Algeria (2005) | Haiti (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 48 provinces (wilayas, singular - wilaya); Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba, Batna, Bechar, Bejaia, Biskra, Blida, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira, Boumerdes, Chlef, Constantine, Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Oued, El Tarf, Ghardaia, Guelma, Illizi, Jijel, Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara, Medea, Mila, Mostaganem, M'Sila, Naama, Oran, Ouargla, Oum el Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Souk Ahras, Tamanghasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen | 9 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29% (male 4,811,086/female 4,626,271)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 10,861,862/female 10,701,459) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 719,460/female 811,715) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 39.5% (male 1,414,052; female 1,377,693)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 1,924,867; female 2,049,952) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 142,657; female 154,501) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle | coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood |
Airports | 137 (2004 est.) | 12 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 52
over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 27 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 85
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 26 914 to 1,523 m: 38 under 914 m: 19 (2004 est.) |
total: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 6 (2002) |
Area | total: 2,381,740 sq km
land: 2,381,740 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 27,750 sq km
land: 27,560 sq km water: 190 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | After more than a century of rule by France, Algerians fought through much of the 1950s to achieve independence in 1962. Algeria's primary political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), has dominated politics ever since. Many Algerians in the subsequent generation were not satisfied, however, and moved to counter the FLN's centrality in Algerian politics. The surprising first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the December 1991 balloting spurred the Algerian army to intervene and postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming power. The army began a crack down on the FIS that spurred FIS supporters to begin attacking government targets. The government later allowed elections featuring pro-government and moderate religious-based parties, but did not appease the activists who progressively widened their attacks. The fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense fighting between 1992-98 and which resulted in over 100,000 deaths - many attributed to indiscriminate massacres of villagers by extremists. The government gained the upper hand by the late-1990s and FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000. However, small numbers of armed militants persist in confronting government forces and conducting ambushes and occasional attacks on villages. The army placed Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA in the presidency in 1999 in a fraudulent election but claimed neutrality in his 2004 landslide reelection victory. Longstanding problems continue to face BOUTEFLIKA in his second term, including the ethnic minority Berbers' ongoing autonomy campaign, large-scale unemployment, a shortage of housing, unreliable electrical and water supplies, government inefficiencies and corruption, and the continuing - although significantly degraded - activities of extremist militants. Algeria must also diversify its petroleum-based economy, which has yielded a large cash reserve but which has not been used to redress Algeria's many social and infrastructure problems. Algeria assumed a two-year seat on the UN Security Council in January 2004. | The native Arawak Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Columbus in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola, and in 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island - Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE and after a prolonged struggle, became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history since then, and it is now one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Over three decades of dictatorship followed by military rule ended in 1990 when Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE was elected president. Most of his term was usurped by a military takeover, but he was able to return to office in 1994 and oversee the installation of a close associate to the presidency in 1996. ARISTIDE won a second term as president in 2000, and took office early in 2001. However, a political crisis stemming from fraudulent legislative elections in 2000 has not yet been resolved. |
Birth rate | 17.13 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 31.42 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $31.47 billion
expenditures: $29.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.8 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues: $273 million
expenditures: $361 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) |
Capital | Algiers | Port-au-Prince |
Climate | arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer | tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds |
Coastline | 998 km | 1,771 km |
Constitution | 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, and 28 November 1996 | approved March 1987; suspended June 1988, with most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991, government claimed to be observing the constitution; return to constitutional rule, October 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form: People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
conventional short form: Algeria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Sha'biyah local short form: Al Jaza'ir |
