as follows: 0-14 years (children), 15-24 years (early working age), 25-54 years (prime working age), 55-64 years (mature working age), 65 years and over (elderly). The age structure of a population affects a nation's key socioeconomic issues. Countries with young populations (high percentage under age 15) need to invest more in schools, while countries with older population . . . more
  0-14 years: 29.49% (male 6,290,619 /female 5,993,733)
  15-24 years: 14.72% (male 3,137,975 /female 2,994,056)
  25-54 years: 42.97% (male 9,067,597 /female 8,833,238)
  55-64 years: 7.01% (male 1,472,527 /female 1,446,083)
  65 years and over: 5.81% (male 1,133,852 /female 1,287,808) (2018 est.)
  population pyramid:
  The World Factbook Field Image Modal
  Africa :: Algeria Print
  Image Description
  This is the population pyramid for Algeria. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
  For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
  Dependency ratios: Dependency ratios are a measure of the age structure of a population. They relate the number of individuals that are likely to be economically "dependent" on the support of others. Dependency ratios contrast the ratio of youths (ages 0-14) and the elderly (ages 65+) to the number of those in the working-age group (ages 15-64). Changes in the dependency ratio provide an indication of potential social support requirements resulting from changes in population age structures. As fertility lev . . . more
  total dependency ratio: 52.7 (2015 est.)
  youth dependency ratio: 43.8 (2015 est.)
  elderly dependency ratio: 9 (2015 est.)
  potential support ratio: 11.2 (2015 est.)
  Median age: This entry is the age that divides a population into two numerically equal groups; that is, half the people are younger than this age and half are older. It is a single index that summarizes the age distribution of a population. Currently, the median age ranges from a low of about 15 in Niger and Uganda to 40 or more in several European countries and Japan. See the entry for "Age structure" for the importance of a young versus an older age structure and, by implication, a low versus a high . . . more
  total: 28.3 years
  male: 28 years
  female: 28.7 years (2018 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 138
  Population growth rate: The average annual percent change in the population, resulting from a surplus (or deficit) of births over deaths and the balance of migrants entering and leaving a country. The rate may be positive or negative. The growth rate is a factor in determining how great a burden would be imposed on a country by the changing needs of its people for infrastructure (e.g., schools, hospitals, housing, roads), resources (e.g., food, water, electricity), and jobs. Rapid population growth can be seen as . . . more
  1.63% (2018 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 63
  Birth rate: This entry gives the average annual number of births during a year per 1,000 persons in the population at midyear; also known as crude birth rate. The birth rate is usually the dominant factor in determining the rate of population growth. It depends on both the level of fertility and the age structure of the population.
  21.5 births/1,000 population (2018 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 74
  Death rate: This entry gives the average annual number of deaths during a year per 1,000 population at midyear; also known as crude death rate. The death rate, while only a rough indicator of the mortality situation in a country, accurately indicates the current mortality impact on population growth. This indicator is significantly affected by age distribution, and most countries will eventually show a rise in the overall death rate, in spite of continued decline in mortality at all ages, as declining . . . more
  4.3 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 205
  Net migration rate: This entry includes the figure for the difference between the number of persons entering and leaving a country during the year per 1,000 persons (based on midyear population). An excess of persons entering the country is referred to as net immigration (e.g., 3.56 migrants/1,000 population); an excess of persons leaving the country as net emigration (e.g., -9.26 migrants/1,000 population). The net migration rate indicates the contribution of migration to the overall level of population chan . . . more
  -0.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 135
  Population distribution: This entry provides a summary description of the population dispersion within a country. While it may suggest population density, it does not provide density figures.
  the vast majority of the populace is found in the extreme northern part of the country along the Mediterranean Coast
  Urbanization: This entry provides two measures of the degree of urbanization of a population. The first, urban population, describes the percentage of the total population living in urban areas, as defined by the country. The second, rate of urbanization, describes the projected average rate of change of the size of the urban population over the given period of time. Additionally, the World entry includes a list of the ten largest urban agglomerations. An urban agglomeration is defined as comprising th . . . more
  urban population: 72.6% of total population (2018)
  rate of urbanization: 2.46% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
  Major urban areas - population: This entry provides the population of the capital and up to six major cities defined as urban agglomerations with populations of at least 750,000 people. An urban agglomeration is defined as comprising the city or town proper and also the suburban fringe or thickly settled territory lying outside of, but adjacent to, the boundaries of the city. For smaller countries, lacking urban centers of 750,000 or more, only the population of the capital is presented.
  2.694 million ALGIERS (capital), 881,000 Oran (2018)
  Sex ratio: This entry includes the number of males for each female in five age groups - at birth, under 15 years, 15-64 years, 65 years and over, and for the total population. Sex ratio at birth has recently emerged as an indicator of certain kinds of sex discrimination in some countries. For instance, high sex ratios at birth in some Asian countries are now attributed to sex-selective abortion and infanticide due to a strong preference for sons. This will affect future marriage patterns and fertilit . . . more
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
  0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
  15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
  25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
  55-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
  65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
  total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
  Maternal mortality rate: The maternal mortality rate (MMR) is the annual number of female deaths per 100,000 live births from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management (excluding accidental or incidental causes). The MMR includes deaths during pregnancy, childbirth, or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, for a specified year.
  140 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 62
  Infant mortality rate: This entry gives the number of deaths of infants under one year old in a given year per 1,000 live births in the same year. This rate is often used as an indicator of the level of health in a country.
  total: 18.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)
  male: 20.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)
  female: 17.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 83
  Life expectancy at birth: This entry contains the average number of years to be lived by a group of people born in the same year, if mortality at each age remains constant in the future. Life expectancy at birth is also a measure of overall quality of life in a country and summarizes the mortality at all ages. It can also be thought of as indicating the potential return on investment in human capital and is necessary for the calculation of various actuarial measures.
  total population: 77.2 years (2018 est.)
  male: 75.8 years (2018 est.)
  female: 78.7 years (2018 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 76
  Total fertility rate: This entry gives a figure for the average number of children that would be born per woman if all women lived to the end of their childbearing years and bore children according to a given fertility rate at each age. The total fertility rate (TFR) is a more direct measure of the level of fertility than the crude birth rate, since it refers to births per woman. This indicator shows the potential for population change in the country. A rate of two children per woman is considered the replaceme . . . more
  2.66 children born/woman (2018 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 64
  Contraceptive prevalence rate: This field gives the percent of women of reproductive age (15-49) who are married or in union and are using, or whose sexual partner is using, a method of contraception according to the date of the most recent available data. The contraceptive prevalence rate is an indicator of health services, development, and women’s empowerment. It is also useful in understanding, past, present, and future fertility trends, especially in developing countries.
  57.1% (2012/13)
  Health expenditures: This entry provides the total expenditure on health as a percentage of GDP. Health expenditures are broadly defined as activities performed either by institutions or individuals through the application of medical, paramedical, and/or nursing knowledge and technology, the primary purpose of which is to promote, restore, or maintain health.
  7.2% of GDP (2014)
  country comparison to the world: 75
  Hospital bed density: This entry provides the number of hospital beds per 1,000 people; it serves as a general measure of inpatient service availability. Hospital beds include inpatient beds available in public, private, general, and specialized hospitals and rehabilitation centers. In most cases, beds for both acute and chronic care are included. Because the level of inpatient services required for individual countries depends on several factors - such as demographic issues and the burden of disease - there is . . . more
  1.9 beds/1,000 population (2015)
  Drinking water source: This entry provides information about access to improved or unimproved drinking water sources available to segments of the population of a country. Improved drinking water - use of any of the following sources: piped water into dwelling, yard, or plot; public tap or standpipe; tubewell or borehole; protected dug well; protected spring; or rainwater collection. Unimproved drinking water - use of any of the following sources: unprotected dug well; unprotected spring; cart with small tank or . . . more
  improved: urban: 84.3% of population
  rural: 81.8% of population
  total: 83.6% of population
  unimproved: urban: 15.7% of population
  rural: 18.2% of population
  total: 16.4% of population (2015 est.)
  Sanitation facility access: This entry provides information about access to improved or unimproved sanitation facilities available to segments of the population of a country. Improved sanitation - use of any of the following facilities: flush or pour-flush to a piped sewer system, septic tank or pit latrine; ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrine; pit latrine with slab; or a composting toilet. Unimproved sanitation - use of any of the following facilities: flush or pour-flush not piped to a sewer system, septic tank . . . more
  improved: urban: 89.8% of population (2015 est.)
  rural: 82.2% of population (2015 est.)
  total: 87.6% of population (2015 est.)
  unimproved: urban: 10.2% of population (2015 est.)
  rural: 17.8% of population (2015 est.)
  total: 12.4% of population (2015 est.)
  HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: This entry gives an estimate of the percentage of adults (aged 15-49) living with HIV/AIDS. The adult prevalence rate is calculated by dividing the estimated number of adults living with HIV/AIDS at yearend by the total adult population at yearend.
  <.1% (2017 est.)
  HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: This entry gives an estimate of all people (adults and children) alive at yearend with HIV infection, whether or not they have developed symptoms of AIDS.
  14,000 (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 89
  HIV/AIDS - deaths: This entry gives an estimate of the number of adults and children who died of AIDS during a given calendar year.
  <200 (2017 est.)
  Obesity - adult prevalence rate: This entry gives the percent of a country's population considered to be obese. Obesity is defined as an adult having a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater to or equal to 30.0. BMI is calculated by taking a person's weight in kg and dividing it by the person's squared height in meters.
  27.4% (2016)
  country comparison to the world: 38
  Children under the age of 5 years underweight: This entry gives the percent of children under five considered to be underweight. Underweight means weight-for-age is approximately 2 kg below for standard at age one, 3 kg below standard for ages two and three, and 4 kg below standard for ages four and five. This statistic is an indicator of the nutritional status of a community. Children who suffer from growth retardation as a result of poor diets and/or recurrent infections tend to have a greater risk of suffering illness and death.
  3% (2012)
  country comparison to the world: 99
  Education expenditures: This entry provides the public expenditure on education as a percent of GDP.
  4.3% of GDP (2008)
  country comparison to the world: 101
