Algeria (2006) | Anguilla (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 48 provinces (wilayat, 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 | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 28.1% (male 4,722,076/female 4,539,713)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 11,133,802/female 10,964,502) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 735,444/female 834,554) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 22.8% (male 1,557/female 1,510)
15-64 years: 70.4% (male 4,878/female 4,608) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 412/female 512) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle | small quantities of tobacco, vegetables; cattle raising |
Airports | 142 (2006) | 3 (2006) |
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 (2006) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 90
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 26 914 to 1,523 m: 39 under 914 m: 23 (2006) |
total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
Area | total: 2,381,740 sq km
land: 2,381,740 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 102 sq km
land: 102 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas | about half the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Colonized by English settlers from Saint Kitts in 1650, Anguilla was administered by Great Britain until the early 19th century, when the island - against the wishes of the inhabitants - was incorporated into a single British dependency, along with Saint Kitts and Nevis. Several attempts at separation failed. In 1971, two years after a revolt, Anguilla was finally allowed to secede; this arrangement was formally recognized in 1980, with Anguilla becoming a separate British dependency. |
Birth rate | 17.14 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 14.17 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $42.05 billion
expenditures: $30.75 billion; including capital expenditures of $5.8 billion (2005 est.) |
revenues: $22.8 million
expenditures: $22.5 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Algiers
geographic coordinates: 36 47 N, 2 03 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: The Valley
geographic coordinates: 18 13 N, 63 04 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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; moderated by northeast trade winds |
Coastline | 998 km | 61 km |
Constitution | 8 September 1963; revised 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, and 28 November 1996 | Anguilla Constitutional Order 1 April 1982; amended 1990 |
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: none
conventional short form: Anguilla |
Death rate | 4.61 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 5.34 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $19.45 billion (2005 est.) | $8.8 million (1998) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert S. FORD
embassy: 04 Chemin Cheikh Bachir Ibrahimi El-Biar 16030, Algiers mailing address: B. P. 408, Alger-Gare, 16030 Algiers telephone: [213] (021) 69-12-55 FAX: [213] (021) 69-39-79 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Amine KHERBI
chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2174 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | Algeria supports the exiled Sahrawi Polisario Front and rejects Moroccan administration of Western Sahara; most of the approximately 102,000 Western Saharan Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria; Algeria's border with Morocco remains an irritant to bilateral relations, each nation accusing the other of harboring militants and arms smuggling; in an attempt to improve relations, Morocco, in mid-2004, unilaterally lifted the requirement that Algerians visiting Morocco possess entry visas - 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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $122.8 million (2002 est.) | $9 million (2004 est.) |
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. The population is becoming increasingly restive due to the lack of jobs and housing and frequently stages protests, which have resulted in arrests and injuries, including some deaths as government forces intervened to restore order. Structural reform within the economy, such as development of the banking sector and the construction of infrastructure, moves ahead slowly hampered by corruption and bureaucratic resistance. | Anguilla has few natural resources, and the economy depends heavily on luxury tourism, offshore banking, lobster fishing, and remittances from emigrants. Increased activity in the tourism industry, which has spurred the growth of the construction sector, has contributed to economic growth. Anguillan officials have put substantial effort into developing the offshore financial sector, which is small, but growing. In the medium term, prospects for the economy will depend largely on the tourism sector and, therefore, on revived income growth in the industrialized nations as well as on favorable weather conditions. |
Electricity - consumption | 24.9 billion kWh (2003 est.) | 42.6 million kWh |
Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (2003 est.) | - |
Electricity - imports | 200 million kWh (2003 est.) | - |
Electricity - production | 26.99 billion kWh (2003 est.) | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m
highest point: Tahat 3,003 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Crocus Hill 65 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 | supplies of potable water sometimes cannot meet increasing demand largely because of poor distribution system |
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 |
- |
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 (predominant) 90.1%, mixed, mulatto 4.6%, white 3.7%, other 1.5% (2001 Census) |
Exchange rates | Algerian dinars per US dollar - 73.276 (2005), 72.061 (2004), 77.395 (2003), 79.682 (2002), 77.215 (2001) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001)
note: fixed rate since 1976 |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (since 28 April 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Abdelaziz BELKHADEM cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 8 April 2004 (next to be held in 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Andrew N. GEORGE (since 10 July 2006)
head of government: Chief Minister Osbourne FLEMING (since 3 March 2000) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from among the elected members of the House of Assembly elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
Exports | 1.127 million bbl/day (2004 est.) | $14.56 million (2005 est.) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97% | lobster, fish, livestock, salt, concrete blocks, rum |
Exports - partners | US 22.8%, Italy 16.2%, Spain 10.4%, France 10%, Canada 8%, Brazil 6.1%, Belgium 4.4%, Germany 4.2% (2005) | UK, US, Puerto Rico, Saint-Martin (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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) | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Anguillan coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts three orange dolphins in an interlocking circular design on a white background with blue wavy water below |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10.1%
industry: 60% services: 29.8% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 18% services: 78% (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2005 est.) | 10.2% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 28 00 N, 3 00 E | 18 15 N, 63 10 W |
Geography - note | second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan) | the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles |
Heliports | 1 (2006) | - |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 26.8% (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe |
