Key Demographic Features of
Algeria*
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean
Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
Map references: Africa
People
Population: 29,183,032 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 40% (male 5,910,543; female 5,701,647)
15-64 years: 56% (male 8,319,650; female 8,162,816)
65 years and over: 4% (male 510,308; female 578,068)
(July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.21% (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 48.7 deaths/1,000 live births
(1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.31 years
male: 67.22 years
female: 69.46 years (1996 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
Religions: Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian
and Jewish 1%
Languages: Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population: 61.6%
male: 73.9%
female: 49%
Government
Country Abbreviation: AG
Type of government: republic
Independence: 5 July 1962 (from France)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 1
November (1954)
Constitution: 19 November 1976, effective 22 November
1976; revised 3 November 1988 and 23 February 1989
Legal system: socialist, based on French and Islamic law;
judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional
Council composed of various public officials, including several
Supreme Court justices; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
\i National People's Assembly (Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani):
first-round elections held 26 December 1991; second round
canceled by the military after President BENDJEDID resigned 11
January 1992, effectively suspending the assembly (next election
promised by late 1996 or early 1997); results - percent of vote
by party NA; seats - (281 total) the fundamentalist FIS won 188
of the 231 seats contested in the first round
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders:
note: the government established a multiparty system in
September 1989 and, as of 31 December 1990, over 50 legal
parties existed
International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB,
AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer),
OAU, OIC, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
(applicant)
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Osmane BENCHERIF
chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald E. NEUMANN
embassy: 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers
mailing address: B. P. Box 549, Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers
telephone: [213] (2) 69-11-86, 69-18-54, 69-38-75,
69-12-55
FAX: [213] (2) 69-39-79
Flag: two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and
white with a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent; the
crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam
(the state religion)
Economy
Economic overview:
GDP: purchasing power parity - $108.7 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 3.5% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $3,800 (1995 est.)
Unemployment rate: 25% (1995 est.)
Communications
Telephones: 862,000 (1991 est.)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 26, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios: 6 million (1991 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 18
Televisions: 2 million (1993 est.)
*Source: World Factbook 1996, U.S.
Central Intelligence Agency
The World Factbook contains many additional demographic
variables that may be of interest to persons who wish to
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