conventional long form: Republic of Haiti
conventional short form: Haiti local long form: Republique d'Haiti local short form: Haiti |
Currency | - | gourde (HTG) |
Death rate | 4.6 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 14.88 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $21.9 billion (2004 est.) | $1.2 billion (1999) (1999) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Richard W. ERDMAN
embassy: 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers mailing address: B. P. 408, Alger-Gare, 16030 Algiers telephone: [213] (21) 691-425/255/186 FAX: [213] (21) 69-39-79 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Roger NORIEGA
embassy: 5 Harry S Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince telephone: [509] 222-0354, 222-0269, 222-0200, 222-0327 FAX: [509] 223-1641, 222-0200, extension 460 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Amine KHERBI
chancery: 2137 Wyoming Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2174 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chief of Mission Harry Frantz LEO
chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090 FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | Algeria supports the exiled Sahrawi Polisario Front and rejects Moroccan administration of Western Sahara; Algeria's border with Morocco remains an irritant to bilateral relations, each nation has accused the other of harboring militants and arms smuggling; in an attempt to improve relations after unilaterally imposing a visa requirement on Algerians in the early 1990s, Morocco lifted the requirement in mid-2004 - a gesture not reciprocated by Algeria; Algeria remains concerned about armed bandits operating throughout the Sahel who sometimes destabilize southern Algerian towns; dormant disputes include Libyan claims of about 32,000 sq km still reflected on its maps of southeastern Algeria and the FLN's assertions of a claim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco | claims US-administered Navassa Island |
Economic aid - recipient | $122.8 million (2002 est.) | $730.6 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 60% of budget revenues, 30% of GDP, and over 95% of export earnings. Algeria has the seventh-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the second-largest gas exporter; it ranks 14th in oil reserves. Sustained high oil prices in recent years, along with macroeconomic policy reforms supported by the IMF, have helped improve Algeria's financial and macroeconomic indicators. Algeria is running substantial trade surpluses and building up record foreign exchange reserves. Real GDP has risen due to higher oil output and increased government spending. The government's continued efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector, however, has had little success in reducing high unemployment and improving living standards. Structural reform within the economy moves ahead slowly. | About 80% of the population lives in abject poverty. Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and employs about two-thirds of the economically active work force. The country has experienced little job creation since the former President PREVAL took office in February 1996, although the informal economy is growing. Following legislative elections in May 2000, fraught with irregularities, international donors - including the US and EU - suspended almost all aid to Haiti. The economy shrank an estimated 1.2% in 2001, and the contraction will likely intensify in 2002 unless a political agreement with donors is reached and aid restored. |
Electricity - consumption | 23.61 billion kWh (2002) | 485.46 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 500 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 150 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 25.76 billion kWh (2002) | 522 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 69%
hydro: 31% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m
highest point: Tahat 3,003 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water | extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
note: almost all Algerians are Berber in origin, not Arab; the minority who identify themselves as Berber live mostly in the mountainous region of Kabylie east of Algiers; the Berbers are also Muslim but identify with their Berber rather than Arab cultural heritage; Berbers have long agitated, sometimes violently, for autonomy; the government is unlikely to grant autonomy but has offered to begin sponsoring teaching Berber language in schools |
black 95%, mulatto and white 5% |
Exchange rates | Algerian dinars per US dollar - 72.061 (2004), 77.395 (2003), 79.682 (2002), 77.215 (2001), 75.26 (2000) | gourdes per US dollar - 26.674 (January 2002), 26.339 (2001), 22.524 (2000), 17.965 (1999), 16.505 (1998), 17.311 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (since 28 April 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Ahmed OUYAHIA (since 9 May 2003) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 8 April 2004 (next to be held NA April 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA reelected president for second term; percent of vote - Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA 85%, Ali BENFLIS 6.4%, Abdellah DJABALLAH 5% |
chief of state: President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE (since 7 February 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Yvon NEPTUNE (since 4 March 2002); note - former Prime Minister CHERESTAL resigned in January 2002 cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the National Assembly election results: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE elected president; percent of vote - Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 92% |
Exports | NA | $326.6 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97% | manufactures, coffee, oils, cocoa |
