Coordinates: 28°N 2°E / 28°N 2°E / 28; 2

People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية al-Jumhūriyyah al-Jazāʾiriyyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyyah ash-Shaʿbiyyah
Flag Emblem
Motto: بالشّعب وللشّعب   (Arabic) "S weɣref i weɣref" (Berber) "By the people and for the people"[1][2]
Anthem:  "Kassaman" "We Pledge"
Capital (and largest city)		Algiers 36°42′N 3°13′E / 36.7°N 3.217°E / 36.7; 3.217
Official language(s)		Arabic[3]
National languages		Berber
Ethnic groups		Arab-Berber 99% European less than 1%
Demonym		Algerian
Government		Semi-presidential republic
-	President	Abdelaziz Bouteflika
-	Prime Minister	Ahmed Ouyahia
Legislature		Parliament
-	Upper house	Council of the Nation
-	Lower house	People's National Assembly
Independence		from France
-	Recognized	3 July 1962
-	Declared	5 July 1962
-	Vandal Kingdom	from 430
-	Rustamid dynasty	from 767
-	Zirid dynasty	from 973
-	Hammadid dynasty	from 1014
-	Abdalwadid dynasty	from 1235
-	Ottoman Empire	from 1516
-	French rule	from 1830
Area
-	Total	2,381,741 km2 (10th) 919,595 sq mi
-	Water (%)	negligible
Population
-	2012 estimate	37,100,000[4]
-	1998 census	29,100,867
-	Density	14.6/km2 (204th) 37.9/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$263.661 billion[5] (47th)
-	Per capita	$7,333[5] (100th)
GDP (nominal)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$190.709 billion[5] (49th)
-	Per capita	$5,304[5] (93rd)
Gini (1995)		35.3[6] (medium)
HDI (2011)		0.698[7] (medium) (96th)
Currency		Algerian dinar (DZD)
Time zone		CET (UTC+01)
Drives on the		right[8]
ISO 3166 code		DZ
Internet TLD		.dz, الجزائر.
Calling code		213
Modern Standard Arabic is the official language.[9] Tamazight is spoken by one third of the population and has been recognized as a "national language" by the constitutional amendment since 8 May 2002.[10] Algerian Arabic (or Darja) is the language used by the majority of the population. Although French has no official status, Algeria is the second Francophone country in the world in terms of speakers[11] and French is still widely used in the government, the culture, the media (newspapers) and the education system (since primary school), due to Algeria's colonial history and can be regarded as the de facto co-official language of Algeria. The Kabyle language, the most-spoken Berber language in the country, is taught and is partially co-official (with a few restrictions) in parts of Kabylia.

Algeria ⁱ/ælˈdʒɪəriə/ (Arabic: الجزائر‎, al-Jazā'ir; Berber: ⴷⵣⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية, al-Jumhūriyyah al-Jazāʾiriyyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyyah ash-Shaʿbiyyah),^{[note 1]} also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria,^[12] is a large country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.

When referring to its land area, Algeria is the largest country in Africa, Maghreb and the Arab World. It is also the largest of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea; it is also the tenth-largest country in the world.^[13] The country is bordered in the northeast by Tunisia, in the east by Libya, in the west by Morocco, in the southwest by Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Mali, in the southeast by Niger, and in the north by the Mediterranean Sea. Its size is almost 2,400,000 square kilometres (926,645 sq mi) with an estimated population of 37.1 million as of 2012.^[4] Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC and the United Nations. The country is also a founding member of the Arab Maghreb Union.

Etymology[link]

The country's name is derived from the city of Algiers. The most common etymology links the city name to al-Jazā'ir (الجزائر, "The Islands"), a truncated form of the city's older name Jazā'ir Banī Mazghanna (جزائر بني مزغنة, "Islands of the Mazghanna Tribe"),^[14][15] employed by medieval geographers such as al-Idrisi. Others^[who?] trace it to Ldzayer, the Maghrebi Arabic and Berber for "Algeria" possibly related to the Zirid Dynasty King Ziri ibn-Manad and founder of the city of Algiers^[16]

History[link]

Algeria has been populated since 10.000 BC, as depicted in the Tassili national Park. The indigenous peoples of northern Africa are a distinct native population, called the Berbers,^[17] by Greeks and Romans then by Arabs.

Prehistoric period[link]

"The Great Fishing God of Sefar", one of the oldest paintings on earth^[18]

The cave painting found around the Tassili n'Ajjer in northern Tamanrasset, and in other places, depicts scenes from every day life in the prehistoric Algeria, between 8000-BC and 4000-BC. They were executed by hunters during the Capsian period of the Neolithic age who lived in a savanna region, known then as the Green Sahara. Those paintings show giant buffalos, elephants, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus, animals that no longer exist in the now-desert area. The pictures provide the most complete record of a prehistoric Algerian history.