  Literacy: This entry includes a definition of literacy and Census Bureau percentages for the total population, males, and females. There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise specified, all rates are based on the most common definition - the ability to read and write at a specified age. Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of the Factbook. Information on literacy, while not a perfect measu . . . more
  definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)
  total population: 80.2% (2015 est.)
  male: 87.2% (2015 est.)
  female: 73.1% (2015 est.)
  School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): School life expectancy (SLE) is the total number of years of schooling (primary to tertiary) that a child can expect to receive, assuming that the probability of his or her being enrolled in school at any particular future age is equal to the current enrollment ratio at that age. Caution must be maintained when utilizing this indicator in international comparisons. For example, a year or grade completed in one country is not necessarily the same in terms of educational content or qualit . . . more
  total: 14 years (2011)
  male: 14 years (2011)
  female: 15 years (2011)
  Unemployment, youth ages 15-24: This entry gives the percent of the total labor force ages 15-24 unemployed during a specified year.
  total: 25.2% (2014 est.)
  male: 22.1% (2014 est.)
  female: 41.5% (2014 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 45
- Government :: Algeria
- Country name: This entry includes all forms of the country's name approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (Italy is used as an example): conventional long form (Italian Republic), conventional short form (Italy), local long form (Repubblica Italiana), local short form (Italia), former (Kingdom of Italy), as well as the abbreviation. Also see the Terminology note.
  conventional long form: People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
  conventional short form: Algeria
  local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Sha'biyah
  local short form: Al Jaza'ir
  etymology: the country name derives from the capital city of Algiers
  Government type: This entry gives the basic form of government. Definitions of the major governmental terms are as follows. (Note that for some countries more than one definition applies.): Absolute monarchy - a form of government where the monarch rules unhindered, i.e., without any laws, constitution, or legally organized opposition. Anarchy - a condition of lawlessness or political disorder brought about by the absence of governmental authority. Authoritarian - a form of government in whic . . . more
  presidential republic
  Capital: This entry gives the name of the seat of government, its geographic coordinates, the time difference relative to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and the time observed in Washington, DC, and, if applicable, information on daylight saving time (DST). Where appropriate, a special note has been added to highlight those countries that have multiple time zones.
  name: Algiers
  geographic coordinates: 36 45 N, 3 03 E
  time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
  etymology: name derives from the Arabic "al-Jazair" meaning "the islands" and refers to the four islands formerly off the coast but joined to the mainland since 1525
  Administrative divisions: This entry generally gives the numbers, designatory terms, and first-order administrative divisions as approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN). Changes that have been reported but not yet acted on by the BGN are noted. Geographic names conform to spellings approved by the BGN with the exception of the omission of diacritical marks and special characters.
  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, Tamanrasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen
  Independence: For most countries, this entry gives the date that sovereignty was achieved and from which nation, empire, or trusteeship. For the other countries, the date given may not represent "independence" in the strict sense, but rather some significant nationhood event such as the traditional founding date or the date of unification, federation, confederation, establishment, fundamental change in the form of government, or state succession. For a number of countries, the establishment of statehood . . . more
  5 July 1962 (from France)
  National holiday: This entry gives the primary national day of celebration - usually independence day.
  Revolution Day, 1 November (1954)
  Constitution: This entry provides information on a country’s constitution and includes two subfields. The history subfield includes the dates of previous constitutions and the main steps and dates in formulating and implementing the latest constitution. For countries with 1-3 previous constitutions, the years are listed; for those with 4-9 previous, the entry is listed as “several previous,” and for those with 10 or more, the entry is “many previous.” The amendments subfield summarizes the process of am . . . more
  history: several previous; latest approved by referendum 23 February 1989 (2016)
  amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or through the president with the support of three-fourths of the members of both houses of Parliament in joint session; passage requires approval by both houses, approval by referendum, and promulgation by the president; the president can forego a referendum if the Constitutional Council determines the proposed amendment does not conflict with basic constitutional principles; articles including the republican form of government, the integrity and unity of the country, and fundamental citizens’ liberties and rights cannot be amended; amended several times, last in 2016 (2016)
  Legal system: This entry provides the description of a country's legal system. A statement on judicial review of legislative acts is also included for a number of countries. The legal systems of nearly all countries are generally modeled upon elements of five main types: civil law (including French law, the Napoleonic Code, Roman law, Roman-Dutch law, and Spanish law); common law (including United State law); customary law; mixed or pluralistic law; and religious law (including Islamic law). An addition . . . more
  mixed legal system of French civil law and Islamic law; judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of various public officials including several Supreme Court justices
  International law organization participation: This entry includes information on a country's acceptance of jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and of the International Criminal Court (ICCt); 59 countries have accepted ICJ jurisdiction with reservations and 11 have accepted ICJ jurisdiction without reservations; 122 countries have accepted ICCt jurisdiction. Appendix B: International Organizations and Groups explains the differing mandates of the ICJ and ICCt.
  has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
  Citizenship: This entry provides information related to the acquisition and exercise of citizenship; it includes four subfields: citizenship by birth describes the acquisition of citizenship based on place of birth, known as Jus soli, regardless of the citizenship of parents. citizenship by descent only describes the acquisition of citizenship based on the principle of Jus sanguinis, or by descent, where at least one parent is a citizen of the state and being born within the territorial limits of the . . . more
  citizenship by birth: no
  citizenship by descent only: the mother must be a citizen of Algeria
  dual citizenship recognized: no
  residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years
  Suffrage: This entry gives the age at enfranchisement and whether the right to vote is universal or restricted.
  18 years of age; universal
  Judicial branch: This entry includes three subfields. The highest court(s) subfield includes the name(s) of a country's highest level court(s), the number and titles of the judges, and the types of cases heard by the court, which commonly are based on civil, criminal, administrative, and constitutional law. A number of countries have separate constitutional courts. The judge selection and term of office subfield includes the organizations and associated officials responsible for nominating and appointing j . . . more
  highest courts: Supreme Court or Cour Suprême, (consists of 150 judges organized into 8 chambers: Civil, Commercial and Maritime, Criminal, House of Offenses and Contraventions, House of Petitions, Land, Personal Status, and Social; Constitutional Council (consists of 12 members including the court chairman and deputy chairman); note - Algeria's judicial system does not include sharia courts
  judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the High Council of Magistracy, an administrative body presided over by the president of the republic, and includes the republic vice-president and several members; judges appointed for life; Constitutional Council members - 4 appointed by the president of the republic, 2 each by the 2 houses of Parliament, 2 by the Supreme Court, and 2 by the Council of State; Council president and members appointed for single 6-year terms with half the membership renewed every 3 years
  subordinate courts: appellate or wilaya courts; first instance or daira tribunals
  Executive branch: This entry includes five subentries: chief of state; head of government; cabinet; elections/appointments; election results. Chief of state includes the name, title, and beginning date in office of the titular leader of the country who represents the state at official and ceremonial functions but may not be involved with the day-to-day activities of the government. Head of government includes the name, title of the top executive designated to manage the executive branch of the government, a . . . more
  chief of state: President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (since 28 April 1999)
  head of government: Prime Minister Ahmed OUYAHIA (since 16 August 2017)
  cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president
  elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in two rounds if needed for a 5-year term (2-term limit reinstated by constitutional amendment in February 2016); election last held on 17 April 2014 (next to be held in April 2019); prime minister nominated by the president after consultation with the majority party in Parliament
  election results: Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA reelected president for a fourth term; percent of vote - Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (FLN) 81.5%, Ali BENFLIS (FLN) 12.2%, Abdelaziz BELAID (Future Front) 3.4%, other 2.9%
  Legislative branch: This entry has three subfields. The description subfield provides the legislative structure (unicameral – single house; bicameral – an upper and a lower house); formal name(s); number of member seats; types of constituencies or voting districts (single seat, multi-seat, nationwide); electoral voting system(s); and member term of office. The elections subfield includes the dates of the last election and next election. The election results subfield lists percent of vote by party/coalition an . . . more
  description: bicameral Parliament consists of:
  Council of the Nation (upper house with 144 seats; one-third of members appointed by the president, two-thirds indirectly elected by simple majority vote by an electoral college composed of local council members; members serve 6-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 3 years)
  National People's Assembly (lower house with 462 seats including 8 seats for Algerians living abroad); members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms)
  elections:
  Council of the Nation - last held on 29 December 2015 (next to be held in December 2018)
  National People's Assembly - last held on 4 May 2017 (next to be held in 2022)
  election results:
  Council of the Nation - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 133, women 10, percent of women 7%
  National People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 164, RND 97, MSP-FC 33, TAJ 19, Ennahda-FJD 15, FFS 14, El Mostakbel 14, MPA 13, PT 11, RCD 9, ANR 8, MEN 4, other 33, independent 28; composition - men 343, women 119, percent of women 25.8%; note - total Parliament percent of women 21.3%
  Political parties and leaders: This entry includes a listing of significant political parties, coalitions, and electoral lists as of each country's last legislative election, unless otherwise noted.
  Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI]
  Algerian Popular Movement or MPA [Amara BENYOUNES]
  Algerian Rally or RA [Ali ZAGHDOUD]
  Algeria's Hope Rally or TAJ [Amar GHOUL]
  Dignity or El Karama [Mohamed BENHAMOU]
  Ennour El Djazairi Party (Algerian Radiance Party) or PED [Badreddine BELBAZ]
  Front for Justice and Development or El Adala [Abdallah DJABALLAH]
  Future Front or El Mostakbel [Abdelaziz BELAID]
  Islamic Renaissance Movement or Ennahda Movement [Mohamed DOUIBI]
  Justice and Development Front or FJD [Abdellah DJABALLAH]Movement of National Understanding or MEN
  Movement for National Reform or Islah [Djilali GHOUINI]
  Movement of Society for Peace or MSP [Abderrazak MOKRI]
  National Democratic Rally (Rassemblement National Democratique) or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA]
  National Front for Social Justice or FNJS [Khaled BOUNEDJEMA]
  National Liberation Front or FLN [Mouad BOUCHAREB]
  National Party for Solidarity and Development or PNSD [Dalila YALAQUI]
  National Reform Movement or Islah [Djahid YOUNSI]
  National Republican Alliance or ANR [Belkacem SAHLI]
  New Dawn Party or PFJ [Tahar BENBAIBECHE]
  New Generation or Jil Jadid [Soufiane DJILALI]
  Oath of 1954 or Ahd 54 [Ali Fawzi REBAINE]
  Party of Justice and Liberty [Mohammed SAID]
  Rally for Culture and Democracy or RCD [Mohcine BELABBAS]
  Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Mustafa BOUCHACHI]
  Union of Democratic and Social Forces or UFDS [Noureddine BAHBOUH]
  Vanguard of Freedoms [Ali BENFLIS]
  Youth Party or PJ [Hamana BOUCHARMA]
  Workers Party or PT [Louisa HANOUNE]

