Tag: Algeria

Population, society and rights As for access to health services, currently guaranteed to 95% of the population, Algeria is among the most virtuous states in the region, but records a below average figure for access to drinking water (84% against, for example, 99% of Egypt), which in the last twenty years has fallen by 11%….

Since independence, literacy has increased massively; 70% can now read and write. The enforcement of compulsory schooling for boys and girls must be seen as one of the achievements of independence. At least in the cities, compulsory schooling seems to be generally enforced and accepted (in the morning the streets are full of children on…

Currency: Algerian dinars Exchange rate: 124 per € (official, June 2016) Time zone: UTC + 1 Country code (phone): +213 Climate (for capital): Mediterranean Entry and residence regulations The entry regulations are designed in such a way that entry is not made much easier. For trips to Algeria, a fee-based visa must be applied for…

Proportion of literate adults: 70% Major religion: Islam (Sunni), 99% Urban population (2014): 70% Life expectancy (female / male): 73/77 years (estimated 2011) Gender Inequality Index: 85 of 155 (2014) Number of births: 2.8 per woman (2012) Infant mortality: 25/1000 live births Gender ratio The war of independence against France had called the gender roles…

Legal situation Unlike in the West, religion is firmly rooted in both Arab and Algerian identities – it evidently represents an anchor of identity; the “desacralization” of public life in Western Europe is often criticized and criticized. In Algeria, Islam is the state religion, ie the constitution defines Algeria as an Islamic country and the…

Ethnic diversity and heterogeneity The diversity of Algerian culture is due to the various ethnic groups that have left their mark from the past to the present. Algeria is also a country of immigration and emigration. Perhaps 4 main cultural trends can be named: an Arab-Islamic “leading culture”, which expresses itself in everyday behavior, clothing,…

Algeria is divided into 48 administrative districts (Wilayas). The names of the Wilayas are based on the capital cities. In the densely populated north, the Wilaya names are often almost identical to the city limits, in the sparsely populated south, on the other hand, the area of the Wilayas is much larger and the population…

The Algerian population with currently approx. 37 million residents (depending on the source and annual reference, slightly different numbers are used) is structured very heterogeneously. The proportion of Arabs is given as 70% and that of the Berber Kabyls as 30%, but the original population is non-Arab, and the current structure is the result of…

Independence Day: 05 / July / 1962 Head of state: Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika Head of government: Abdekmalek Sellal Political system: Presidential republic with a multi-party system Democracy Status Index (BTI): Ranked 78 out of 129 Corruption Index (CPI): Rank 88 out of 167 According to Amnesty International, torture and ill-treatment are still used in special prisons…

Algeria has been negotiating membership with the World Trade Organization for 27 years. However, there is a great fear that accession would result in a waiver of sovereignty and significant political and economic risks – for example, cheap imports could put Algerian companies in trouble. Above all, the Algerian side is not prepared to problematize…

The Algerian economy is to the data available from Service sector: approx. 33% Industry and trade: approx. 54% Agriculture: Agriculture: 13% of added value. The services are broken down into state and private in a ratio of 1: 2 (private approx. 20% – eg private telephone companies, state approx. 13%, eg telecommunications). Industry is about…

In 1994, after the failure of the socialist development model from the 1970’s and 1980’s, Algeria stood on the brink. The oil crisis since 1984 led to a drop in government revenues; Algeria was insolvent and had to seek help from the International Monetary Fund. This decreed a drastic structural adjustment program: liquidation of the…

Estimated GDP: US $ 219.5 billion (2014) Per capita income (purchasing power parity): US $ 13,070 Human Development Rank (HDI): Rank 85 (of 189) (2017) Proportion of poverty (national poverty line): 23% (2006) Distribution of income (Gini coefficient): 35.3 Economic Transformation Index (BTI): 70 of 129 (2014) General assessment According to ehistorylib, Algeria’s economy depends…

Algeria traditionally pursued a non-aligned foreign policy and was in the past a founding member and spokesman for the non-aligned countries of the Third World. After the end of the East-West conflict, Algeria was initially focused inwardly in the 1990’s due to the civil war between the army and Islamists and had to find a…

Democracy, transparency, freedom of expression and free media are the exception rather than the rule in recent Algerian history, as they can call into question the rule of the regime and the elites that benefit from it. After 1988, however, the press was under pressure; numerous newspapers and magazines were founded. This variety of printed…

Rulers and power groups Army and FLN The ethnic, social and geographical heterogeneity is very great in Algeria. Therefore it is above all the institution of the army that claims to guarantee the cohesion of the country, occupies the key positions and controls the country’s resources. It drew its legitimacy from its role in the…

As a presidential republic, the presidential elections are of greatest political importance every five years. The incumbent Abdelaziz Boutaflika had opponents in 2004 and 2009, but they had no real chance against him because they did not represent any relevant political forces. According to the constitution, proportional representation applies to parliamentary elections in Algeria; the…

Form of government and constitution The 1996 constitution defines Algeria as a presidential republic. The president is elected directly by the people every five years and heads the country. The President of the Republic can be re-elected. He is the head of state, commander in chief of the army and responsible for national security. The…

After serious unrest on October 9, 1988 with several hundred deaths, Chadli had to initiate democratization and in 1989 approve a new democratic constitution. It provided for the separation of party and state, parliamentary responsibility, pluralism, political freedoms and guarantees of human rights. Simultaneously with the deterioration of the economic situation, promoted by the Islamic…

War of Independence Despite – or because of – all the harshness and military superiority, the legitimacy of the French occupation was not recognized. Famine and excessive violence undermined their basis of legitimation, the integration of the local population in a common Algerian-French identity was not seriously pursued; a million Europeans and 10 million indigenous…

Early history Traces of human settlement have been found in Algeria for 2 million years, for example at Ain-el-Hanech in the northeast, where Stone Age utensils such as hand axes or striking and throwing tools were found. Much is in the dark, but since around 20,000 BC. There is evidence of a settlement in northern…

Partly poor air quality, scarce water resources, pollution of the coasts and seas, inadequate waste management, nature conservation and increasing desertification are the biggest environmental problems in Algeria. A number of measures have been implemented (or at least addressed) in Algerian environmental policy, in particular with regard to desertification, waste management and the protection of…

Natural conditions Geology Algeria lies on or on the borderline between two tectonic plates, the so-called African and Eurasian plates. The African plate, and thus also North Africa and Algeria, is pushing against the Eurasian plate in the course of the continental drift, which, according to geological knowledge and theories, will lead to the disappearance…

Algeria is the largest country in Africa and is located in the center of the Maghreb. Politically, socially, historically, but also geographically and climatically, there is diversity, but also extreme contrasts. Recent history before and after independence has been marked by excessive, traumatizing violence. Country overview In terms of area (after the division of Sudan),…