Earlier inhabitants of Algeria also left a significant amount of remains. At Ain Hanech^[19] region (Saïda Province), early remnants (200.000-BC) of hominid occupation in North Africa were found. Neanderthal tool makers produced hand axes in the Levalloisian and Mousterian styles (43.000-BC) similar to those in the Levant.

According to some sources, Algeria was the site of the highest state of development of Middle Paleolithic Flake tool techniques. Tools of this era, starting about 30.000-BC, are called Aterian (after the archeological site of Bir el Ater, south of Annaba) and are marked by a high standard of workmanship, great variety, and specialization.

The earliest blade industries in North Africa are called Iberomaurusian (located mainly in Oran region). This industry appears to have spread throughout the coastal regions of the Maghreb between 15.000-BC and 10.000-BC. Neolithic civilization (animal domestication and agriculture) developed in the Saharan and Mediterranean Maghrib between 6.000 and 2.000-BC. This life richly depicted in the Tassili n'Ajjer paintings, predominated Algeria until the classical period.

The amalgam of peoples of North Africa coalesced eventually into a distinct native population that came to be called Berbers. Distinguished by cultural and linguistic attributes, the Berbers were typically depicted as "barbaric" enemies, troublesome nomads, or ignorant peasants by Roman, Greek, Byzantine, and Arab Muslim invaders. They were, however, to play a major role in the area's history.

Classical period[link]

Ancient temple in Algeria

Scipio at the deathbed of Massinissa

From their principal center of power at Carthage, the Carthaginians expanded and established small settlements along the North African coast; by 600-BC, a Phoenician presence existed at Tipasa, east of Cherchell, Hippo Regius (modern Annaba) and Rusicade (modern Skikda). These settlements served as market towns as well as anchorages.

As Carthaginian power grew, its impact on the indigenous population increased dramatically. Berber civilization was already at a stage in which agriculture, manufacturing, trade, and political organization supported several states. Trade links between Carthage and the Berbers in the interior grew, but territorial expansion also resulted in the enslavement or military recruitment of some Berbers and in the extraction of tribute from others.

Numidian Statues in Cherchell Museum

By the early fourth century BC, Berbers formed the single largest element of the Carthaginian army. In the Revolt of the Mercenaries, Berber soldiers rebelled from 241 to 238-BC after being unpaid following the defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War. They succeeded in obtaining control of much of Carthage's North African territory, and they minted coins bearing the name Libyan, used in Greek to describe natives of North Africa. The Carthaginian state declined because of successive defeats by the Romans in the Punic Wars.

In 146-BC the city of Carthage was destroyed. As Carthaginian power waned, the influence of Berber leaders in the hinterland grew. By the second century BC, several large but loosely administered Berber kingdoms had emerged. Two of them were established in Numidia, behind the coastal areas controlled by Carthage. West of Numidia lay Mauretania, which extended across the Moulouya River in modern day Morocco to the Atlantic Ocean. The high point of Berber civilization, unequaled until the coming of the Almohads and Almoravids more than a millennium later, was reached during the reign of Massinissa in the second century BC.

After Masinissa's death in 148 BC, the Berber kingdoms were divided and reunited several times. Massinissa's line survived until 24 AD, when the remaining Berber territory was annexed to the Roman Empire for 2 centuries.

Arrival of Islam[link]

Great Mosque of Algiers

When Muslim Arabs arrived in Algeria in the mid-7th century, a large number of locals converted to the new faith. After the fall of the Umayyad Arab Dynasty in 751, numerous local Berber dynasties emerged. Amongst those dynasties were the Aghlabids, Almohads, Abdalwadid, Zirids, Rustamids, Hammadids, Almoravids and the Fatimids.^{[citation needed]} converted the Berber Kutama of the Lesser Kabylia to its cause, the Shia Fatimids overthrew the Rustamids, and conquered Egypt, leaving Algeria and Tunisia to their Zirid vassals. When the latter rebelled, the Shia Fatimids sent in the Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym Arabian tribes who unexpectedly defeated the Zirids.^{[citation needed]}

The Berber people controlled much of the Maghreb region throughout the Middle Ages. The Berbers were made up of several tribes. The two main branches were the Botr and Barnès tribes, who were themselves divided into tribes, and again into sub-tribes. Each region of the Maghreb contained several tribes (for example, Sanhadja, Houaras, Zenata, Masmouda, Kutama, Awarba, and Berghwata). All these tribes were independent and made territorial decisions.^[20]