  note: a law banning political parties based on religion was enacted in March 1997

  International organization participation: This entry lists in alphabetical order by abbreviation those international organizations in which the subject country is a member or participates in some other way.
  ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BIS, CAEU, CD, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
  Diplomatic representation in the US: This entry includes the chief of mission, chancery address, telephone, FAX, consulate general locations, and consulate locations. The use of the annotated title Appointed Ambassador refers to a new ambassador who has presented his/her credentials to the secretary of state but not the US president. Such ambassadors fulfill all diplomatic functions except meeting with or appearing at functions attended by the president until such time as they formally present their credentials at a White Hou . . . more
  chief of mission: Ambassador Madjid BOUGUERRA (since 23 February 2015)
  chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800
  FAX: [1] (202) 986-5906
  consulate(s) general: New York
  Diplomatic representation from the US: This entry includes the chief of mission, embassy address, mailing address, telephone number, FAX number, branch office locations, consulate general locations, and consulate locations.
  chief of mission: Ambassador John P. DESROCHER (since 5 September 2017)
  embassy: 05 Chemin Cheikh Bachir, El Ibrahimi, El-Biar 16030 Algeria
  mailing address: B. P. 408, Alger-Gare, 16030 Algiers
  telephone: [213] (0) 770-08-2000
  FAX: [213] (0) 770-08-2064
  Flag description: This entry provides a written flag description produced from actual flags or the best information available at the time the entry was written. The flags of independent states are used by their dependencies unless there is an officially recognized local flag. Some disputed and other areas do not have flags.
  two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white; a red, 5-pointed star within a red crescent centered over the two-color boundary; the colors represent Islam (green), purity and peace (white), and liberty (red); the crescent and star are also Islamic symbols, but the crescent is more closed than those of other Muslim countries because Algerians believe the long crescent horns bring happiness
  National symbol(s): A national symbol is a faunal, floral, or other abstract representation - or some distinctive object - that over time has come to be closely identified with a country or entity. Not all countries have national symbols; a few countries have more than one.
  star and crescent, fennec fox; national colors: green, white, red
  National anthem: A generally patriotic musical composition - usually in the form of a song or hymn of praise - that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions, or struggles of a nation or its people. National anthems can be officially recognized as a national song by a country's constitution or by an enacted law, or simply by tradition. Although most anthems contain lyrics, some do not.
  name: "Kassaman" (We Pledge)
  lyrics/music: Mufdi ZAKARIAH/Mohamed FAWZI