Exports - partners | US 22.6%, Italy 17.2%, France 11.4%, Spain 10.1%, Canada 7.5%, Brazil 6.1%, Belgium 4.6% (2004) | US 90%, EU 6% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white; a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent centered over the two-color boundary; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state religion) | two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms, which contains a palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $12 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10.3%
industry: 57.4% services: 32.3% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 30%
industry: 20% services: 50% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.1% (2004 est.) | -1.2% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 28 00 N, 3 00 E | 19 00 N, 72 25 W |
Geography - note | second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan) | shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic) |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 104,000 km
paved: 71,656 km (including 640 km of expressways) unpaved: 32,344 km (1999) |
total: 4,160 km
paved: 1,011 km unpaved: 3,149 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 26.8% (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | major Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US and Europe; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Haiti for illicit financial transactions; pervasive corruption |
Imports | NA | $977.5 million c.i.f. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods | food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials |
Imports - partners | France 30.3%, Italy 8.2%, Germany 6.5%, Spain 5.5%, US 5.2%, China 5.1%, Turkey 4.3% (2004) | US 60%, EU 10.5%, Dominican Republic 3.7% (2000) |
Independence | 5 July 1962 (from France) | 1 January 1804 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (2004 est.) | 0.6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing | sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly industries based on imported parts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 31 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 34.83 deaths/1,000 live births female: 26.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
93.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.1% (2004 est.) | 14% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BIS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) | ACCT, ACP, Caricom, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 5,600 sq km (1998 est.) | 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Court Supreme | Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation |
Labor force | 9.91 million (2004 est.) | 3.6 million (1995)
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (2001) (1995) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 14%, industry 13.4%, construction and public works 10%, trade 14.6%, government 32%, other 16% (2003 est.) | agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9% |
Land boundaries | total: 6,343 km
border countries: Libya 982 km, Mali 1,376 km, Mauritania 463 km, Morocco 1,559 km, Niger 956 km, Tunisia 965 km, Western Sahara 42 km |
total: 360 km
border countries: Dominican Republic 360 km |
Land use | arable land: 3.22%
permanent crops: 0.25% other: 96.53% (2001) |
arable land: 20.32%
permanent crops: 12.7% other: 66.98% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects | French (official), Creole (official) |
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 | based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the National People's Assembly or Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani (389 seats - changed from 380 seats in the 2002 elections; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Council of Nations (Senate) (144 seats; one-third of the members appointed by the president, two-thirds elected by indirect vote; members serve six-year terms; the constitution requires half the council to be renewed every three years)
elections: National People's Assembly - last held 30 May 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); Council of Nations (Senate) - last held 30 December 2003 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: National People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FLN 199, RND 48, Islah 43, MSP 38, PT 21, FNA 8, EnNahda 1, PRA 1, MEN 1, independents 29; Council of Nations - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party NA% |
bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (27 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (83 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held for two-thirds of seats 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 9 July boycotted by the opposition; seven seats still disputed; election for remaining one-third held on 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 30 July boycotted by the opposition; one vacant seat rerun 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 26, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 73, MOCHRENA 3, PLB 2, OPL 1, vacant 1, other minor parties and independents 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73 years
male: 71.45 years female: 74.63 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 49.55 years
male: 47.88 years female: 51.29 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70% male: 78.8% female: 61% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 45% male: 48% female: 42.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia | Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 56 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 837,676 GRT/929,847 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 9, cargo 14, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 10, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 9 foreign-owned: 3 (United Kingdom 3) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military branches | People's National Army (ANP; includes Land Forces), Algerian National Navy (MRA), Air Force (QJJ), Territorial Air Defense Force (2005) | Haitian National Police (HNP)
