Algeria: Country in North Africa

It is the tenth largest country in the world, and the largest country in Africa. It is part of the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa.

People's Democratic Republic of Algeria الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية  (Arabic) al-Jumhūriyya al-Jazāʾiriyya ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyya aš‑Šaʿbiyya République algérienne démocratique et populaire  (French) ⵜⴰⴳⴷⵓⴷⴰ ⵜⴰⵎⴳⴷⴰⵢⵜ ⵜⴰⵖⵔⴼⴰⵏⵜ ⵜⴰⴷⵣⴰⵢⵔⵉⵢⵜ  (Berber) Tagduda tamegdayt taɣerfant tazzayrit
Flag
Motto: بالشّعب وللشّعب ("By the people and for the people")
Anthem: Kassaman (English: "We Pledge")
Location of  Algeria  (dark green)
Capital and largest city	Algiers 36°42′N 3°13′E / 36.700°N 3.217°E / 36.700; 3.217
Official languages	Arabic • Berber
Other languages	Algerian Arabic (Darja) (lingua franca) French (administration, business and education) , Kabyle
Ethnic groups	Arab-Berber 99% 1% Others
Religion	99% Islam (official) 1% other (inc. Christians and Jews)
Demonym(s)	Algerian
Government	Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic
• President	Abdelmadjid Tebboune
• Prime Minister	Nadir Larbaoui
• Council President	Salah Goudjil
• Assembly President	Ibrahim Boughali
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Council of the Nation
• Lower house	People's National Assembly
Formation
• Zirid dynasty	960
• Hammadid dynasty	1014
• Zayyanid dynasty	1235
• Al Jazâ'ir	1515
• French Occupation	5 July 1830
• Independence from France	5 July 1962
Area
• Total	2,381,741 km2 (919,595 sq mi) (10th)
• Water (%)	1.1
Population
• 2021 estimate	44,700,000 (32nd)
• Density	17.7/km2 (45.8/sq mi) (168)
GDP (PPP)	2019 estimate
• Total	$684.649 billion (35th)
• Per capita	$15,765 (82nd)
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	$183.687 billion (53rd)
• Per capita	$4,229 (109th)
Gini (2011)	27.6 low
HDI (2019)	0.748 high · 91st
Currency	Dinar (DZD)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+213
ISO 3166 code	DZ
Internet TLD	.dz الجزائر.

The Simple English Wiktionary has a definition for: Algeria.

Algiers is the capital of the country. It has borders with many nations. Algeria borders Tunisia to the northeast, Libya to the east, Niger to the southeast, Mauritania and Mali to the southwest, Western Sahara to the west, and Morocco to the northwest.

People have lived in Algeria for thousands of years, which can be seen in the cave paintings at Tassili National Park that date to around 7000 BC. By 600 BC, Phoenicians were in Hippo Regius (now called Annaba), Rusicade (now Skikda), and Tipasa in the central coastal part of the country. The Romans would annex (take over) the region by the conclusion of the Punic Wars in 146BC, with what is now modern-day Algeria staying in Roman hands till the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century and the region being taken over by the Germanic Vandals.

Algeria would become part of the Islamic world when the first Muslim Arabs came to Algeria in the mid-7th century, resulting in many people converting to the new religion of Islam. In the 11th century, the Arab tribes of Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym were living between Tunisia and eastern Algeria (Constantois). The famous mathematician, Fibonacci (1170—1250) lived in Algeria as a teenager. This is where he learned the Hindu–Arabic numeral system. Algeria was made part of the Ottoman Empire in 1517. Enslavement of black people was practiced there as it was throughout the empire.

In the 1500s and 1700s, the Spanish Empire ruled a lot of Algeria. Spain was expelled from Algeria by the Ottomans. France colonized Algeria starting in 1830. In 1954, the National Liberation Front (Front de Libération Nationale or FLN) wanted freedom from France. They fought a war against France to free Algeria. It became independent from France on July 5, 1962.

In 1963, Ahmed Ben Bella became the first President of Algeria.

The Algerian Civil War began in 1991 and ended in 2002. The government decided to end the state of emergency on February 24, 2011.

A large part of southern Algeria is the Sahara Desert. The Aures and Nememcha mountain ranges are in the north. The highest point is Mount Tahat (3,003 m).

The two official languages of Algeria are Arabic and Berber.

Berber was made an official language in 2002.

Many Algerians speak French. French is considered the lingua franca of Algeria.

In Algeria, the government plays a big role in the economy. They have large stakes in many companies.

Algeria has a lot of oil and gas reserves.

The government has not been successful in reducing the country's high unemployment rate.

Algeria's population is about 45 million people. There are over 40 cities with more than 100,000 people.

Islam is the country's main religion. 99% of Algerians are Muslims.

Algeria used to have one of the oldest and largest Jewish communities in the world. Jews have been in the country since the first century. Now less then 200 Jews live in the country because of harassment by Muslims after the creation of Israel on Palestinian lands.

The Parliament of Algeria is made up of two chambers:

• The Council of the Nation (Upper Chamber)
• The People's National Assembly (Lower Chamber)

There are 58 provinces in Algeria. In 2019, the number of provinces was changed from 48 to 58. The provinces are:

There are several UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Algeria including Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad, the first capital of the Hammadid empire; Tipasa, a Phoenician and later Roman town; and Djémila and Timgad, both Roman ruins; M'Zab Valley, a limestone valley containing a large urbanized oasis; also the Casbah of Algiers is an important citadel. The only natural World Heritage Sites is the Tassili n'Ajjer, a mountain range.

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