##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Western Sahara (2005) - Algeria (2008)
Compare Western Sahara (2005) z Algeria (2008)
| Western Sahara (2005) | Algeria (2008) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | 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 |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
0-14 years: 27.2% (male 4,627,479/female 4,447,468)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 11,413,121/female 11,235,096) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 752,058/female 857,994) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) | wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle |
| Airports | 11 (2004 est.) | 150 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
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 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 98
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 26 914 to 1,523 m: 44 under 914 m: 25 (2007) |
| Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 2,381,740 sq km
land: 2,381,740 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas |
| Background | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. | 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 crackdown 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 activities of extremist militants. The 2006 merger of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) with al-Qaida (followed by a change of name to al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb) signaled an increase in bombings, including high-profile, mass-casualty suicide attacks targeted against the Algerian government and Western interests. 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. |
| Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | 17.11 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $58.5 billion
expenditures: $41.35 billion (2007 est.) |
| Capital | none | name: Algiers
geographic coordinates: 36 45 N, 3 03 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | 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 |
| Coastline | 1,110 km | 998 km |
| Constitution | - | 8 September 1963; revised 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, and 28 November 1996 |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
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 |
| Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 4.62 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | NA | $3.358 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert S. FORD
embassy: 5 Chemin Cheikh Bachir, El-Ibrahimi, El-Biar 16000 Algiers mailing address: B. P. 408, Alger-Gare, 16030 Algiers telephone: [213] 70-08-2000 FAX: [213] 21-60-7355 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none | chief of mission: Ambassador Amine KHERBI
chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2174 |
| Disputes - international | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals | Algeria supports the Polisario Front exiled in Algeria and who represent the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic; Algeria rejects Moroccan administration of Western Sahara; most of the approximately 90,000 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; 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 |
| Economic aid - recipient | NA | $370.6 million (2005 est.) |
| Economy - overview | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. | 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 eighth-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the fourth-largest gas exporter; it ranks 14th in oil reserves. Sustained high oil prices in recent years have helped improve Algeria's financial and macroeconomic indicators. Algeria is running substantial trade surpluses and building up record foreign exchange reserves. Algeria has decreased its external debt to less than 10% of GDP after repaying its Paris Club and London Club debt in 2006. 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, such as development of the banking sector and the construction of infrastructure, moves ahead slowly hampered by corruption and bureaucratic resistance. |
| Electricity - consumption | 83.7 million kWh (2002) | 27.52 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 275 million kWh (2005 est.) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 359 million kWh (2005 est.) |
| Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (2002) | 31.91 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m
highest point: Tahat 3,003 m |
| Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | 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 |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | 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 |
| Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.6256 (2000) | Algerian dinars per US dollar - 69.9 (2007), 72.647 (2006), 73.276 (2005), 72.061 (2004), 77.395 (2003) |
| Executive branch | none | 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% |
| Exports | NA | 1.724 million bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97% |
| Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | US 27.2%, Italy 17%, Spain 9.7%, France 8.8%, Canada 8.1%, Belgium 4.3% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| 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
note: the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state religion) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 8.1%
industry: 61% services: 30.9% (2007 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | NA | 4.6% (2007 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 28 00 N, 3 00 E |
| Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan) |
| Heliports | - | 2 (2007) |
| Highways | total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 26.8% (1995) |
| Imports | NA | 12,390 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods |
| Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | France 22%, Italy 8.6%, China 8.5%, Germany 5.9%, Spain 5.9%, US 4.8%, Turkey 4.5% (2006) |
| Independence | - | 5 July 1962 (from France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA | 5% (2007 est.) |
| Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing |
| Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 28.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 32.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 24.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 4.6% (2007 est.) |
| International organization participation | none | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BIS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
| Irrigated land | NA sq km | 5,690 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court |
| Labor force | 12,000 | 9.38 million (2007 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% | agriculture 14%, industry 13.4%, construction and public works 10%, trade 14.6%, government 32%, other 16% (2003 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
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 |
| Land use | arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
arable land: 3.17%
permanent crops: 0.28% other: 96.55% (2005) |
| Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects |
| 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 |
| Legislative branch | - | bicameral Parliament consists of the National People's Assembly or Al-Majlis Al-Shabi Al-Watani (389 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; to serve six-year terms; the constitution requires half the council to be renewed every three years)
elections: National People's Assembly - last held 17 May 2007 (next to be held in 2012); Council of Nations (Senate) - last held 28 December 2006 (next to be held in 2009) election results: National People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 136, RND 61, MSP 52, PT 26, RCD 19, FNA 13, other 49, independents 33; Council of Nations - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 29, RND 12, MSP 3, RCD 1, independents 3, presidential appointees (unknown affiliation) 24; note - Council seating reflects the number of replaced council members rather than the whole Council |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: 73.52 years
male: 71.91 years female: 75.21 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 69.9% male: 79.6% female: 60.1% (2002 est.) |
| Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia |
| Map references | Africa | Africa |
| Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 35 ships (1000 GRT or over) 694,686 GRT/707,251 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 8, chemical tanker 2, liquefied gas 9, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 12 (UK 12) (2007) |
| Military branches | - | National Popular Army (ANP; includes Land Forces), Algerian National Navy (MRA), Air Force (QJJ), Territorial Air Defense Force (2005) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.3% (2006) |
| National holiday | - | Revolution Day, 1 November (1954) |
| Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun: Algerian(s)
adjective: Algerian |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility | mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season |
| Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc |
| Net migration rate | - | -0.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | condensate 1,532 km; gas 13,861 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,408 km; oil 6,878 km (2007) |
| Political parties and leaders | - | Ahd 54 [Ali Fauzi REBAINE]; Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI]; National Democratic Rally (Rassemblement National Democratique) or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA]; 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) [Mohamed BOULAHIA]; National Renewal Party or PRA [Mohamed BENSMAIL]; Rally for Culture and Democracy or RCD [Said SADI]; Renaissance Movement or EnNahda Movement [Fatah RABEI]; Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Hocine Ait AHMED]; Social Liberal Party or PSL [Ahmed KHELIL]; Society of Peace Movement or MSP [Boudjerra SOLTANI]; Workers Party or PT [Louisa HANOUNE]
note: a law banning political parties based on religion was enacted in March 1997 |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | none | The Algerian Human Rights League or LADDH [Hocine ZEHOUANE]; SOS Disparus [Nacera DUTOUR]; Somoud [Ali MERABET] |
| Population | 273,008 (July 2005 est.) | 33,333,216 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA | 25% (2005 est.) |
| Population growth rate | NA | 1.216% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 25, FM 1, shortwave 8 (1999) |
| 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 (2006) |
| Religions | Muslim | Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1% |
| Sex ratio | NA | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.016 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 1.015 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Suffrage | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
general assessment: a weak network of fixed-main lines, which remains low at less than 10 telephones per 100 persons, is partially offset by the rapid increase in mobile cellular subscribership; in 2006, combined fixed-line and mobile telephone density surpassed 70 telephones per 100 persons
domestic: privatization of Algeria's telecommunications sector began in 2000; three mobile cellular licenses have been issued and, in 2005, a consortium led by Egypt's Orascom Telecom won a 15-year license to build and operate a fixed-line network in Algeria; the license will allow Orascom to develop high-speed data and other specialized services and contribute to meeting the large unfulfilled demand for basic residential telephony; internet broadband services began in 2003 with approximately 200,000 subscribers in 2006 international: country code - 213; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-4 fiber- optic submarine cable system that provides links to Europe, the Middle East and Asia; 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) (2007) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 2.841 million (2006) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | 20.998 million (2006) |
| Television broadcast stations | NA | 46 (plus 216 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
| Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 1.86 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA | 14.1% (2007 est.) |
Sitemap:
Compare countries listing (map site) |
Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.