Several Berber dynasties emerged during the Middle Ages in Maghreb, Sudan, Andalusia, Italy, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Egypt, and other nearby lands. Ibn Khaldun provides a table summarizing the Zirid, Banu Ifran, Maghrawa, Almoravid, Hammadid, Almohad, Merinid, Abdalwadid, Wattasid, Meknassa and Hafsid dynasties.^[21]

Barbary corsairs[link]

The Spanish fort of Cruz, Oran

The Spanish expansionist policy in North Africa began with the rule of the Catholic monarchs Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon and their regent Cisneros. Once the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula was completed, several towns and outposts on the Algerian coast were conquered and occupied by the Spanish Empire: Mers El Kébir (1505), Oran (1509), Algiers (1510) and Bugia (1510). On 15 January 1510 the King of Algiers, Samis El Felipe,^{[clarification needed]} was forced into submission by the king of Spain. King El Felipe^{[clarification needed]} called for help from the corsairs Hayreddin Barbarossa and Oruç Reis who previously helped Andalusian Muslims and Jews escape from Spanish oppression in 1492. In 1516, Oruç Reis conquered Algiers with the support of 1,300 Turkish soldiers on board 16 galliots and became its ruler, with Algiers joining the Ottoman Empire.

The Spaniards left Algiers in 1529, Bugia in 1554, Mers El Kébir and Oran in 1708. The Spanish returned in 1732 when the armada of the Duke of Montemar was victorious in the Battle of Aïn-el-Turk; Spain recaptured Oran and Mers El Kébir. Both cities were held until 1792, when they were sold by King Charles IV of Spain to the Bey of Algiers.

Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha

Algeria was made part of the Ottoman Empire by Hayreddin Barbarossa and his brother Aruj in 1517. After the death of Oruç Reis in 1518, his brother succeeded him. The Sultan Selim I sent him 6,000 soldiers and 2,000 janissaries with which he conquered most of the Algerian territory taken by the Spanish, from Annaba to Mostaganem. Further Spanish attacks led by Hugo of Moncada in 1519 were also pushed back. In 1541, Charles V, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, attacked Algiers with a convoy of 65 warships, 451 large ships and 23,000 men, 2000 of whom were mounted. The attack resulted in failure however, and the Algerian leader Hassan Agha became a national hero as Algiers grew into a center of military power in the Mediterranean.^{[citation needed]}

The Ottomans established Algeria's modern boundaries in the north and made its coast a base for the Ottoman corsairs; their privateering peaked in Algiers in the 17th century. Piracy on American vessels in the Mediterranean resulted in the First (1801–1805) and Second Barbary Wars (1815) with the United States. The pirates forced the people on the ships they captured into slavery; when the pirates attacked coastal villages in southern and Western Europe the inhabitants were forced into the Arab slave trade.^[22]

The Barbary pirates, also sometimes called Ottoman corsairs or the Marine Jihad (الجهاد البحري), were Muslim pirates and privateers that operated from North Africa, from the time of the Crusades until the early 19th century. Based in North African ports such as Tunis in Tunisia, Tripoli in Libya and Algiers in Algeria, they preyed on Christian and other non-Islamic shipping in the western Mediterranean Sea.^{[citation needed]}

Ali Khoja, ruler of Algiers 1816–1818, resplendent in a green turban and wearing a fine sword, is surrounding by the severed heads of vanquished enemies after the bombardment of 1816

Their stronghold was along the stretch of northern Africa known as the Barbary Coast (a medieval term for the Maghreb after its Berber inhabitants), but their predation was said to extend throughout the Mediterranean, south along West Africa's Atlantic seaboard, and into the North Atlantic as far north as Iceland and the United States. They often made raids, called Razzias, on European coastal towns to capture Christian slaves to sell at slave markets in places such as Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Algeria and Morocco.^[23][24] According to Robert Davis, from the 16th to 19th century, pirates captured 1 million to 1.25 million Europeans as slaves. These slaves were captured mainly from seaside villages in Italy, Spain and Portugal, and from farther places like France, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Russia, Scandinavia and even Iceland, India, Southeast Asia and North America.^{[citation needed]}

French friars buying back French slaves.

