Algeria

Table of Contents

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
  - The Tell
  - The Sahara
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
People
- Ethnic groups
- Languages
- Religion
- Settlement patterns
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
- Resources and power
  - Hydrocarbons
  - Mining
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Trade
- Services
- Labour and taxation
- Transportation and telecommunications
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Local government
- Justice
- Political process
- Security
- Health and welfare
- Housing
- Education
Cultural life
- Cultural milieu
- Daily life and social customs
- The arts
- Cultural institutions
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- French Algeria
  - The conquest of Algeria
  - Colonial rule
  - Nationalist movements
- World War II and the movement for independence
- The Algerian War of Independence
- Independent Algeria
  - From Ben Bella to Boumedienne
  - Bendjedid’s move toward democracy
  - Civil war: the Islamists versus the army
    - Army prevents Islamist election victories
    - Constitutional referendum and the election of Abdelaziz Bouteflika
  - Presidency of Abdelaziz Bouteflika
    - End to the civil war and amnesty for peace
    - Opposition, reform, and continued corruption
      Bouteflika’s third term and the Arab Spring protests of 2011
      Bouteflika’s fourth term, though he had suffered a stroke
  - Anti-government protests and the presidency of Abdelmadjid Tebboune
    - Resignation of Bouteflika
    - Continued protests
    - Election of Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the 2020 constitution
  - Foreign relations
    - Relations in North Africa
    - Relations with Europe

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

Ghardaïa, Algeria

Algiers, Algeria

Fort Mers-el-Kebir, Oran, Algeria

Physical features of Algeria

Algeria: Ethnic composition

Algeria: Religious affiliation

For Students

Algeria summary

Read Next

Queen Elizabeth II addresses at opening of Parliament. (Date unknown on photo, but may be 1958, the first time the opening of Parliament was filmed.)

All 119 References in “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” Explained

Discover

Calendar marking march 15th

22 Questions About Time and Timekeeping Answered

Close up of periodic table, focus on nickel, copper, zinc, palladium, silver, cadmium

When Was the Periodic Table Invented?

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Engraving by Cosomo Colombini (d. 1812) after a Leonardo self portrait. Ca. 1500.

10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci

Camel at Khor Rori, Oman; mammal.

Do Camels Store Water in Their Humps?

airplane in flight (plane, aircraft, flying)

7 Puzzling Plane Disappearances

Rural Irish landscape, Sligo, Ireland.

Why Is Ireland Two Countries?

Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

12 Greek Gods and Goddesses

Algeria: Facts & Stats

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

French finance ministry employee suspected of spying for Algeria • Mar. 13, 2025, 3:01 AM ET (Jerusalem Post)

Ukraine says Russian strike on ship in Odesa port is attack on global food security • Mar. 12, 2025, 6:31 AM ET (Straits Times)

Drought-stricken Algeria plans to import 1 million sheep ahead of Islam's Eid Al-Adha • Mar. 11, 2025, 2:27 AM ET (NPR)

Journalist quits role after comparing French actions in Algeria to Nazi massacre • Mar. 10, 2025, 2:23 AM ET (The Guardian)

An Algerian scientist splits his gaze between microbes and Mars • Mar. 4, 2025, 11:22 PM ET (NPR)

Facts

Also Known As	Al-Jumhūriyyah al-Jazāʾiriyyah al-Dīmuqrāṭiyyah al-Shaʿbiyyah • People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
Head Of State And Government	President: Abdelmadjid Tebboune, assisted by Prime Minister: Nadir Larbaoui
Capital	Algiers
Population	(2025 est.) 47,803,000
Form Of Government	multiparty republic with two legislative houses (Council of the Nation [144¹]; National People’s Assembly [462])
Official Languages	Arabic; Amazigh
Official Religion	Islam
Official Name	Al-Jumhūriyyah al-Jazāʾiriyyah al-Dīmuqrāṭiyyah al-Shaʿbiyyah (Arabic) (People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria)
Total Area (Sq Km)	2,381,741
Total Area (Sq Mi)	919,590
Monetary Unit	Algerian dinar (DA)
Population Rank	(2025) 32
Population Projection 2030	49,373,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi	(2025) 52
Density: Persons Per Sq Km	(2025) 20.1
Urban-Rural Population	Urban: (2024) 75.7% • Rural: (2024) 24.3%
Life Expectancy At Birth	Male: (2018) 77.1 years • Female: (2018) 78.4 years
Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate	Male: (2018) 87% • Female: (2018) 75%
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)	(2023) 226,263
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)	(2023) 4,960
¹Includes 48 nonelected seats.

