This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
HOME - Help build the worlds largest free encyclopedia.
Algeria
The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria is a country in northern Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea in the north, Tunisia in the northeast, Libya in the east, Niger in the southeast, Mali and Mauritania in the southwest, and Morocco in the west (the Moroccan border is closed). History Official language Arabic The native Berber population of Capital Algiers Algeria has been under the rule of foreign occupants for most of the last President Abdelaziz Bouteflika 3000 years. The Phoenicians (1000 BC) and the Roman Republic (200 BC) were Area Ranked 11th the most important of these, until the Ê- Total 2,381,740 km² coming of the Arabs in the 8th Ê- % water century. Negligible Population Ranked 34th Formally a part of the Ottoman Empire, Ê- Total (2002) 32,818,500 Algeria's coast was used as a base for Ê- Density 13.3/km² pirates. This was ended by a French Independence From France invasion in 1830, followed by a Ê- Date July 5, 1962 complete conquest of Algeria several years later. In 1954, a guerilla war Currency Algerian dinar began to make Algeria independent, Time zone UTC +1 which succeeded in 1962. National anthem Kassaman In the 1990s, Algeria experienced Internet TLD .DZ resistance from Islamic Calling Code 213 fundamentalists, whose political parties were blocked from elections. Politics The head of state is the political association may be formed if it is "based on differences in religion, language, race gender or region." The head of state is the President of the republic, who is elected to a 5-year term, renewable once. Algeria has universal suffrage. The President is the head of the Council of Ministers and of the High Security Council. He appoints the Prime Minister who also is the head of government. The Prime Minister appoints the Council of Ministers. The Algerian parliament is bicameral, consisting of a lower chamber, the National People's Assembly (APN), with 380 members and an upper chamber, the Council of Nation, with 144 members. The APN is elected every 5 years. Provinces Algeria is divided into 48 wilayas, or provinces: * Adrar * Laghouat * Ain Defla * Mascara * Ain Temouchent * Medea * Alger * Mila * Annaba * Mostaganem * Batna * M'Sila * Bechar * Naama * Bejaia * Oran * Biskra * Ouargla * Blida * Oum el Bouaghi * Bordj Bou Arreridj * Relizane * Bouira * Saida * Boumerdes * Setif * Chlef * Sidi Bel Abbes * Constantine * Skikda * Djelfa * Souk Ahras * El Bayadh * Tamanghasset * El Oued * Tebessa * El Tarf * Tiaret * Ghardaia * Tindouf * Guelma * Tipaza * Illizi * Tissemsilt * Jijel * Tizi Ouzou * Khenchela * Tlemcen Geography Most of the coastal area is hilly, sometimes even mountainous, and there are few good harbours. The area just south of the coast, known as the Tell, is fertile. Further south is the Atlas mountain range and the Sahara desert. Algiers, Oran and Constantine are the main cities. Algeria's climate is arid and hot, although the coastal climate is mild, and the winters in the mountainous areas can be severe. Algeria is prone to sirocco, a hot dust- and sand-laden wind especially common in summer. Economy The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 60% of budget revenues, 30% of GDP, and over 95% of export earnings. Algeria has the fifth-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the second largest gas exporter; it ranks 14th in oil reserves. Algeria has massive foreign debts. Algeria's financial and economic indicators improved during the mid-1990s, in part because of policy reforms supported by the IMF and debt rescheduling from the Paris Club. Algeria's finances in 2000 and 2001 benefited from the temporary spike in oil prices and the government's tight fiscal policy, leading to a large increase in the trade surplus, record highs in foreign exchange reserves, and reduction in foreign debt. The government's continued efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector has had little success in reducing high unemployment and improving living standards. In 2001, the government signed an Association Treaty with the European Union that will eventually lower tariffs and increase trade. Demographics About 90% of the Algerians lives in the northern, coastal area, although there are about 1.5 million Bedouin living in the southern desert. The mixed Arab and Berber population is mostly Islamic (99%); other religions are restricted to small groups of foreign citizens. The official language is Arabic, while French and Berber languages are also still spoken. Culture Rai, a local music form, has great popularity in Algeria, and enjoys some popularity abroad as well, notably in France, where a large number of Algerians lives.
How to - Physics - History - Companies - Internet - Video Games - List of Phobias - September 11, 2001
Radio - Timelines - Chemistry - Genealogy - Family - Film - SARS - Cancer - Medicine - DVD - Calendar
Countries - Disease - Health Science - Dentistry - Economics - AIDS - Law - Autism - Statistics - Bible
Recipes - Architecture - Computers - History of the Internet - Personal computer - Apple Macintosh
War - Presidents of the United States - United States Constitution - Universe - Philosophy - Animals
Biology - United States Constitution - Marketing Topics - Sports - Television - History of Computing
This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
HOME - Help build the worlds largest free encyclopedia.