In 1544, Hayreddin captured the island of Ischia, taking 4,000 prisoners, and enslaved some 9,000 inhabitants of Lipari, almost the entire population.^[25] In 1551, Turgut Reis enslaved the entire population of the Maltese island of Gozo, between 5,000 and 6,000, sending them to Libya. In 1554, pirates sacked Vieste in southern Italy and took an estimated 7,000 slaves.^[26]

In 1558, Barbary corsairs captured the town of Ciutadella (Minorca), destroyed it, slaughtered the inhabitants and took 3,000 survivors to Istanbul as slaves.^[27] In 1563, Turgut Reis landed on the shores of the province of Granada, Spain, and captured coastal settlements in the area, such as Almuñécar, along with 4,000 prisoners. Barbary pirates often attacked the Balearic Islands, and in response many coastal watchtowers and fortified churches were erected. The threat was so severe that the island of Formentera became uninhabited.^[28]

Between 1609 to 1616, England lost 466 merchant ships to Barbary pirates.^[29] In the 19th century, Barbary pirates would capture ships and enslave the crew. Later American ships were attacked. During this period, the pirates forged affiliations with Caribbean powers, paying a "license tax" in exchange for safe harbor of their vessels.^[30] One American slave reported that the Algerians had enslaved 130 American seamen in the Mediterranean and Atlantic from 1785 to 1793.^[31]

Plague had repeatedly struck the cities of North Africa. Algiers lost from 30,000 to 50,000 inhabitants to the plague in 1620–21, and again in 1654–57, 1665, 1691, and 1740–42.^[32]

Relations with the US[link]

The bombardment of Algiers, a 1820 painting

Decatur and the Dey of Algiers (1881 engraving)

US ships paid the tribute demanded by the rulers of Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli and Morocco, preventing attacks on their shipping by Mediterranean corsairs, no longer covered by Great Britain after independence. In 1794 US Congress voted for funds appropriation for warship construction, to counter Mediterranean threats. Despite this the US signed a treaty of $10M (20% of the US annual revenue in 1800) with Algerian Dey to ensure 12 years of attack free shipping in the Mediterranean sea.

After the Napoleonic wars Algeria found itself at war with Spain, Netherlands, England, Prussia, Denmark, Russia and Naples. In March of this year the US government authorized war against the Barbary States, giving place to what is known as Barbary wars. The next year after those wars Algeria was weaker, Europeans with an Anglo-Dutch fleet commanded by the British Lord Exmouth attacked Algiers. After a nine hours bombardment, they obtained a treaty from the Dey that reaffirmed the conditions imposed by Decatur (US navy) concerning the demands of tributes. In addition the Dey agreed to end the practice of enslaving Christians.^[33]

French rule[link]

Arm transport meeting of the FLN leaders

On the pretext of a slight to their consul, the French invaded and captured Algiers in 1830.^{[34] [35]} The conquest of Algeria by the French was long and resulted in considerable bloodshed. A combination of violence and disease epidemics caused the indigenous Algerian population to decline by nearly one-third from 1830 to 1872.^[36]

The six historical Leaders of the FLN

Between 1825 and 1847, 50,000 French people emigrated to Algeria.^[37] These settlers benefited from the French government's confiscation of communal land and the application of modern agricultural techniques that increased the amount of arable land. ^[38] Algeria's social fabric suffered during the occupation: literacy plummeted,^[39] while land development uprooted much of the population.^{[citation needed]}

Starting from the end of the 19th century, people of European descent in Algeria (or natives like Spanish people in Oran), as well as the native Algerian Jews (classified as Sephardi Jews), became full French citizens.^{[citation needed]}

After Algeria's 1962 independence, the Europeans were called Pieds-Noirs ("black feet"). Some apocryphal sources suggest the title comes from the black boots settlers wore, but the term seems not to have been widely used until the time of the Algerian War of Independence and it is more likely it started as an insult towards settlers returning from Africa.^[40]

Post-independence[link]

In 1954, the National Liberation Front (Front de Libération Nationale or FLN) launched the Algerian War of Independence which was a guerrilla campaign. By the end of the war, French President Charles de Gaulle held a plebiscite, offering Algerians three options. In a famous speech (4 June 1958 in Algiers), de Gaulle proclaimed in front of a vast crowd of Pieds-Noirs "Je vous ai compris" ("I have understood you"). Most Pieds-Noirs then believed that de Gaulle meant that Algeria would remain French. The poll resulted in a landslide vote for complete independence from France. Over one million people, ten percent of the population, then fled the country for France in just a few months in mid-1962. These included most of the 1,025,000 Pieds-Noirs, as well as 81,000 Harkis (pro-French Algerians serving in the French Army). In the days preceding the bloody conflict, a group of Algerian Rebels opened fire on a marketplace in Oran killing numerous innocent civilians, mostly women. It is estimated that somewhere between 50,000 and 150,000 Harkis and their dependents were killed by the FLN or by lynch mobs in Algeria.^[41]

