GeoFroggy

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Background

After more than a century of rule by France, Algerians fought through much of the 1950s to achieve independence in 1962. Algeria's primary political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), has dominated politics ever since. Many Algerians in the subsequent generation were not satisfied, however, and moved to counter the FLN's centrality in Algerian politics. The surprising first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the December 1991 balloting spurred the Algerian army to intervene and postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming power. The army began a crack down on the FIS that spurred FIS supporters to begin attacking government targets. The government later allowed elections featuring pro-government and moderate religious-based parties, but did not appease the activists who progressively widened their attacks. The fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense fighting between 1992-98 and which resulted in over 100,000 deaths - many attributed to indiscriminate massacres of villagers by extremists. The government gained the upper hand by the late-1990s and FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000. However, small numbers of armed militants persist in confronting government forces and conducting ambushes and occasional attacks on villages. The army placed Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA in the presidency in 1999 in a fraudulent election but claimed neutrality in his 2004 landslide reelection victory. Longstanding problems continue to face BOUTEFLIKA in his second term, including the ethnic minority Berbers' ongoing autonomy campaign, large-scale unemployment, a shortage of housing, unreliable electrical and water supplies, government inefficiencies and corruption, and the continuing - although significantly degraded - activities of extremist militants. Algeria must also diversify its petroleum-based economy, which has yielded a large cash reserve but which has not been used to redress Algeria's many social and infrastructure problems. Algeria assumed a two-year seat on the UN Security Council in January 2004.

Location

Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia

Area Comparative

Slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas

Maritime Claims

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm

Climate

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

Natural Hazards

Mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season

Environment Current Issues

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

Environment International Agreements

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

Geography Note

Second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)

Year	2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

Map Reference

Africa

Irrigated Land 1998

5,600 sq km

Area 2005

Total

2,381,740 sq km
Land

2,381,740 sq km
Water

0 sq km

Coastline

998 km

Geographical Coordinates

28 00 N, 3 00 E

Land use 2005

Arable Land
3.22%
Permanent Crops
0.25%
Other
96.53%

Terrain

Mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow
Discontinuous coastal plain

Elevation

Lowest Point: Chott Melrhir -40 m
Highest Point: Tahat 3,003 m

Land Boundaries

Total
6,343 km
Libya
982 km
Mali
1,376 km
Mauritania
463 km
Morocco
1,559 km
Niger
956 km
Tunisia
965 km
Western Sahara
42 km

Natural Resources

Petroleum
Natural gas
Iron ore
Phosphates

Uranium
Lead
Zinc

Algeria