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;
• some mountains;
• narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

• 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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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

0-14 years:

29.9% (male 4,893,971; female 4,705,933)

15-64 years:

65.5% (male 10,593,840; female 10,443,300)

65 years and over:

4.6% (male 703,420; female 788,860) (2004 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.89 male(s)/female

total population:

1.02 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

noun:

Algerian(s)

adjective:

Algerian

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

• socialist, based on French and Islamic law;
• judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of various public officials, including several Supreme Court justices;
• has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

chief of state:

President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (since 28 April 1999)

head of government:

Prime Minister Ahmed OUYAHIA (since 9 May 2003)

cabinet:

Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
• election last held 8 April 2004 (next to be held NA April 2009);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA reelected president for second term; percent of vote - Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA 85%, Ali BENFLIS 6.4%, Abdallah DJABALLAH 5%

• Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI];
• Democratic National Rally or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA, chairman];
• Islamic Salvation Front or FIS (outlawed April 1992) [Ali BELHADJ and Dr. Abassi MADANI, Rabeh KEBIR (self-exiled in Germany)];
• National Entente Movement or MEN [Ali BOUKHAZNA];
• National Liberation Front or FLN [Abdelaziz BELKHADEM, secretary general (also serves as Foreign Minister)];
• National Reform Movement or Islah (formerly MRN) [Abdellah DJABALLAH];
• National Renewal Party or PRA [Yacine TERKMANE];
• Progressive Republican Party [Khadir DRISS];
• Rally for Culture and Democracy or RCD [Said SAADI, secretary general];
• Renaissance Movement or EnNahda Movement [Fatah RABEI];
• Social Liberal Party or PSL [Ahmed KHELIL];
• Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Hocine Ait AHMED, secretary general (self-exiled in Switzerland)];
• Society of Peace Movement or MSP [Boujerra SOLTANI];
• Workers Party or PT [Louisa HANOUN]

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

• The Algerian Human Rights League or LADH or LADDH [Yahia Ali ABDENOUR];
• SOS Disparus [Nacera DUTOUR];
• Somoud [Ali MERABET]

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant)

chancery:

2137 Wyoming Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 265-2800

FAX:

[1] (202) 667-2174

chief of mission:

Ambassador Richard W. ERDMAN

embassy:

4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers

mailing address:

B. P. 408, Alger-Gare, 16030 Algiers

telephone:

[213] (21) 691-425/255/186

FAX:

[213] (21) 69-39-79

• two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white;
• a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent centered over the two-color boundary;
• the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state religion)

lowest 10%:

2.8%

highest 10%:

26.8% (1995)

general assessment:

• telephone density in Algeria is very low, not exceeding five telephones per 100 persons;
• the number of fixed main lines increased in the last few years to a little more than 2,000,000, but only about two-thirds of these have subscribers;
• much of the infrastructure is outdated and inefficient

domestic:

good service in north but sparse in south; domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations (20 additional domestic earth stations are planned)

international:

• country code - 213;
• 5 submarine cables;
• microwave radio relay to Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia;
• coaxial cable to Morocco and Tunisia;
• participant in Medarabtel;
• satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik, and 1 Arabsat (1998)

total:

3,973 km

standard gauge:

2,888 km 1.435-m gauge (283 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

1,085 km 1.055-m gauge (2003)

total:

104,000 km

paved:

71,656 km (including 640 km of expressways)

unpaved:

32,344 km (1999)

• condensate 1,344 km;
• gas 85,946 km;
• liquid petroleum gas 2,213 km;
• oil 6,496 km (2004)

total:

59 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 837,676 GRT/929,847 DWT

by type:

bulk 9, cargo 16, chemical tanker 6, liquefied gas 10, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 9, short-sea/passenger 4, specialized tanker 1

foreign-owned:

United Kingdom 4

registered in other countries:

4 (2004 est.)

• Algeria supports the exiled Sahrawi Polisario Front and rejects Moroccan administration of Western Sahara;
• Algeria's border with Morocco remains an irritant to bilateral relations;
• each nation has accused the other of harboring militants and arms smuggling;
• in an attempt to improve relations afer unilaterally imposing a visa requirement on Algerians in the early 1990s, Morocco lifted the requirement in mid-2004 - a gesture not reciprocated by Algeria;
• Algeria remains concerned about armed bandits operating throughout the Sahel who sometimes destabilize southern Algerian towns;
• dormant disputes include Libyan claims of about 32,000 sq km still reflected on its maps of southeastern Algeria and the FLN's assertions of a claim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco

refugees (country of origin):

165,000 (Western Saharan Sahrawi, mostly living in Algerian-sponsored camps in the southeastern Algerian town of Tindouf)

IDPs:

100,000 - 200,000 (conflict between government forces, Islamic insurgents) (2004)