Algeria's first president was the FLN leader Ahmed Ben Bella. He was overthrown by his former ally and defense minister, Houari Boumédienne in 1965. Under Ben Bella, the government had already become increasingly socialist and authoritarian, and this trend continued throughout Boumédienne's government. However, Boumédienne relied much more heavily on the army, and reduced the sole legal party to a merely symbolic role. Agriculture was collectivised, and a massive industrialization drive launched. Oil extraction facilities were nationalized. This was especially beneficial to the leadership after the 1973 oil crisis. However, the Algerian economy became increasingly dependent on oil which led to hardship when the price collapsed during the 1980s oil glut.^[42]

Saharawi refugee women with flour in Dakhla, southwestern Algeria

In foreign policy, Algeria has strained relations with Morocco, its western neighbor. Reasons for this include Morocco's disputed claim to portions of western Algeria (which led to the Sand War in 1963), Algeria's support for the Polisario Front for its right to self-determination, and Algeria's hosting of Sahrawi refugees within its borders in the city of Tindouf.^{[citation needed]}

Within Algeria, dissent was rarely tolerated, and the state's control over the media and the outlawing of political parties other than the FLN was cemented in the repressive constitution of 1976.^{[citation needed]}

Boumédienne died in 1978, but the rule of his successor, Chadli Bendjedid, was little more open. The state took on a strongly bureaucratic character and corruption was widespread.^{[citation needed]}

The modernization drive brought considerable demographic changes to Algeria. Village traditions underwent significant change as urbanization increased. New industries emerged and agricultural employment was substantially reduced. Education was extended nationwide, raising the literacy rate from less than ten percent to over sixty percent. There was a dramatic increase in the fertility rate to seven to eight children per mother.^{[citation needed]}

Therefore by 1980, there was a very youthful population and a housing crisis. The new generation struggled to relate to the cultural obsession with the war years and two conflicting protest movements developed: communists, including Berber identity movements; and Islamic intégristes. Both groups protested against one-party rule but also clashed with each other in universities and on the streets during the 1980s. Mass protests from both camps in autumn 1988 forced Bendjedid to concede the end of one-party rule.^{[citation needed]}

Boumediene Era[link]

Ben Bella known as the first president of Algeria

Boumediene putsch over Ben Bella on 19 March 1965 was described, by the Algerian authorities, as a "historical rectification" of the Algerian Revolution. Boumediene dissolved the National Assembly, suspended the 1963 Constitution, disbanded the militia, and abolished the political bureau, a Ben Bella legacy considered his instrument of rule.

After 1965 Algeria was governed by the 26 members of the Revolutionary Council, led by Boumediene. Boumediene was an ardent patriot, deeply influenced by Islamic values. The 'agricultural revolution', the main policy initiative of the Boumediene era, commenced in 1971, but did not have the desired impact. It consisted mainly in the seizure of proprieties and the redistribution of said properties to cooperative farms. During the Boumediene era, a third Algerian Constitution was inaugurated in 1976.

Boumediene was criticised among FLN radical members for betraying "rigorous socialism". Some of the military attempted a coup d'état in 1967. Boumediene also survived an assassination attempt in 1968, after which opponents were exiled or imprisoned, and Boumediene's power consolidated.

Arabization policy[link]

Of all current Arab countries subject to European colonization, Algeria absorbed the heaviest colonial impact. The French controlled almost all the education and cultural life of the colonial system, for over 132 years. Consequently, it emerged as the bi-linguistic state of Algeria after 1962.^[43]

A Kabylian-Arab manuscript written before French colonization

French policy was oriented towards "civilizing" the country, even with a literacy rate of 50% in 1830 (more than in France itself ^[44]), a lot of Algerian Arabic books of the early 19th century are currently present in the National Library of Algeria. The French language replaced the Arabic and Berber languages in almost everything and Arabic declined drastically. Dialectic Arabic, used for every day communications, (Algerian Arabic) survived, but was also influenced by the French language.

During this period a small but influential French-speaking indigenous elite was formed, made up of Berbers mostly from Kabyles. In their policy of "divide to reign," Kabyles were favored by this colonial system.^[45] In fact 80% of Indigenous Schools were destined for Kabyles. As a result, Kabyles moved into large levels of state administration across Algeria after 1962, who, among all Algerians, were the most attached to the French culture.

The Nationalists who ruled Algeria after independence committed themselves to the hard task of regenerating indigenous language and cultural background, in order to recover the precolonial past and to use it in order to restore (if not to create) a national identity based on Islam, Arabic Language, and Algerianism.

