Total area: 919,590 sq mi (2,381,741 sq km)
Population (2009 est.): 34,178,188 (growth rate: 1.2%); birth rate: 16.9/1000; infant mortality rate: 27.7/1000; life expectancy: 74.2; density per sq mi: 36
Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Algiers, 3,917,000 (metro. area), 1,742,800 (city proper)
Other large cities: Oran, 752,200; Constantine, 530,100; Batna, 278,100; Annaba, 246,700
Monetary unit: Dinar
National name: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Sha'biyah
Current government officials
Languages: Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
Ethnicity/race: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
Religion: Islam (Sunni) 99% (state religion), Christian and Jewish 1%
National Holiday: Revolution Day, November 1
Literacy rate: 69.9%
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $268.9 billion; per capita $8,100. Real growth rate: 4.6%. Inflation: 4.6%. Unemployment: 14.1%. Arable land: 3.17%. Agriculture: wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle. Labor force: 9.38 million; agriculture 14%, industry 13.4%, construction and public works 10%, trade 14.6%, government 32%, other 16% (2003 est.). Industries: petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc. Exports: $63.3 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97%. Imports: $26.08 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods. Major trading partners: France, Italy, China, Germany, Spain, U.S., Turkey (2006)
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 2.841 million (2006); mobile cellular: 21 million (2006). Radio broadcast stations: AM 25, FM 1, shortwave 8 (1999). Television broadcast stations: 46 (plus 216 repeaters) (1995). Internet hosts: 2,077 (2007). Internet users: 2.46 million (2006).
Transportation: Railways: total: 3,973 km (2006).
Highways: total: 108,302 km ; paved: 76,028 km; unpaved: 32,274 km (2004).
Ports and harbors: Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Djendjene, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda.
Airports: 150 (2007).
International disputes: 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.