  note: adopted 1962; ZAKARIAH wrote "Kassaman" as a poem while imprisoned in Algiers by French colonial forces

- Economy :: Algeria
- Economy - overview: This entry briefly describes the type of economy, including the degree of market orientation, the level of economic development, the most important natural resources, and the unique areas of specialization. It also characterizes major economic events and policy changes in the most recent 12 months and may include a statement about one or two key future macroeconomic trends.

  Algeria's economy remains dominated by the state, a legacy of the country's socialist post-independence development model. In recent years the Algerian Government has halted the privatization of state-owned industries and imposed restrictions on imports and foreign involvement in its economy, pursuing an explicit import substitution policy.

  Hydrocarbons have long been the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 30% of GDP, 60% of budget revenues, and nearly 95% of export earnings. Algeria has the 10th-largest reserves of natural gas in the world - including the 3rd-largest reserves of shale gas - and is the 6th-largest gas exporter. It ranks 16th in proven oil reserves. Hydrocarbon exports enabled Algeria to maintain macroeconomic stability, amass large foreign currency reserves, and maintain low external debt while global oil prices were high. With lower oil prices since 2014, Algeria’s foreign exchange reserves have declined by more than half and its oil stabilization fund has decreased from about $20 billion at the end of 2013 to about $7 billion in 2017, which is the statutory minimum.

  Declining oil prices have also reduced the government’s ability to use state-driven growth to distribute rents and fund generous public subsidies, and the government has been under pressure to reduce spending. Over the past three years, the government has enacted incremental increases in some taxes, resulting in modest increases in prices for gasoline, cigarettes, alcohol, and certain imported goods, but it has refrained from reducing subsidies, particularly for education, healthcare, and housing programs.

  Algiers has increased protectionist measures since 2015 to limit its import bill and encourage domestic production of non-oil and gas industries. Since 2015, the government has imposed additional restrictions on access to foreign exchange for imports, and import quotas for specific products, such as cars. In January 2018 the government imposed an indefinite suspension on the importation of roughly 850 products, subject to periodic review.

  President BOUTEFLIKA announced in fall 2017 that Algeria intends to develop its non-conventional energy resources. Algeria has struggled to develop non-hydrocarbon industries because of heavy regulation and an emphasis on state-driven growth. Algeria has not increased non-hydrocarbon exports, and hydrocarbon exports have declined because of field depletion and increased domestic demand.

  GDP (purchasing power parity): This entry gives the gross domestic product (GDP) or value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. A nation's GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates is the sum value of all goods and services produced in the country valued at prices prevailing in the United States in the year noted. This is the measure most economists prefer when looking at per-capita welfare and when comparing living conditions or use of resources across countries. The measur . . . more
  $630 billion (2017 est.)
  $621.3 billion (2016 est.)
  $602 billion (2015 est.)

  note: data are in 2017 dollars

  country comparison to the world: 36
  GDP (official exchange rate): This entry gives the gross domestic product (GDP) or value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. A nation's GDP at official exchange rates (OER) is the home-currency-denominated annual GDP figure divided by the bilateral average US exchange rate with that country in that year. The measure is simple to compute and gives a precise measure of the value of output. Many economists prefer this measure when gauging the economic power an economy maintains vis- . . . more
  $167.6 billion (2017 est.) (2017 est.)
  GDP - real growth rate: This entry gives GDP growth on an annual basis adjusted for inflation and expressed as a percent. The growth rates are year-over-year, and not compounded.
  1.4% (2017 est.)
  3.2% (2016 est.)
  3.7% (2015 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 174
  GDP - per capita (PPP): This entry shows GDP on a purchasing power parity basis divided by population as of 1 July for the same year.
  $15,200 (2017 est.)
  $15,200 (2016 est.)
  $15,100 (2015 est.)