This movement was transformed into a state policy called "arabization." Many problems occurred in the application of this new policy. Arabic teachers were lacking, and Algerians were not used to the Literary Arabic. More problems came out during the 1980s Berber Spring, in which Kabyles asked for a solution to the Berber question. They believed Arabization was a menace to the Berber Culture and heritage, and that the French Language offered more opportunities.

The Arabization Movement[link]

Houari Boumedienne (1966)

Under Boumediene, arabization took the form of a national language requirement on street signs and shop signs. Algeria remains caught between strident demands to eliminate any legacy from its colonial past and the more pragmatic concerns of the costs of rapid arabization. Calls have been made to eliminate coeducational schooling and affect the arabization of medical and technological schools.

The Arabization of Algerian society would expedite the inevitable break with France. Tahir Wattar, a prominent pro-arabization Berber, called French use and teaching the "Vestige of Colonialism". In December 1990, a law was passed that would implement complete arabization of secondary school and higher education by 1997. In early July 1993, the most recent legislation proposing a national timetable for imposing Arabic as the only legal language in government and politics was again delayed; this was a result of official concerns about the existence of the necessary preconditions for sensible arabization. The law was to require that Arabic be the language of official communication, and would impose substantial fines for law violations.

Because many of the Algerian elite had been taught French under colonialism, and because a significant sector of the population spoke Tamazight, arabization has not always been popular.^[46]

Political events (1991–2002)[link]

Part of a series on the
History of Algeria
Prehistory Aterian Culture (80k BC) Iberomaurusian Culture (20k BC) Capsian culture (10k BC) Rock art in Oran, Djelfa, Tassili and Ahaggar Green Sahara Roknia Madghacen Jedars Related: Archeology of Algeria
Antiquity Getulia (~500 BC–40 AD) Numidia (202–46 BC) Punic Wars (264–146 BC) Jugurthine War (111–106 BC) Roman Mauretania and Africa (146 BC–585/590 AD) Vandalic War (533–534 AD) Praetorian Africa (534–590 AD) Exarchate of Africa (585–698 AD) Arab conquest (647–709 AD) Early African Church Partenia Fossatum Africae Gemellae
Middle Ages Muhallabids (771–793 AD) Rustamid (776–909 AD) Ifranids (790–1066 AD) Aghlabids (800–909 AD) Fatimides (909–1171 AD) Maghrawas (970–1068 AD) Zirids (973–1152 AD) Hammadids (1014–1152 AD) Almoravids (1040–1147 AD) Almohads (1121–1269 AD) Marinids (1215–1465 AD) Hafsids (1229–1574 AD) Ziyyanids (1235–1556 AD)
Modern times Ottoman Algeria (XVI–XIX century) Barbary corsairs Regency of Algiers Sack of Baltimore Turkish Abductions Barbary Slave Trade Barbary Wars French Algeria (XIX–XX century) French conquest Nationalism and resistance Algerian War GPRA Évian Accords Pied-Noir Harkis Oujda Group
Contemporary Era 1960s–80s Arab nationalism Berber Spring 1988 Riots 1990s Algerian Civil War (Timeline) FIS / GIA List of massacres High Council of State 2000s to present AQIM Arab Spring
Related topics Outline of Algeria Military history of Algeria Postal history of Algeria (List of people on stamps of Algeria) History of North Africa
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The first round of elections were held in 1991. In December 1991, the Islamic Salvation Front won the first round of the country's first multi-party elections. The military then intervened, declared a state of emergency that limited freedom of speech and assembly, and canceled the second round of elections. It forced then-president Bendjedid to resign and ban all political parties based on religion (including the Islamic Salvation Front). The military junta, the High Council of State (HCE), invited Mohamed Boudiaf to return from exile to become its chairman, but he was assassinated on 29 June 1992. The political conflict continued, leading Algeria into the violent Algerian Civil War.^{[citation needed]}

More than 160,000 people were killed between 17 January 1992 and June 2002 in various terrorist attacks which were claimed by the Armed Islamic Group and Islamic Salvation Army. However, elections resumed in 1995, and after 1998, the war waned. On 27 April 1999, after a series of short-term leaders representing the military, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the current president, was chosen by the army.^[47]

Post war[link]

By 2002, the main guerrilla groups had either been destroyed or surrendered, taking advantage of an amnesty program, though fighting and terrorism continues in some areas (See Islamic insurgency in Algeria (2002–present)).^{[citation needed]}

The issue of Amazigh languages and identity increased in significance as of 1998, when the United Nations declared that the Berbers are the indigenous people of North Africa, and giving them rights to their language, culture and historical facts. In Algeria after the extensive protests of 2001 and the near-total boycott of local elections in Kabylie Protests in Arris and T'kout Aures in 2004, where over 200 were jailed. The government responded with concessions including naming of Tamazight (Berber) as a national language and teaching it in schools. As of May 1, 2009 Tamazight is taught in the schools throughout Algeria.

