The 2008 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency

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СКАЧАТЬ Algeria

      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 crackdown 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 activities of extremist militants. The 2006 merger of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) with al-Qaida (followed by a name change to al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb) signaled an increase in bombings, including high-profile, mass-casualty suicide attacks targeted against the Algerian government and Western interests. 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.

      Geography

       Algeria

      Location:

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

      Geographic coordinates:

      28 00 N, 3 00 E

      Map references:

      Africa

      Area:

      total: 2,381,740 sq km land: 2,381,740 sq km water: 0 sq km

      Area - comparative:

      slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas

      Land boundaries:

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

      Coastline:

      998 km

      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

      Terrain:

      mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

      Elevation extremes:

      lowest point: Chott Melrhir −40 m highest point: Tahat 3,003 m

      Natural resources:

      petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc

      Land use:

      arable land: 3.17% permanent crops: 0.28% other: 96.55% (2005)

      Irrigated land:

      5,690 sq km (2003)

      Total renewable water resources:

      14.3 cu km (1997)

      Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

      total: 6.07 cu km/yr (22%/13%/65%) per capita: 185 cu m/yr (2000)

      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)

      People

       Algeria

      Population:

      33,769,668 (July 2008 est.)

      Age structure:

      0–14 years: 26.3% (male 4,528,919/female 4,349,746) 15–64 years: 68.7% (male 11,699,701/female 11,509,619) 65 years and over: 5% (male 779,467/female 902,217) (2008 est.)

      Median age:

      total: 26 years male: 25.8 years female: 26.2 years (2008 est.)

      Population growth rate:

      1.209% (2008 est.)

      Birth rate:

      17.03 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

      Death rate:

      4.62 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

      Net migration rate:

      −0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

      Sex ratio:

      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: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

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