  note: data are in 2017 dollars

  country comparison to the world: 109
  Gross national saving: Gross national saving is derived by deducting final consumption expenditure (household plus government) from Gross national disposable income, and consists of personal saving, plus business saving (the sum of the capital consumption allowance and retained business profits), plus government saving (the excess of tax revenues over expenditures), but excludes foreign saving (the excess of imports of goods and services over exports). The figures are presented as a percent of GDP. A negative . . . more
  37.8% of GDP (2017 est.)
  37.4% of GDP (2016 est.)
  36.4% of GDP (2015 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 13
  GDP - composition, by end use: This entry shows who does the spending in an economy: consumers, businesses, government, and foreigners. The distribution gives the percentage contribution to total GDP of household consumption, government consumption, investment in fixed capital, investment in inventories, exports of goods and services, and imports of goods and services, and will total 100 percent of GDP if the data are complete. household consumption consists of expenditures by resident households, and by nonprofit insti . . . more
  household consumption: 42.7% (2017 est.)
  government consumption: 20.2% (2017 est.)
  investment in fixed capital: 38.1% (2017 est.)
  investment in inventories: 11.2% (2017 est.)
  exports of goods and services: 23.6% (2017 est.)
  imports of goods and services: -35.8% (2017 est.)
  GDP - composition, by sector of origin: This entry shows where production takes place in an economy. The distribution gives the percentage contribution of agriculture, industry, and services to total GDP, and will total 100 percent of GDP if the data are complete. Agriculture includes farming, fishing, and forestry. Industry includes mining, manufacturing, energy production, and construction. Services cover government activities, communications, transportation, finance, and all other private economic activities that do not prod . . . more
  agriculture: 13.3% (2017 est.)
  industry: 39.3% (2017 est.)
  services: 47.4% (2017 est.)
  Agriculture - products: This entry is an ordered listing of major crops and products starting with the most important.
  wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle
  Industries: This entry provides a rank ordering of industries starting with the largest by value of annual output.
  petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing
  Industrial production growth rate: This entry gives the annual percentage increase in industrial production (includes manufacturing, mining, and construction).
  0.6% (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 164
  Labor force: This entry contains the total labor force figure.
  11.82 million (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 50
  Labor force - by occupation: This entry lists the percentage distribution of the labor force by sector of occupation. Agriculture includes farming, fishing, and forestry. Industry includes mining, manufacturing, energy production, and construction. Services cover government activities, communications, transportation, finance, and all other economic activities that do not produce material goods. The distribution will total less than 100 percent if the data are incomplete and may range from 99-101 percent due to rounding. more
  agriculture: 10.8%
  industry: 30.9%
  services: 58.4% (2011 est.)
  Unemployment rate: This entry contains the percent of the labor force that is without jobs. Substantial underemployment might be noted.
  11.7% (2017 est.)
  10.5% (2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 155
  Population below poverty line: National estimates of the percentage of the population falling below the poverty line are based on surveys of sub-groups, with the results weighted by the number of people in each group. Definitions of poverty vary considerably among nations. For example, rich nations generally employ more generous standards of poverty than poor nations.
  23% (2006 est.)
  Household income or consumption by percentage share: Data on household income or consumption come from household surveys, the results adjusted for household size. Nations use different standards and procedures in collecting and adjusting the data. Surveys based on income will normally show a more unequal distribution than surveys based on consumption. The quality of surveys is improving with time, yet caution is still necessary in making inter-country comparisons.
  lowest 10%: 26.8% (1995)
  highest 10%: 26.8% (1995)
  Distribution of family income - Gini index: This index measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of family income in a country. The index is calculated from the Lorenz curve, in which cumulative family income is plotted against the number of families arranged from the poorest to the richest. The index is the ratio of (a) the area between a country's Lorenz curve and the 45 degree helping line to (b) the entire triangular area under the 45 degree line. The more nearly equal a country's income distribution, the closer its . . . more
  35.3 (1995)
  country comparison to the world: 95
  Budget: This entry includes revenues, expenditures, and capital expenditures. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
  revenues: 54.15 billion (2017 est.)
  expenditures: 70.2 billion (2017 est.)
  Taxes and other revenues: This entry records total taxes and other revenues received by the national government during the time period indicated, expressed as a percent of GDP. Taxes include personal and corporate income taxes, value added taxes, excise taxes, and tariffs. Other revenues include social contributions - such as payments for social security and hospital insurance - grants, and net revenues from public enterprises. Normalizing the data, by dividing total revenues by GDP, enables easy comparisons acr . . . more
  32.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 67
  Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-): This entry records the difference between national government revenues and expenditures, expressed as a percent of GDP. A positive (+) number indicates that revenues exceeded expenditures (a budget surplus), while a negative (-) number indicates the reverse (a budget deficit). Normalizing the data, by dividing the budget balance by GDP, enables easy comparisons across countries and indicates whether a national government saves or borrows money. Countries with high budget deficits (relat . . . more
  -9.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 207
  Public debt: This entry records the cumulative total of all government borrowings less repayments that are denominated in a country's home currency. Public debt should not be confused with external debt, which reflects the foreign currency liabilities of both the private and public sector and must be financed out of foreign exchange earnings.
  27.5% of GDP (2017 est.)
  20.4% of GDP (2016 est.)

  note: data cover central government debt as well as debt issued by subnational entities and intra-governmental debt

  country comparison to the world: 170
  Fiscal year: This entry identifies the beginning and ending months for a country's accounting period of 12 months, which often is the calendar year but which may begin in any month. All yearly references are for the calendar year (CY) unless indicated as a noncalendar fiscal year (FY).
  calendar year
  Inflation rate (consumer prices): This entry furnishes the annual percent change in consumer prices compared with the previous year's consumer prices.
  5.6% (2017 est.)
  6.4% (2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 179
  Central bank discount rate: This entry provides the annualized interest rate a country's central bank charges commercial, depository banks for loans to meet temporary shortages of funds.
  4% (31 December 2010)
  4% (31 December 2009)
  country comparison to the world: 99
  Commercial bank prime lending rate: This entry provides a simple average of annualized interest rates commercial banks charge on new loans, denominated in the national currency, to their most credit-worthy customers.
  8% (31 December 2017 est.)
  8% (31 December 2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 109
  Stock of narrow money: This entry, also known as "M1," comprises the total quantity of currency in circulation (notes and coins) plus demand deposits denominated in the national currency held by nonbank financial institutions, state and local governments, nonfinancial public enterprises, and the private sector of the economy, measured at a specific point in time. National currency units have been converted to US dollars at the closing exchange rate for the date of the information. Because of exchange rate moveme . . . more
  $84.56 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
  $85.21 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 44
  Stock of broad money: This entry covers all of "Narrow money," plus the total quantity of time and savings deposits, credit union deposits, institutional money market funds, short-term repurchase agreements between the central bank and commercial deposit banks, and other large liquid assets held by nonbank financial institutions, state and local governments, nonfinancial public enterprises, and the private sector of the economy. National currency units have been converted to US dollars at the closing exchange r . . . more
  $84.56 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
  $85.21 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 44
  Stock of domestic credit: This entry is the total quantity of credit, denominated in the domestic currency, provided by financial institutions to the central bank, state and local governments, public non-financial corporations, and the private sector. The national currency units have been converted to US dollars at the closing exchange rate on the date of the information.
  $110.2 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
  $86.63 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 54
  Market value of publicly traded shares: This entry gives the value of shares issued by publicly traded companies at a price determined in the national stock markets on the final day of the period indicated. It is simply the latest price per share multiplied by the total number of outstanding shares, cumulated over all companies listed on the particular exchange.