Photos and Videos

Ghardaïa, Algeria

Algiers, Algeria

Fort Mers-el-Kebir, Oran, Algeria

Physical features of Algeria

Ahaggar plateau

Atlas Mountains

See how Allied commanders Eisenhower and Montgomery trapped Rommel to end Axis North Africa campaigns

National anthem of Algeria

See All Videos, Images, Audio and Interactives →

Topics

ʿAbd al-Wādid Dynasty OPEC Arab League Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa Organization of the Islamic Cooperation Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries nation-state Association of Algerian Muslim Ulama flag of Algeria Algerian War United States India United Kingdom China Canada Russia Germany Australia Japan France

Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle

president of France

Abdelkader

Abdelkader

Algerian leader

Ahmed Ben Bella

Ahmed Ben Bella

president of Algeria

Ferhat Abbas

Ferhat Abbas

president of Algeria

Jacques Soustelle

French anthropologist and politician

Lakhdar Brahimi

Algerian diplomat

Frantz Fanon

West Indian psychoanalyst and philosopher

Georges Bidault

prime minister of France

Bouteflika, Abdelaziz

Abdelaziz Bouteflika

president of Algeria

Hanotaux, detail of an engraving by Dujardin after a portrait by Benjamin Constant

Gabriel Hanotaux

French statesman and historian

Charles-Denis-Sauter Bourbaki

French general

Houari Boumedienne

president of Algeria

Liamine Zeroual

president of Algeria

Raoul Salan

French general

Jean-Baptiste Drouet, count d’Erlon

French marshal

Thomas-Robert Bugeaud, duke d’Isly

marshal of France

Crémieux, lithograph by L.-E. Coedès

Adolphe Crémieux

French politician

Clauzel, lithograph by A.-L. Lemercier after a portrait by A. Maurin

Bertrand, Count Clauzel

marshal of France

Christophe-Louis-Leon Juchault de Lamoricière

French general

Muhammad Boudiaf

Algerian politician

A map of the continent of Africa, including its countries, boundaries, and capital cities. It also shows parts of Europe and Asia and surrounding bodies of water, including the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean.

Africa

continent

North Africa

North Africa

region, Africa

Algiers

Algiers

national capital, Algeria

Oran

Oran

Algeria

Constantine, Algeria

Constantine

Algeria

Kabylie

region, Algeria

Tlemcen, Algeria

Tlemcen

Algeria

Tipasa, Algeria

Tipasa

Algeria

Middle East

Middle East

region, Asia, Africa, and Europe

Annaba

Annaba

Algeria

Biskra

Algeria

Tamanrasset

Algeria

Date-palm grove, Béchar, Algeria.

Béchar

Algeria

Bejaïa

Algeria

Skikda

Algeria

Quiz

Church of Saint George (Bet Giyorgis), Lalibela, Ethiopia. UNESCO World Heritage site.

Geography of Africa Quiz

Brown globe on antique map. Brown world on vintage map. North America. Green globe. Hompepage blog 2009, history and society, geography and travel, explore discovery

Countries & Their Features

7:023 Geography: Think of Something Big, globe showing Africa, Europe, and Eurasia

Which Country Is Larger By Area? Quiz

The President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano at the Quirinale Palace (cropped out), shakes hands with the President of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, Rome, Oct. 17, 2009. egypt protests 2011, protests in egypt 2011

Before They Were World Leaders: Middle East Edition

Tomb of Mohammed Bin Ali, Salalah, Oman.

A View of the Middle East

Opened passport with visas, stamps, seals, world map. (travel, tourism)

Guess the Country by Its Neighbors Quiz

10:087 Ocean: The World of Water, two globes showing eastern and western hemispheres

You Name It!

Brown globe on antique map. Brown world on vintage map. North America. Green globe. Hompepage blog 2009, history and society, geography and travel, explore discovery

Match the Country with Its Hemisphere Quiz

Flags of the world against blue sky. Countries, International. Globalization, global relations, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, Poland, Palestine, Japan. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

Which Country Is Larger By Population? Quiz

Actual continental drift of plates. Thematic map.

Geography Fun Facts

Mount Kenya in Mount Kenya National Park is the highest mountain in Africa. UNESCO World Heritage Site. Giant Lobelia in foreground. (Mt. Kenya; Mt. Kenya National Park; mountains; rugged mountain; African geography, African landscape, stratovolcano)

Africa’s Physical Features

Flags of all countries of the world. Flags of the world. National flags. Country flags. Hompepage blog 2009, history and society, geography and travel, explore discovery

The Country Quiz

Flags of the world. National flags. Country flags. Hompepage blog 2009, history and society, geography and travel, explore discovery

Countries of the World

Flags of all nations of the world. Grouping of various country flags on a world map.

Which Country Is Larger? Quiz