Official name: People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
Capital: Algiers
Total Area: 2,381,741 km2
Approximate population: 33,858,000
Location: Northwestern Africa
Languages: Arabic, French, Berber
Religions: Sunni Muslim
Currency: Algerian dinar
Organizations: United Nations, African Union, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
World's 11th largest country/territory (area)
Algeria, a gateway between Africa and Europe, has been battered by violence over the past half-century.
More than a million Algerians were killed in the fight for independence from France in 1962, and the country has recently emerged from a brutal internal conflict that followed scrapped elections in 1992.
More than a million Algerians were killed in the fight for independence from France in 1962, and the country has recently emerged from a brutal internal conflict that followed scrapped elections in 1992.
The Sahara desert covers more than four-fifths of the land. Oil and gas reserves were discovered here in the 1950s, but most Algerians live along the northern coast. The country supplies large amounts of natural gas to Europe and energy exports are the backbone of the economy.
Algeria was originally inhabited by Berbers until the Arabs conquered North Africa in the 7th century. Staying mainly in the mountainous regions, the Berbers resisted the spreading Arab influence, managing to preserve much of their language and culture. They make up some 30% of the population.
Continue reading the main story
At a glance
Politics: President Bouteflika led his country out of the civil war that broke out when Islamists were denied an election victory; since the 1990s, the Islamist insurgency has been replaced by Al-Qaeda-inspired militants carrying out a deadly bombing campaign
Economy: Algeria is a key oil and gas supplier
International: Tension persists between Algeria and Morocco over the Western Sahara, where nomadic Saharans are seeking self-determination
Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring
Part of the Turkish Ottoman empire from the 16th century, Algeria was conquered by the French in 1830 and was given the status of a "departement". The struggle for independence began in 1954 headed by the National Liberation Front, which came to power on independence in 1962.
In the 1990s Algerian politics was dominated by the struggle involving the military and Islamist militants. In 1992 a general election won by an Islamist party was annulled, heralding a bloody civil war in which more than 150,000 people were slaughtered.
An amnesty in 1999 led many rebels to lay down their arms.
Although political violence in Algeria has declined since the 1990s, the country has been shaken by by a campaign of bombings carried out by a group calling itself Al-Qaeda in the Land of Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM).
Continue reading the main story
At a glance
Politics: President Bouteflika led his country out of the civil war that broke out when Islamists were denied an election victory; since the 1990s, the Islamist insurgency has been replaced by Al-Qaeda-inspired militants carrying out a deadly bombing campaign
Economy: Algeria is a key oil and gas supplier
International: Tension persists between Algeria and Morocco over the Western Sahara, where nomadic Saharans are seeking self-determination
Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring
Part of the Turkish Ottoman empire from the 16th century, Algeria was conquered by the French in 1830 and was given the status of a "departement". The struggle for independence began in 1954 headed by the National Liberation Front, which came to power on independence in 1962.
In the 1990s Algerian politics was dominated by the struggle involving the military and Islamist militants. In 1992 a general election won by an Islamist party was annulled, heralding a bloody civil war in which more than 150,000 people were slaughtered.
An amnesty in 1999 led many rebels to lay down their arms.
Although political violence in Algeria has declined since the 1990s, the country has been shaken by by a campaign of bombings carried out by a group calling itself Al-Qaeda in the Land of Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM).
No comments: