Algeria is one of the most
popular tourist countries in North Africa, and is the
second largest country in Africa. Bordering Morocco, Mali, Libya, Tunisia,
Niger, the Mediterranean Sea and the Western Sahara, Algeria is home to a
diverse landscape and a population of approximately thirty-five million. Algiers
is the capital city of Algeria and even though its economy is reliant on a
variety of sectors, agriculture still plays a vital role in the provision of
products for the country and for export. Products such as cotton, tobacco, olive
oil, cereal, figs, cork, barley, wheat, vegetables and citrus fruits are
cultivated in the country. Over recent years the tourism industry has begun to
grow and develop, bringing international visitors to Algeria with opportunities
to explore its beauty and diversity.
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 large-scale unemployment, a shortage of housing, unreliable electrical
and water supplies, government inefficiencies and corruption, and the continuing
activities of extremist militants. The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC)
in 2006 merged with al-Qaida to form al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic
Maghreb, which since has launched an ongoing series of kidnappings and 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.
Location
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
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
Religions
Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%
Independence
5 July 1962 (from France)
National holiday
Revolution Day, 1 November (1954)