Algeria

• 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

• mostly high plateau and desert;
• Atlas Mountains in the far north and Hoggar Mountains in the south;
• narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

Atlantic Ocean drainage:

Niger (2,261,741 sq km)

Internal (endorheic basin) drainage:

Lake Chad (2,497,738 sq km)

• mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes;
• mudslides and floods in rainy season;
• droughts

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 5,000 to 11,000 years ago, when the region was completely vegetated

noun:

Algerian(s)

adjective:

Algerian

total:

29.3 years (2025 est.)

male:

28.8 years

female:

29.4 years

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.96 male(s)/female

total population:

1.03 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

18.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)

male:

19.8 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

17.5 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

77.9 years (2024 est.)

male:

77.2 years

female:

78.7 years

total:

0.59 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

0.31 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.2 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

0.08 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

21.4% (2025 est.)

male:

41.6% (2025 est.)

female:

0.6% (2025 est.)

women married by age 15:

0% (2019)

women married by age 18:

3.8% (2019)

• air pollution in major cities;
• soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming practices;
• desertification;
• river and coastal pollution from dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents;
• pollution in Mediterranean Sea from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff;
• inadequate potable water

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Nuclear Test Ban

• 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

urban population:

75.3% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

1.99% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

energy:

2,561.1 kt (2022-2024 est.)

agriculture:

256 kt (2019-2021 est.)

waste:

486.4 kt (2019-2021 est.)

other:

7.6 kt (2019-2021 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

12.379 million tons (2024 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

11% (2022 est.)

municipal:

3.389 billion cubic meters (2022)

industrial:

181 million cubic meters (2022)

agricultural:

7.391 billion cubic meters (2022)

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

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 of the capital but joined to the mainland since 1525

• mixed 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

history:

several previous; latest approved by referendum 1 November 2020

amendment process:

• 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

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

chief of state:

President Abdelmadjid TEBBOUNE (since 12 December 2019)

head of government:

Prime Minister Sifi GHRIEB (since 28 August 2025)

cabinet:

Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president

election/appointment process:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in two rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• prime minister nominated by the president after consultation with the majority party in Parliament

most recent election date:

7 September 2024

election results:

2024: Abdelmadjid TEBBOUNE (NLF) 94.7%, Abdelaali Hassani CHERIF (MSP) 3.2%, Youcef AOUCHICHE (FFS) 2.2%; 2019: (FLN) 58.1%, Abdelkader BENGRINA (El-Bina) 17.4%, Ali BENFLIS (Talaie El Hurriyet) 10.6%, Azzedine MIHOUBI (RND) 7.3%, Abdelaziz BELAID (Future Front) 6.7%

expected date of next election:

2029

legislature name:

Parliament (Barlaman)

legislative structure:

bicameral

chamber name:

National People's Assembly (Al-Majlis Al-Chaabi Al-Watani)

number of seats:

407 (all directly elected)

electoral system:

proportional representation

scope of elections:

full renewal

term in office:

5 years

most recent election date:

6/12/2021

parties elected and seats per party:

• National Liberation Front (FLN) (98);
• Movement of Society for Peace (MSP) (65);
• National Democratic Rally (RND) (58);
• El-Moustakbel Front (Future", FM) (48);
• El Binaa Movement (39);
• Independents (84);
• Other (15)

percentage of women in chamber:

7.9%

expected date of next election:

June 2026

chamber name:

Council of the Nation (Majlis al-Oumma)

number of seats:

174 (116 indirectly elected; 58 appointed)

electoral system:

plurality/majority

scope of elections:

partial renewal

term in office:

6 years

most recent election date:

3/9/2025

percentage of women in chamber:

2.5%

expected date of next election:

January 2028

highest court(s):

Supreme Court or Le 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)

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

note: Algeria's judicial system does not include sharia courts

• Algerian National Front or FNA
• Algerian Popular Movement or MPA
• Algeria's Hope Rally or TAJ
• Dignity or El Karama
• El-Infitah
• El Mostakbal (Future Front)
• Ennour El Djazairi Party (Algerian Radiance Party) or PED
• Equity and Proclamation Party or PEP
• Islamic Renaissance Movement or Ennahda Movement
• Justice and Development Front or FJD
• Movement for National Reform or El Islah
• Movement of Society for Peace or MSP
• National Construction Movement or El-Bina (Harakat El-Binaa El-Watani)
• National Democratic Rally (Rassemblement National Democratique) or RND
• National Front for Social Justice or FNJS
• National Liberation Front or FLN
• National Militancy Front or FMN
• National Party for Solidarity and Development or PNSD
• National Republican Alliance or ANR
• New Dawn Party (El-Fajr El-Jadid)
• New Generation (Jil Jadid)
• Oath of 1954 or Ahd 54
• Party of Justice and Liberty or PLJ
• Rally for Culture and Democracy or RCD
• Socialist Forces Front or FFS
• Union for Change and Progress or UCP
• Union of Democratic and Social Forces or UFDS
• Vanguard of Liberties (Talaie El Hurriyet)
• Workers Party or PT
• Youth Party or PJ