  NA

  Current account balance: This entry records a country's net trade in goods and services, plus net earnings from rents, interest, profits, and dividends, and net transfer payments (such as pension funds and worker remittances) to and from the rest of the world during the period specified. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
  -$22.1 billion (2017 est.)
  -$26.47 billion (2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 199
  Exports: This entry provides the total US dollar amount of merchandise exports on an f.o.b. (free on board) basis. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
  $34.37 billion (2017 est.)
  $29.06 billion (2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 60
  Exports - partners: This entry provides a rank ordering of trading partners starting with the most important; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
  Italy 17.4%, Spain 13%, France 11.9%, US 9.4%, Brazil 6.2%, Netherlands 5.5% (2017)
  Exports - commodities: This entry provides a listing of the highest-valued exported products; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
  petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97% (2009 est.)
  Imports: This entry provides the total US dollar amount of merchandise imports on a c.i.f. (cost, insurance, and freight) or f.o.b. (free on board) basis. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
  $48.54 billion (2017 est.)
  $49.43 billion (2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 55
  Imports - commodities: This entry provides a listing of the highest-valued imported products; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
  capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods
  Imports - partners: This entry provides a rank ordering of trading partners starting with the most important; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
  China 18.2%, France 9.1%, Italy 8%, Germany 7%, Spain 6.9%, Turkey 4.4% (2017)
  Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: This entry gives the dollar value for the stock of all financial assets that are available to the central monetary authority for use in meeting a country's balance of payments needs as of the end-date of the period specified. This category includes not only foreign currency and gold, but also a country's holdings of Special Drawing Rights in the International Monetary Fund, and its reserve position in the Fund.
  $97.89 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
  $114.7 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 26
  Debt - external: This entry gives the total public and private debt owed to nonresidents repayable in internationally accepted currencies, goods, or services. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
  $6.26 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
  $5.088 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 128
  Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: This entry gives the cumulative US dollar value of all investments in the home country made directly by residents - primarily companies - of other countries as of the end of the time period indicated. Direct investment excludes investment through purchase of shares.
  $29.05 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
  $25.74 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 72
  Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: This entry gives the cumulative US dollar value of all investments in foreign countries made directly by residents - primarily companies - of the home country, as of the end of the time period indicated. Direct investment excludes investment through purchase of shares.
  $1.893 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
  $2.025 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 85
  Exchange rates: This entry provides the average annual price of a country's monetary unit for the time period specified, expressed in units of local currency per US dollar, as determined by international market forces or by official fiat. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 4217 alphabetic currency code for the national medium of exchange is presented in parenthesis. Closing daily exchange rates are not presented in The World Factbook, but are used to convert stock values - e.g., the . . . more
  Algerian dinars (DZD) per US dollar -
  108.9 (2017 est.)
  109.443 (2016 est.)
  109.443 (2015 est.)
  100.691 (2014 est.)
  80.579 (2013 est.)
- Energy :: Algeria
- Electricity access: This entry provides information on access to electricity. Electrification data – collected from industry reports, national surveys, and international sources – consists of four subfields. Population without electricity provides an estimate of the number of citizens that do not have access to electricity. Electrification – total population is the percent of a country’s total population with access to electricity, electrification – urban areas is the percent of a country’s urban population w . . . more
  population without electricity: 400,000 (2016)
  electrification - total population: 99% (2016)
  electrification - urban areas: 100% (2016)
  electrification - rural areas: 97% (2016)
  Electricity - production: This entry is the annual electricity generated expressed in kilowatt-hours. The discrepancy between the amount of electricity generated and/or imported and the amount consumed and/or exported is accounted for as loss in transmission and distribution.
  66.89 billion kWh (2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 42
  Electricity - consumption: This entry consists of total electricity generated annually plus imports and minus exports, expressed in kilowatt-hours. The discrepancy between the amount of electricity generated and/or imported and the amount consumed and/or exported is accounted for as loss in transmission and distribution.
  55.96 billion kWh (2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 46
  Electricity - exports: This entry is the total exported electricity in kilowatt-hours.
  641 million kWh (2015 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 65
  Electricity - imports: This entry is the total imported electricity in kilowatt-hours.
  257 million kWh (2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 91
  Electricity - installed generating capacity: This entry is the total capacity of currently installed generators, expressed in kilowatts (kW), to produce electricity. A 10-kilowatt (kW) generator will produce 10 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity, if it runs continuously for one hour.
  19.27 million kW (2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 45
  Electricity - from fossil fuels: This entry measures the capacity of plants that generate electricity by burning fossil fuels (such as coal, petroleum products, and natural gas), expressed as a share of the country's total generating capacity.
  96% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 36
  Electricity - from nuclear fuels: This entry measures the capacity of plants that generate electricity through radioactive decay of nuclear fuel, expressed as a share of the country's total generating capacity.
  0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 34
  Electricity - from hydroelectric plants: This entry measures the capacity of plants that generate electricity by water-driven turbines, expressed as a share of the country's total generating capacity.
  1% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 144
  Electricity - from other renewable sources: This entry measures the capacity of plants that generate electricity by using renewable energy sources other than hydroelectric (including, for example, wind, waves, solar, and geothermal), expressed as a share of the country's total generating capacity.
  2% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 130
  Crude oil - production: This entry is the total amount of crude oil produced, in barrels per day (bbl/day).
  1.306 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 18
  Crude oil - exports: This entry is the total amount of crude oil exported, in barrels per day (bbl/day).
  756,400 bbl/day (2015 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 15
  Crude oil - imports: This entry is the total amount of crude oil imported, in barrels per day (bbl/day).
  5,340 bbl/day (2015 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 75
  Crude oil - proved reserves: This entry is the stock of proved reserves of crude oil, in barrels (bbl). Proved reserves are those quantities of petroleum which, by analysis of geological and engineering data, can be estimated with a high degree of confidence to be commercially recoverable from a given date forward, from known reservoirs and under current economic conditions.
  12.2 billion bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 15
  Refined petroleum products - production: This entry is the country's total output of refined petroleum products, in barrels per day (bbl/day). The discrepancy between the amount of refined petroleum products produced and/or imported and the amount consumed and/or exported is due to the omission of stock changes, refinery gains, and other complicating factors.
  627,900 bbl/day (2015 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 29
  Refined petroleum products - consumption: This entry is the country's total consumption of refined petroleum products, in barrels per day (bbl/day). The discrepancy between the amount of refined petroleum products produced and/or imported and the amount consumed and/or exported is due to the omission of stock changes, refinery gains, and other complicating factors.
