General overview of the country

1. Algeria
Facts and figures

2. General Info
Officially known as People’s Democratic
Republic of Algeria
Where on Earth? North Africa, on the
Mediterranean coast.
It is the largest country in Africa and the Arab
world
Neighbors: Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Western
Sahara, Mauritania, Mali and Niger.

3. History
 Arabs conquered the current territory of Algeria in the mid-7th
century and mixed with the indigenous Berber people, who
converted to Islam.
 From 16th
to 19th
century it was part of the Ottoman Empire.
 In 1830 the French invaded the country. It belonged to the
French colonial empire up until 1962.
 1954-1962 was the period of the Algerian War of
Independence from France.
 During the 1990’s a Civil War between the government and
various Islamist rebel groups wreaked havoc.
 In 2010 the Arab Spring reached Algeria and the government
promised further constitutional and political reform –human
rights groups are still waiting for this to happen.

4. Politics
It is a semi-presidential republic (president +
prime minister, French model)
Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been President since
1999. He is the longest-serving president of
Algeria. He’s been re-elected 3 times (last time in
2014)
 According to the Democracy Index 2014, it is an
authoritarian regime. The Freedom of the Press
2015 report gives it a rating of “Not Free”.
Political power is held by the President and
military decision makers.

5. Demographics
 2013 population was an estimated 37.9 million.
 The capital city is Algiers, with an estimated population of
3,574,000 in 2010.
 About 90% of the population live in the northern, coastal
area, where the capital is located.
 Official language is Algerian Arabic, although Berber and
French are also spoken.
 Due to Algeria’s colonial history, French is widely used
making it the second-largest Francophone country in the
world in terms of speakers.
 Islam is the predominant religion with 99% of the
population.

6. Economy
 Algeria’s currency is the dinar (1USD=108DZD)
 In 2014, the Algerian economy expanded by 4%, up from 2.8% in 2013.
GDP is $551.8 billion (2014 est.)
 The country has enjoyed several years of strong economic
performance.
 The economy is dominated by the State. It is based on petroleum and
natural gas exports.
 It holds high foreign exchange
reserves (US$178 billion) but
it is vulnerable to the risk of
prolonged lower
hydrocarbon revenues.

7. Debt and IMF
 Algerian external debt is extremely low at 2% of GDP.
The country's foreign debt has fallen from a high of $28
billion in 1999 to its current level.
 By 2005 Algeria had repaid the total amount credited
by the IMF from 1989. In that period the country was
burdened with a heavy foreign debt, but it improved
from 1995 onwards.
 In 2006 Russia erased $4.74 billion of Algeria’s debt. In
return Algeria agreed to buy $7.5 billion worth of
combat planes, air-defense systems and other arms
from Russia.
 Mohammed Laksaci, Governor of the Bank of Argelia,
has released several statements for the IMF on behalf
of MENAP (Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and
Pakistan) during the last decade.