Much of Algeria is now recovering and developing into an emerging economy. The high prices of oil and natural gas are being used by the new government to improve the country's infrastructure and especially improve industry and agricultural land.^{[citation needed]}

Popular protests since 2010[link]

Following a wave of protests in the wake of popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, Algeria officially lifted its 19-year-old state of emergency on 24 February 2011. The country's Council of Ministers approved the repeal two days prior.^[48]

Geography[link]

Mountainous region in Eastern Algeria

Algeria is the largest country in Africa, the Arab world, and the Mediterranean. Its southern part includes a significant part of the Sahara. To the north, the Tell Atlas form with the Saharan Atlas, further south, two parallel sets of reliefs in approaching eastbound, and between which are inserted vast plains and highlands. Both Atlas tend to merge in eastern Algeria. The vast mountain ranges of Aures and Nememcha, occupy the entire north eastern Algeria and are delineated by the Tunisian border. The highest point is Mount Tahat (3,003 m).

Algeria lies mostly between latitudes 19° and 37°N (a small area is north of 37°), and longitudes 9°W and 12°E. Most of the coastal area is hilly, sometimes even mountainous, and there are a few natural harbours. The area from the coast to the Tell Atlas is fertile. South of the Tell Atlas is a steppe landscape, which ends with the Saharan Atlas; further south, there is the Sahara desert.^{[citation needed]}

The Ahaggar Mountains (Arabic: جبال هقار‎), also known as the Hoggar, are a highland region in central Sahara, southern Algeria. They are located about 1,500 km (932 mi) south of the capital, Algiers and just west of Tamanghasset. Algiers, Oran, Constantine, Tizi Ouzou and Annaba are Algeria's main cities.^{[citation needed]}

Algeria is the biggest country in Africa, followed by Democratic Republic of Congo. More than ninety percent of its surface is covered by the Sahara desert.^{[citation needed]}

Climate and hydrology[link]

Alala River in Ténès

In this region, midday desert temperatures can be hot year round. After sunset, however, the clear, dry air permits rapid loss of heat, and the nights are cool to chilly. Enormous daily ranges in temperature are recorded.

The highest official temperature was 50.6 °C (123.1 °F) at In Salah.^[49]

Rainfall is fairly abundant along the coastal part of the Tell Atlas, ranging from 400 to 670 mm (15.7 to 26.4 in) annually, the amount of precipitation increasing from west to east. Precipitation is heaviest in the northern part of eastern Algeria, where it reaches as much as 1,000 mm (39.4 in) in some years.

Farther inland, the rainfall is less plentiful. Prevailing winds that are easterly and north-easterly in summer change to westerly and northerly in winter and carry with them a general increase in precipitation from September through December, a decrease in the late winter and spring months, and a near absence of rainfall during the summer months.^{[citation needed]} Algeria also has ergs, or sand dunes between mountains. Among these, in the summer time when winds are heavy and gusty, temperatures can get up to 110 °F (43.3 °C).

Politics[link]

Algeria is an authoritarian regime, according to the Democracy Index 2010.^[50] The Freedom of the Press 2009 report gives it rating "Not Free".^[51]

The head of state is the president of Algeria, who is elected for a five-year term. The president was formerly limited to two five-year terms but a constitutional amendment passed by the Parliament on 11 November 2008 removed this limitation.^[52] Algeria has universal suffrage at 18 years of age.^[53] The President is the head of the army, the Council of Ministers the High Security Council. He appoints the Prime Minister who is also the head of government.^[54]

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 five years.^[55]

Under the 1976 constitution (as modified 1979, and amended in 1988, 1989, and 1996), Algeria is a multi-party state. The Ministry of the Interior must approve all parties. To date, Algeria has had more than 40 legal political parties. According to the constitution, no political association may be formed if it is "based on differences in religion, language, race, gender, profession or region". In addition, political campaigns must be exempt from the aforementioned subjects.^[56]

Foreign relations and military[link]

ANP Official badge

The military of Algeria consists of the People's National Army (ANP), the Algerian National Navy (MRA), and the Algerian Air Force (QJJ), plus the Territorial Air Defense Force.^[53] It is the direct successor of the Armée de Libération Nationale (ALN), the armed wing of the nationalist National Liberation Front, which fought French colonial occupation during the Algerian War of Independence (1954–62). The commander-in-chief of the military is the president, who is also Minister of National Defense.^{[citation needed]}