  405,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 37
  Refined petroleum products - exports: This entry is the country's total exports of refined petroleum products, in barrels per day (bbl/day).
  578,800 bbl/day (2015 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 15
  Refined petroleum products - imports: This entry is the country's total imports of refined petroleum products, in barrels per day (bbl/day).
  82,930 bbl/day (2015 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 61
  Natural gas - production: This entry is the total natural gas produced in cubic meters (cu m). The discrepancy between the amount of natural gas produced and/or imported and the amount consumed and/or exported is due to the omission of stock changes and other complicating factors.
  93.5 billion cu m (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 10
  Natural gas - consumption: This entry is the total natural gas consumed in cubic meters (cu m). The discrepancy between the amount of natural gas produced and/or imported and the amount consumed and/or exported is due to the omission of stock changes and other complicating factors.
  41.28 billion cu m (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 25
  Natural gas - exports: This entry is the total natural gas exported in cubic meters (cu m).
  53.88 billion cu m (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 7
  Natural gas - imports: This entry is the total natural gas imported in cubic meters (cu m).
  0 cu m (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 83
  Natural gas - proved reserves: This entry is the stock of proved reserves of natural gas in cubic meters (cu m). Proved reserves are those quantities of natural gas, which, by analysis of geological and engineering data, can be estimated with a high degree of confidence to be commercially recoverable from a given date forward, from known reservoirs and under current economic conditions.
  4.504 trillion cu m (1 January 2018 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 10
  Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy: This entry is the total amount of carbon dioxide, measured in metric tons, released by burning fossil fuels in the process of producing and consuming energy.
  135.9 million Mt (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 34
- Communications :: Algeria
- Telephones - fixed lines: This entry gives the total number of fixed telephone lines in use, as well as the number of subscriptions per 100 inhabitants.
  total subscriptions: 3,130,090 (2017 est.)
  subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 8 (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 45
  Telephones - mobile cellular: This entry gives the total number of mobile cellular telephone subscribers, as well as the number of subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. Note that because of the ubiquity of mobile phone use in developed countries, the number of subscriptions per 100 inhabitants can exceed 100.
  total subscriptions: 49,873,389 (2017 est.)
  subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 122 (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 29
  Telephone system: This entry includes a brief general assessment of the system with details on the domestic and international components. The following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry: Arabsat - Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia). Autodin - Automatic Digital Network (US Department of Defense). CB - citizen's band mobile radio communications. Cellular telephone system - the telephones in this system are radio transceivers, with each instrument having its o . . . more
  general assessment: privatization of Algeria's telecommunications sector began in 2000; three mobile-cellular licenses have been issued; regulator permits network operators to extend LTE services to additional provinces; a consortium led by Egypt's Orascom Telecom won a 15-year license to build and operate a fixed-line network in Algeria; migration to 5G (2017)
  domestic: a limited network of fixed-lines with a teledensity of less than 10 telephones per 100 persons has been offset by the rapid increase in mobile-cellular subscribership; mobile-cellular teledensity was roughly 122 telephones per 100 persons (2017)
  international: country code - 213; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-4 fiber-optic submarine cable system that provides links to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia; microwave radio relay to Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia; coaxial cable to Morocco and Tunisia; new submarine cables to link to the US and France; (2016)
  Broadcast media: This entry provides information on the approximate number of public and private TV and radio stations in a country, as well as basic information on the availability of satellite and cable TV services.
  state-run Radio-Television Algerienne operates the broadcast media and carries programming in Arabic, Berber dialects, and French; use of satellite dishes is widespread, providing easy access to European and Arab satellite stations; state-run radio operates several national networks and roughly 40 regional radio stations (2009)
  Internet country code: This entry includes the two-letter codes maintained by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in the ISO 3166 Alpha-2 list and used by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) to establish country-coded top-level domains (ccTLDs).
  .dz
  Internet users: This entry gives the total number of individuals within a country who can access the Internet at home, via any device type (computer or mobile) and connection. The percent of population with Internet access (i.e., the penetration rate) helps gauge how widespread Internet use is within a country. Statistics vary from country to country and may include users who access the Internet at least several times a week to those who access it only once within a period of several months.
  total: 17,291,463 (July 2016 est.)
  percent of population: 42.9% (July 2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 37
  Broadband - fixed subscriptions: This entry gives the total number of fixed-broadband subscriptions, as well as the number of subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. Fixed broadband is a physical wired connection to the Internet (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber) at speeds equal to or greater than 256 kilobits/second (256 kbit/s).
  total: 3,166,907 (2017 est.)
  subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 8 (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 37
- Transportation :: Algeria
- National air transport system: This entry includes four subfields describing the air transport system of a given country in terms of both structure and performance. The first subfield, number of registered air carriers, indicates the total number of air carriers registered with the country’s national aviation authority and issued an air operator certificate as required by the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The second subfield, inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers, lists the total number . . . more
  number of registered air carriers: 4 (2015)
  inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 74 (2015)
  annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 5,910,835 (2015)
  annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 24,723,377 mt-km (2015)
  Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: This entry provides the one- or two-character alphanumeric code indicating the nationality of civil aircraft. Article 20 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention), signed in 1944, requires that all aircraft engaged in international air navigation bear appropriate nationality marks. The aircraft registration number consists of two parts: a prefix consisting of a one- or two-character alphanumeric code indicating nationality and a registration suffix of one to fi . . . more
  7T (2016)
  Airports: This entry gives the total number of airports or airfields recognizable from the air. The runway(s) may be paved (concrete or asphalt surfaces) or unpaved (grass, earth, sand, or gravel surfaces) and may include closed or abandoned installations. Airports or airfields that are no longer recognizable (overgrown, no facilities, etc.) are not included. Note that not all airports have accommodations for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control.
  157 (2016)
  country comparison to the world: 36
  Airports - with paved runways: This entry gives the total number of airports with paved runways (concrete or asphalt surfaces) by length. For airports with more than one runway, only the longest runway is included according to the following five groups - (1) over 3,047 m (over 10,000 ft), (2) 2,438 to 3,047 m (8,000 to 10,000 ft), (3) 1,524 to 2,437 m (5,000 to 8,000 ft), (4) 914 to 1,523 m (3,000 to 5,000 ft), and (5) under 914 m (under 3,000 ft). Only airports with usable runways are included in this listing. Not all . . . more
  total: 64 (2017)
  over 3,047 m: 12 (2017)
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 29 (2017)
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 (2017)
  914 to 1,523 m: 5 (2017)
  under 914 m: 1 (2017)
  Airports - with unpaved runways: This entry gives the total number of airports with unpaved runways (grass, dirt, sand, or gravel surfaces) by length. For airports with more than one runway, only the longest runway is included according to the following five groups - (1) over 3,047 m (over 10,000 ft), (2) 2,438 to 3,047 m (8,000 to 10,000 ft), (3) 1,524 to 2,437 m (5,000 to 8,000 ft), (4) 914 to 1,523 m (3,000 to 5,000 ft), and (5) under 914 m (under 3,000 ft). Only airports with usable runways are included in this listin . . . more