Imports | 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) | $129.9 million (2005 est.) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods | fuels, foodstuffs, manufactures, chemicals, trucks, textiles |
Imports - partners | France 28.2%, Italy 7.8%, Spain 7.1%, China 6.6%, Germany 6.3%, US 5.5% (2005) | US, Puerto Rico, UK (2004) |
Independence | 5 July 1962 (from France) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8% (2005 est.) | 3.1% (1997 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing | tourism, boat building, offshore financial services |
Infant mortality rate | total: 29.87 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 33.62 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 20.32 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.9% (2005 est.) | 5.3% |
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, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), OECS (associate), UPU |
Irrigated land | 5,690 sq km (2003) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | High Court (judge provided by Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court) |
Labor force | 10.15 million (2005 est.) | 6,049 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 14%, industry 13.4%, construction and public works 10%, trade 14.6%, government 32%, other 16% (2003 est.) | agriculture/fishing/forestry/mining 4%, manufacturing 3%, construction 18%, transportation and utilities 10%, commerce 36%, services 29% (2000 est.) |
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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 3.17%
permanent crops: 0.28% other: 96.55% (2005) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mostly rock with sparse scrub oak, few trees, some commercial salt ponds) (2005) |
Languages | Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects | English (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 English common law |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consisting of the National People's Assembly or Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani (389 seats - formerly 380 seats; 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 in 2007); Council of Nations (Senate) - last held 30 December 2003 (next to be held in 2006) election results: National People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 199, RND 47, Islah 43, MSP 38, PT 21, FNA 8, EnNahda 1, PRA 1, MEN 1, independents 30; Council of Nations - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party NA |
unicameral House of Assembly (11 seats total, 7 elected by direct popular vote, 2 ex officio members, and 2 appointed; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 21 February 2005 (next to be held 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - AUF 38.9%, ANSA 19.2%, AUM 19.4%, APP 9.5%, independents 13%; seats by party - AUF 4, ANSA 2, AUM 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.26 years
male: 71.68 years female: 74.92 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 77.28 years
male: 74.35 years female: 80.3 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70% male: 78.8% female: 61% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 12 and over can read and write
total population: 95% male: 95% female: 95% (1984 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 41 ships (1000 GRT or over) 744,406 GRT/766,764 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 10, chemical tanker 2, liquefied gas 9, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 5, roll on/roll off 3, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 13 (UK 13) (2006) |
registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2006) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | National Popular Army (ANP; includes Land Forces), Algerian National Navy (MRA), Air Force (QJJ), Territorial Air Defense Force (2005) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3 billion (2005 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.2% (2005 est.) | - |
National holiday | Revolution Day, 1 November (1954) | Anguilla Day, 30 May |
Nationality | noun: Algerian(s)
adjective: Algerian |
noun: Anguillan(s)
adjective: Anguillan |
Natural hazards | mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season | frequent hurricanes and other tropical storms (July to October) |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc | salt, fish, lobster |
Net migration rate | -0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 6.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 1,344 km; gas 85,946 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,213 km; oil 6,496 km (2005) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI]; National Democratic Rally (Rassemblement National Democratique) or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA, secretary general]; Islamic Salvation Front or FIS (outlawed April 1992) [Ali BELHADJ, Dr. Abassi MADANI, Rabeh KEBIR]; National Entente Movement or MEN [Ali BOUKHAZNA]; National Liberation Front or FLN [Abdelaziz BELKHADEM, secretary general]; 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 SADI]; Renaissance Movement or EnNahda Movement [Fatah RABEI]; Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Hocine Ait AHMED, secretary general]; Social Liberal Party or PSL [Ahmed KHELIL]; Society of Peace Movement or MSP [Boudjerra SOLTANI]; Workers Party or PT [Louisa HANOUN]
note: a law banning political parties based on religion was enacted in March 1997 |
Anguilla United Movement or AUM [Hubert HUGHES]; The Anguilla United Front or AUF [Osbourne FLEMING, Victor BANKS], a coalition of the Anguilla Democratic Party or ADP and the Anguilla National Alliance or ANA; Anguilla Progressive Party or APP [Roy ROGERS]; Anguilla Strategic Alternative or ANSA [Edison BAIRD] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | The Algerian Human Rights League or LADH or LADDH [Yahia Ali ABDENOUR]; SOS Disparus [Nacera DUTOUR]; Somoud [Ali MERABET] | NA |
Population | 32,930,091 (July 2006 est.) | 13,477 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 25% (2005 est.) | 23% (2002) |
Population growth rate | 1.22% (2006 est.) | 1.57% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 25, FM 1, shortwave 8 (1999) | AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2004) |
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 (2005) |
- |
Religions | Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1% | Anglican 29%, Methodist 23.9%, other Protestant 30.2%, Roman Catholic 5.7%, other Christian 1.7%, other 5.2%, none or unspecified 4.3% (2001 Census) |
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: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2006 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 nearly 2.6 million, 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; submarine cables - 5; microwave radio relay to Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia; coaxial cable to Morocco and Tunisia; participant in Medarabtel; satellite earth stations - 51 (Intelsat, Intersputnik, and Arabsat) (2005) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: modern internal telephone system international: country code - 1-264; microwave radio relay to island of Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.572 million (2005) | 6,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 13.661 million (2005) | 1,800 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 46 (plus 216 repeaters) (1995) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | flat and low-lying island of coral and limestone |
Total fertility rate | 1.89 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.73 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 17.1% (2005 est.) | 8% (2002) |