Total military personnel include 147,000 active, 150,000 reserve, and 187,000 paramilitary staff (2008 estimate).^[57] Service in the military is compulsory for men aged 19–30, for a total of 18 months (six training and 12 in civil projects).^[53] The total military expenditure in 2006 was estimated variously at 2.7% of GDP (3,096 million),^[57] or 3.3% of GDP.^[53]

Algeria has its force oriented toward its western (Morocco) and eastern (Libyan) neighbors borders.^{[citation needed]} Its primary military supplier has been the former Soviet Union, which has sold various types of sophisticated equipment under military trade agreements, and the People's Republic of China. Algeria has attempted, in recent years, to diversify its sources of military material. Military forces are supplemented by a 70,000-member gendarmerie or rural police force under the control of the president and 30,000-member Sûreté nationale or metropolitan police force under the Ministry of the Interior.^{[citation needed]}

The Algerian Air Force signed a deal with Russia in 2007, to purchase 49 MiG-29SMT and 6 MiG-29UBT at an estimated $1.9 billion. They also agreed to return old aircraft purchased from the Former USSR. Russia is also building two 636-type diesel submarines for Algeria.^[58]

In October 2009, Algeria cancelled a weapons deal with France over the possibility of inclusion of Israeli parts in them.^[59]

Tensions between Algeria and Morocco in relation to the Western Sahara have been an obstacle to tightening the Arab Maghreb Union, which was nominally established in 1989 but which has carried little practical weight.^[60]

Provinces and districts[link]

Algeria is divided into 48 provinces (wilayas), 553 districts (daïras) and 1,541 municipalities (baladiyahs). Each province, district, and municipality is named after its seat, which is usually the largest city. According to the Algerian constitution, a province is a territorial collectivity enjoying some economic freedom.^{[citation needed]}

The People's Provincial Assembly is the political entity governing a province, which has a "president", who is elected by the members of the assembly. They are in turn elected on universal suffrage every five years. The "Wali" (Prefect or governor) directs each province. This person is chosen by the Algerian President to handle the PPA's decisions.^{[citation needed]}

The administrative divisions have changed several times since independence. When introducing new provinces, the numbers of old provinces are kept, hence the non-alphabetical order. With their official numbers, currently (since 1983) they are:^[53]

#	Wilaya	Area (km2)	Population	map	#	Wilaya	Area (km2)	Population
1	Adrar	402,197	439,700		25	Constantine	2,187	943,112
2	Chlef	4,975	1,013,718		26	Médéa	8,866	830,943
3	Laghouat	25,057	477,328		27	Mostaganem	2,269	746,947
4	Oum El Bouaghi	6,768	644,364		28	M'Sila	18,718	991,846
5	Batna	12,192	1,128,030		29	Mascara	5,941	780,959
6	Béjaïa	3,268	915,835		30	Ouargla	211,980	552,539
7	Biskra	20,986	730,262		31	Oran	2,114	1,584,607
8	Béchar	161,400	274,866		32	El Bayadh	78,870	262,187
9	Blida	1,696	1,009,892		33	Illizi	285,000	54,490
10	Bouïra	4,439	694,750		34	Bordj Bou Arréridj	4,115	634,396
11	Tamanrasset	556,200	198,691		35	Boumerdes	1,591	795,019
12	Tébessa	14,227	657,227		36	El Taref	3,339	411,783
13	Tlemcen	9,061	945,525		37	Tindouf	58,193	159,000
14	Tiaret	20,673	842,060		38	Tissemsilt	3,152	296,366
15	Tizi Ouzou	3,568	1,119,646		39	El Oued	54,573	673,934
16	Algiers	273	2,947,461		40	Khenchela	9,811	384,268
17	Djelfa	66,415	1,223,223		41	Souk Ahras	4,541	440,299
18	Jijel	2,577	634,412		42	Tipaza	2,166	617,661
19	Sétif	6,504	1,496,150		43	Mila	9,375	768,419
20	Saïda	6,764	328,685		44	Ain Defla	4,897	771,890
21	Skikda	4,026	904,195		45	Naâma	29,950	209,470
22	Sidi Bel Abbès	9,150	603,369		46	Ain Timouchent	2,376	384,565
23	Annaba	1,439	640,050		47	Ghardaia	86,105	375,988
24	Guelma	4,101	482,261		48	Relizane	4,870	733,060