  total: 93 (2013)
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2013)
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 (2013)
  914 to 1,523 m: 39 (2013)
  under 914 m: 34 (2013)
  Heliports: This entry gives the total number of heliports with hard-surface runways, helipads, or landing areas that support routine sustained helicopter operations exclusively and have support facilities including one or more of the following facilities: lighting, fuel, passenger handling, or maintenance. It includes former airports used exclusively for helicopter operations but excludes heliports limited to day operations and natural clearings that could support helicopter landings and takeoffs.
  3 (2013)
  Pipelines: This entry gives the lengths and types of pipelines for transporting products like natural gas, crude oil, or petroleum products.
  2600 km condensate, 16415 km gas, 3447 km liquid petroleum gas, 7036 km oil, 144 km refined products (2013)
  Railways: This entry states the total route length of the railway network and of its component parts by gauge, which is the measure of the distance between the inner sides of the load-bearing rails. The four typical types of gauges are: broad, standard, narrow, and dual. Other gauges are listed under note. Some 60% of the world's railways use the standard gauge of 1.4 m (4.7 ft). Gauges vary by country and sometimes within countries. The choice of gauge during initial construction was mainly in resp . . . more
  total: 3,973 km (2014)
  standard gauge: 2,888 km 1.432-m gauge (283 km electrified) (2014)
  narrow gauge: 1,085 km 1.055-m gauge (2014)
  country comparison to the world: 49
  Roadways: This entry gives the total length of the road network and includes the length of the paved and unpaved portions.
  total: 113,655 km (2010)
  paved: 87,605 km (includes 645 km of expressways) (2010)
  unpaved: 26,050 km (2010)
  country comparison to the world: 43
  Merchant marine: Merchant marine may be defined as all ships engaged in the carriage of goods; or all commercial vessels (as opposed to all nonmilitary ships), which excludes tugs, fishing vessels, offshore oil rigs, etc. This entry contains information in four fields - total, ships by type, foreign-owned, and registered in other countries. Total includes the number of ships (1,000 GRT or over), total DWT for those ships, and total GRT for those ships. DWT or dead weight tonnage is the total weight of ca . . . more
  total: 110 (2017)
  by type: bulk carrier 3, general cargo 13, oil tanker 9, other 85 (2017)
  country comparison to the world: 81
  Ports and terminals: This entry lists major ports and terminals primarily on the basis of the amount of cargo tonnage shipped through the facilities on an annual basis. In some instances, the number of containers handled or ship visits were also considered. Most ports service multiple classes of vessels including bulk carriers (dry and liquid), break bulk cargoes (goods loaded individually in bags, boxes, crates, or drums; sometimes palletized), containers, roll-on/roll-off, and passenger ships. The listing le . . . more
  major seaport(s): Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Djendjene, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda
  LNG terminal(s) (export): Arzew, Bethioua, Skikda
- Military and Security :: Algeria
- Military expenditures: This entry gives spending on defense programs for the most recent year available as a percent of gross domestic product (GDP); the GDP is calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). For countries with no military forces, this figure can include expenditures on public security and police.
  5.81% of GDP (2017)
  6.55% of GDP (2016)
  6.32% of GDP (2015)
  5.54% of GDP (2014)
  4.84% of GDP (2013)
  country comparison to the world: 5
  Military branches: This entry lists the service branches subordinate to defense ministries or the equivalent (typically ground, naval, air, and marine forces).
  People's National Army (Armee Nationale Populaire, ANP): Land Forces (Forces Terrestres, FT), Navy of the Republic of Algeria (Marine de la Republique Algerienne, MRA), Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Jaza'eriya, QJJ), Territorial Air Defense Force (2016)
  Military service age and obligation: This entry gives the required ages for voluntary or conscript military service and the length of service obligation.
  18 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; 19-30 years of age for compulsory service; conscript service obligation is 18 months (6 months basic training, 12 months civil projects) (2018)
- Terrorism :: Algeria
- Terrorist groups - home based: This entry provides information on the US State Department's designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations headquartered in a specific country, which may or may not be a group's country of origin. Details on each organization's aim(s) and area(s) of operation are provided.
  al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM):
  aim: overthrow various African regimes and replace them with one ruled by sharia; establish a regional Islamic caliphate across all of North and West Africa
  area(s) of operation: leadership headquartered in Algeria; operates in Tunisia, Libya, and northern Mali
  note: al-Qa'ida's affiliate in North Africa; Tunisia-based branch known as the Uqbah bin Nafi Battalion; Mali-based cadre merged with allies to form JNIM in March 2017, which pledged allegiance to AQIM and al-Qa'ida (April 2018)
  Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)-Algeria:
  aim(s): replace the Algerian Government with an Islamic state and implement ISIS's strict interpretation of sharia
  area(s) of operation: maintains an operational and recruitment presence mostly in the northeast
  note: formerly known as Jund al-Khilafa - Algeria (JAK-A) (April 2018)
- Transnational Issues :: Algeria
- Disputes - international: This entry includes a wide variety of situations that range from traditional bilateral boundary disputes to unilateral claims of one sort or another. Information regarding disputes over international terrestrial and maritime boundaries has been reviewed by the US Department of State. References to other situations involving borders or frontiers may also be included, such as resource disputes, geopolitical questions, or irredentist issues; however, inclusion does not necessarily constitute . . . more
  Algeria and many other states reject Moroccan administration of Western Sahara; the Polisario Front, exiled in Algeria, represents the Sahrawi Arab Democratic RepublicAlgeria's border with Morocco remains an irritant to bilateral relations, each nation accusing the other of harboring militants and arms smugglingdormant disputes include Libyan claims of about 32,000 sq km still reflected on its maps of southeastern Algeria and the National Liberation Front's (FLN) assertions of a claim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco
  Refugees and internally displaced persons: This entry includes those persons residing in a country as refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), or stateless persons. Each country's refugee entry includes only countries of origin that are the source of refugee populations of 5,000 or more. The definition of a refugee according to a UN Convention is "a person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a . . . more
  refugees (country of origin): more than 100,000 (Western Saharan Sahrawi, mostly living in Algerian-sponsored camps in the southwestern Algerian town of Tindouf) (2018)
  Trafficking in persons: Trafficking in persons is modern-day slavery, involving victims who are forced, defrauded, or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. The International Labor Organization (ILO), the UN agency charged with addressing labor standards, employment, and social protection issues, estimated in 2011 that 20.9 million people worldwide were victims of forced labor, bonded labor, forced child labor, sexual servitude, and involuntary servitude. Human trafficking is a multi-dimensional threat, depri . . . more
  current situation: Algeria is a transit and, to a lesser extent, a destination and source country for women subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking and, to a lesser extent, men subjected to forced labor; criminal networks, sometimes extending to sub-Saharan Africa and to Europe, are involved in human smuggling and trafficking in Algeria; sub-Saharan adults enter Algeria voluntarily but illegally, often with the aid of smugglers, for onward travel to Europe, but some of the women are forced into prostitution, domestic service, and begging; some sub-Saharan men, mostly from Mali, are forced into domestic servitude; some Algerian women and children are also forced into prostitution domestically
  tier rating: Tier 3 – Algeria does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so: some officials denied the existence of human trafficking, hindering law enforcement efforts; the government reported its first conviction under its anti-trafficking law; one potential trafficking case was investigated in 2014, but no suspected offenders were arrested; no progress was made in identifying victims among vulnerable groups or referring them to NGO-run protection service, which left trafficking victims subject to arrest and detention; no anti-trafficking public awareness or educational campaigns were conducted (2015)

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