note: the regular Haitian Army, Navy, and Air Force have been demobilized but still exist on paper until or unless they are constitutionally abolished |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2.48 billion (2004) | $50 million (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.2% (2004) | 1.3% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,691,585 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 919,275 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 87,049 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Revolution Day, 1 November (1954) | Independence Day, 1 January (1804) |
Nationality | noun: Algerian(s)
adjective: Algerian |
noun: Haitian(s)
adjective: Haitian |
Natural hazards | mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc | bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -2.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 1,344 km; gas 85,946 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,213 km; oil 6,496 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI]; Democratic National Rally or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA, chairman]; Islamic Salvation Front or FIS (outlawed April 1992) [Ali BELHADJ and Dr. Abassi MADANI, Rabeh KEBIR (self-exiled in Germany)]; National Entente Movement or MEN [Ali BOUKHAZNA]; National Liberation Front or FLN [Abdelaziz BELKHADEM, secretary general (also serves as Foreign Minister)]; National Reform Movement or Islah (formerly MRN) [Abdellah DJABALLAH]; National Renewal Party or PRA [Yacine TERKMANE]; Progressive Republican Party [Khadir DRISS]; Rally for Culture and Democracy or RCD [Said SAADI, secretary general]; Renaissance Movement or EnNahda Movement [Fatah RABEI]; Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Hocine Ait AHMED, secretary general (self-exiled in Switzerland)]; Social Liberal Party or PSL [Ahmed KHELIL]; Society of Peace Movement or MSP [Boujerra SOLTANI]; Workers Party or PT [Louisa HANOUN]
note: a law banning political parties based on religion was enacted in March 1997 |
Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement of Haiti or ALAH [Reynold GEORGES]; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Convergence (opposition coalition composed of ESPACE, OPL, and MOCHRENA) [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES, Evans PAUL, Luc MESADIEU, Victor BENOIT]; Democratic Consultation Group coalition or ESPACE [Evans PAUL, Victor Benoit] composed of the following parties: National Congress of Democratic Movements or KONAKOM, National Progressive Revolutionary Party or PANPRA, Generation 2004, and Haiti Can; Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Marie-France CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic Party or PADEM [Clark PARENT]; Lavalas Family or FL [Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert DE RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Rene THEODORE]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; Movement for the Organization of the Country or MOP [Gesner COMEAU and Jean MOLIERE]; National Cooperative Action Movement or MKN [Volrick Remy JOSEPH]; National Front for Change and Democracy or FNCD [Evans PAUL and Turneb DELPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Open the Gate or PLB [Renaud BERNARDIN]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | The Algerian Human Rights League or LADH or LADDH [Yahia Ali ABDENOUR]; SOS Disparus [Nacera DUTOUR]; Somoud [Ali MERABET] | Autonomous Haitian Workers or CATH; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Roman Catholic Church |
Population | 32,531,853 (July 2005 est.) | 7,063,722
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 23% (1999 est.) | 80% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.22% (2005 est.) | 1.42% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Djendjene, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda | Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 25, FM 1, shortwave 8 (1999) | AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999) |
Radios | - | 415,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 3,973 km
standard gauge: 2,888 km 1.435-m gauge (283 km electrified) narrow gauge: 1,085 km 1.055-m gauge (2004) |
total: 40 km
narrow gauge: 40 km 0.760-m gauge; single-track note: privately owned industrial line; closed in early 1990s (2001 est.) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1% | Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)
note: roughly half of the population also practices Voodoo |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: telephone density in Algeria is very low, not exceeding five telephones per 100 persons; the number of fixed main lines increased in the last few years to a little more than 2,000,000, but only about two-thirds of these have subscribers; much of the infrastructure is outdated and inefficient
domestic: good service in north but sparse in south; domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations (20 additional domestic earth stations are planned) international: country code - 213; 5 submarine cables; microwave radio relay to Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia; coaxial cable to Morocco and Tunisia; participant in Medarabtel; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik, and 1 Arabsat (1998) |
general assessment: domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,199,600 (2003) | 60,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,447,310 (2003) | 0 (1995) |
Television broadcast stations | 46 (plus 216 repeaters) (1995) | 2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | mostly rough and mountainous |
Total fertility rate | 1.92 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 4.3 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 25.4% (2004 est.) | widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2001) (2001) |
Waterways | - | NEGL; less than 100 km navigable |