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, 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

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.88 male(s)/female

total population:

1.02 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne disease:

cutaneous leishmaniasis is a high risk in some locations (2005)

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

name:

Algiers

geographic coordinates:

36 47 N, 2 03 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• 8 September 1963;
• revised 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976;
• revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, and 28 November 1996

• 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 Abdelaziz BELKHADEM

cabinet:

Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held 8 April 2004 (next to be held in 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%, Abdellah DJABALLAH 5%

• Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI];
• National Democratic Rally (Rassemblement National Democratique) or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA, secretary general];
• Islamic Salvation Front or FIS (outlawed April 1992) [Ali BELHADJ, Dr. Abassi MADANI, Rabeh KEBIR];
• National Entente Movement or MEN [Ali BOUKHAZNA];
• National Liberation Front or FLN [Abdelaziz BELKHADEM, secretary general];
• 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 SADI];
• Renaissance Movement or EnNahda Movement [Fatah RABEI];
• Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Hocine Ait AHMED, secretary general];
• Social Liberal Party or PSL [Ahmed KHELIL];
• Society of Peace Movement or MSP [Boudjerra 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 Amine KHERBI

chancery:

2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 265-2800

FAX:

[1] (202) 667-2174

chief of mission:

Ambassador Robert S. FORD

embassy:

04 Chemin Cheikh Bachir Ibrahimi El-Biar 16030, Algiers

mailing address:

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

telephone:

[213] (021) 69-12-55

FAX:

[213] (021) 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 nearly 2.6 million, 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;
• submarine cables - 5;
• microwave radio relay to Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia;
• coaxial cable to Morocco and Tunisia;
• participant in Medarabtel;
• satellite earth stations - 51 (Intelsat, Intersputnik, and Arabsat) (2005)

• condensate 1,344 km;
• gas 85,946 km;
• liquid petroleum gas 2,213 km;
• oil 6,496 km (2005)

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 (2005)

total:

104,000 km

paved:

71,656 km

unpaved:

32,344 km (1999)

total:

41 ships (1000 GRT or over) 744,406 GRT/766,764 DWT

by type:

bulk carrier 7, cargo 10, chemical tanker 2, liquefied gas 9, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 5, roll on/roll off 3, specialized tanker 1

foreign-owned:

13 (UK 13) (2006)

males age 19-49:

8,033,049

females age 19-49:

7,926,351 (2005 est.)

males age 19-49:

6,590,079

females age 19-49:

6,711,285 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

374,639

females age 19-49:

369,021 (2005 est.)

• Algeria supports the exiled Sahrawi Polisario Front and rejects Moroccan administration of Western Sahara;
• most of the approximately 102,000 Western Saharan Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria;
• Algeria's border with Morocco remains an irritant to bilateral relations, each nation accusing the other of harboring militants and arms smuggling;
• in an attempt to improve relations, Morocco, in mid-2004, unilaterally lifted the requirement that Algerians visiting Morocco possess entry visas - 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):

102,000 (Western Saharan Sahrawi, mostly living in Algerian-sponsored camps in the southwestern Algerian town of Tindouf)

IDPs:

400,000-600,000 (conflict between government forces, Islamic insurgents) (2005)

current situation:

• Algeria is a transit and destination country for men, women, and children from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation;
• many victims willingly migrate to Algeria en route to European countries with the help of smugglers, where they are often forced into prostitution, labor, and begging to pay off their smuggling debt;
• armed militants reportedly traffic women for sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude, and children may be trafficked for forced labor as domestic servants or street vendors

tier rating:

Tier 2 Watch List - Algeria took no steps to assess the scope of trafficking in the country and reported no investigations or prosecutions for trafficking offenses this year