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador Sabri BOUKADOUM (since 27 February 2024)

chancery:

2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 265-2800

FAX:

[1] (202) 986-5906

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.algerianembassy.org/

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Elizabeth Moore AUBIN (since 9 February 2022)

embassy:

05 Chemin Cheikh Bachir, Ibrahimi, El-Biar 16030, Alger

mailing address:

6030 Algiers Place, Washington DC 20521-6030

telephone:

[213] (0) 770-08-2000

FAX:

[213] (0) 770-08-2299

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://dz.usembassy.gov/

description:

two equal vertical bands of green (left) and white; a red, five-pointed star inside a red crescent, centered over the two-color boundary

meaning:

• 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

title:

"Kassaman" (We Pledge)

lyrics/music:

Mufdi ZAKARIAH/Mohamed FAWZI

history:

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

total World Heritage Sites:

7 (6 cultural, 1 mixed)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Beni Hammad Fort (c);
• Djémila (c);
• Casbah of Algiers (c);
• M'zab Valley (c);
• Tassili n'Ajjer (m);
• Timgad (c);
• Tipasa (c)

• suffering oil and gas economy;
• lack of sector and market diversification;
• political instability chilling domestic consumption;
• poor credit access and declines in business confidence;
• COVID-19 austerity policies;
• delayed promised socio-economic reforms

total:

29.8% (2024 est.)

male:

26.8% (2024 est.)

female:

45.8% (2024 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

37.2% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

1% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

consumption:

3,000 metric tons (2023 est.)

imports:

241,000 metric tons (2023 est.)

proven reserves:

223 million metric tons (2023 est.)

total petroleum production:

1.443 million bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

446,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

12.2 billion barrels (2021 est.)

production:

104.896 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

consumption:

52.831 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

exports:

51.566 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

proven reserves:

4.504 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

• Radio Algérienne is the state-run radio broadcast;
• the National Company of Television (Entreprise Nationale de Télévision (ENTV)) is the primary state-run public TV station (2024)

total ports:

17 (2024)

large:

2

medium:

1

small:

6

very small:

8

ports with oil terminals:

3

key ports:

Alger, Annaba, Arzew, Arzew El Djedid, Bejaia, Mers El Kebir, Oran, Port Methanier, Skikda

• the Algerian military has traditionally been armed mostly with Russian and Soviet-era weapons systems and equipment;
• over the past decade, it has made investments in acquiring more modern armored vehicles, air defense systems, fighter aircraft, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and warships, largely from Russia, its traditional supplier, but also China and Western European suppliers such as Germany (2025)

• 18 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women;
• 19 years of age for mandatory national service for men (all Algerian men must register at age 17);
• 12 months national service obligation (2025)

• none;
• note - in 1947, Algeria began hosting a French military rocket test site known as the Centre Interarmées d’Essais d’Engins Spéciaux (CIEES or Interarmy Special Vehicles Test Center);
• it was the continent of Africa's first rocket launch site and was in service until 1967

• has a national space policy and space research program with stated goals of supporting internal development, managing resources, mastering space technology, and reinforcing national sovereignty;
• builds and operates communications and remote sensing (RS) satellites;
• researching and developing a range of space-related capabilities, including satellites and satellite payloads, communications, RS, instrumentation, image processing, and geo-spatial information;
• works with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including Argentina, China, France, Germany, India, Russia, Slovenia, Ukraine, the UK, and other African countries;
• member of the African Space Agency and the Arab Space Coordination Group (2025)

• al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM);
• Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) – Algeria;
• al-Mulathamun Battalion (al-Mourabitoun)

note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

refugees:

188,206 (2024 est.)

IDPs:

25 (2024 est.)

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List — Algeria did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts to eliminate trafficking compared with the previous reporting period, therefore Algeria remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year;
• for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/algeria/