Country Information on Algeria

Terrain Algeria has four main physical regions, which extend east to west across the country in parallel zones. The region consists of a narrow and discontinuous coastal plain backed by the mountainous area of the Tell Atlas, a range of the Atlas Mountains system. The numerous valleys of this region contain most of Algeria's arable land. The country's principal river, the Chelif (725 km), has its source in the Tell Atlas and flows to the Mediterranean Sea; no permanent streams are found south of the Tell. The next region, lying to the south and southwest, is the High Plateau, a highland region of level terrain. Several basins here collect water during rainy periods, forming large, shallow lakes; as these dry they become salt flats, called chotts, or shotts. South of this are the mountains and massifs of the Saharan Atlas. The fourth region, comprising more than 90% of the country's total area, is the great expanse of the Algerian Sahara. Much of the terrain is covered by gravel. Climate The Tell region in the north has mild, rainy winters and warm, dry summers, during which a hot wind, the sirocco, blows north from the Sahara Desert. The average temperature in this region is between 25°C in the summer and 11°C in the winter. To the south the climate becomes increasingly dry. The Sahara has extreme temperatures and an annual rainfall of less than 130 mm. Fauna/Flora Years of deforestation and overgrazing have left the country with only sparse vegetation, which includes pines, Atlas cedar, various oaks, and other scrub at lower elevations. Parts of the almost barren High Plateau contain esparto grass and brushwood. Drought-resistant grasses, acacias, and jujube trees grow in the Sahara. The relatively sparse vegetation of the country is able to support only a limited wildlife population. Scavengers, such as jackals, hyenas, and vultures, are found in most regions. Antelopes, hare, gazelles, and reptiles are also present in smaller numbers. Rich soils are rare in Algeria. The most fertile lands, located in the Tell region, nearest to the coast, are relatively poor in humus and have suffered from overcultivation. The plains have considerable alluvial deposits, but the uplands have poorer soils and can support only grasses suitable for grazing. History/Politics The Berbers formed their own Islamic government and founded several tribal kingdoms in the 8th century. Between the 11th and 13th centuries Algeria prospered under two successive Berber dynasties, the Almoravids and the Almohads. In the 16th century, Ottomans governed the region as an autonomous province. France annexed Algeria in the 1830s, and in the 1840s colonists poured into the country, developing a modern economy. Algerian nationalism developed after World War I. During World War II (1939-1945) Algerian leaders organised a militant anti-French party, and in 1954 Algerian exiles formed a revolutionary committee later known as the National Liberation Front (Front de Libération Nationale, FLN). The FLN began campaigns of guerrilla action and terrorism and immobilised French forces over the next two years. The French fought back successfully, but in 1962 a cease-fire was arranged, and Algeria proclaimed its independence. However, the costs of war and the mass departure of the colonists, who were skilled labourers, caused economic difficulties. In 1962 Ahmed Ben Bella was elected the first president of independent Algeria, and the first constitution, approved in 1963, provided for a presidential form of government. In mid-1965 Colonel Houari Boumedienne, then minister of defence, seized power and introduced an economic development program. The constitution of 1976 defined Algeria as a socialist state under FLN leadership, and Boumedienne was legally elected president. After Boumedienne died in 1978, Colonel Chadli Benjedid was elected president, and in 1989 he promulgated a new constitution that loosened the FLN's monopoly on political power. In 1992 the likelihood that Muslim fundamentalists would win an impending election led a group of military and civilian officials to cancel the election and force Benjedid to resign. They established a new High Committee of State, with Mohammed Boudiaff as president. Assassinated in 1992, Boudiaff was replaced by Ali Kafi, who headed a five-member collective presidency known as the High Council. Several years of violent civil strife between the interim government and fundamentalist groups followed. In 1994 the High Council named Defence Minister Liamine Zeroual president. With the oversight of international organisations, Zeroual was re-elected in 1995 in Algeria's first multiparty presidential election since independence. In a referendum held in November 1996, voters approved constitutional changes. Economy Algeria ranks as one of Africa's wealthiest nations. Agriculture plays a strong role in the economy, but because of low productivity, foodstuffs must be imported. The principal food crops include grains, vegetables, and fruits. Sheep and cattle are the principal livestock, and fishing is also important. Mineral production accounts for the largest part of Algeria's gross domestic product, and the country's most important exports are its mineral resources, particularly oil. Since the late 1960s the government has instituted major industrialisation programs. Culture French tradition formerly dominated the cultural life of Algeria. Even before independence, however, there was a growing movement among Algerian artists and intellectuals to revive national interest in Arab-Berber origins, a movement that, since 1962, has gained official support. Although the French suppressed much Algerian writing during the 1950s, the war for independence stimulated a considerable resurgence of interest in the Arabic-language national literature. Noted 20th-century Algerian writers (who wrote in French) are Kateb Yacine, Mohammad Dib, and Malek Haddad. The French novelist Albert Camus was born and educated in Algeria.