What are the Key Facts of Algeria?

Where is Algeria?

Algeria is located in Northern Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea between Tunisia and Morocco.

What is the Geography of Algeria?

Algeria is spread across a total area of 2,381,741 sq. km (919,595 sq. mi), out of which 2,381,740 sq. km (919,595 sq. mi) is land area and 0 sq. km (0 sq. mi). It has a 6,734 km (4,184 mi) long land boundary, which is shared with 7 neighboring countries: Morocco (1,900 km or 1,181 mi), Mali (1,359 km or 844 mi), Tunisia (1,034 km or 642 mi), Libya (989 km or 615 mi), Niger (951 km or 591 mi), Mauritania (460 km or 286 mi), and Western Sahara (41 km or 25 mi). Algeria has a 998 km (620 mi) long coastline. Here is Algeria Physical Map showing all physical feature of the country.

Algeria is not only the largest country in Africa in terms of area but also in the Mediterranean Basin and the Arab world. The Sahara desert covers around 90% of Algeria. Besides the desert, the landscape is also dominated by high plateaus. The country has a mean elevation of 800 m (2,625 ft). While the highest mountain is Tahat at 2,908 m (9,541 ft), the lowest mountain is Chott Melrhir at -40 m (-131 ft).
The Atlas Mountains are located in the northern parts of the country, and the Ahaggar Massif adorns the southeast region.

The high plateaus are spread over 600 km (372 mi). They consist of plains that are similar to undulating steppe, whose average height is between 1,100 m (3,608 ft) and 1,300 m (4,265 ft). By moving towards the east, the height drops to 400 m (1,312 ft). A narrow, hilly coastal plain is found as you move to the north of Algeria along the Mediterranean Sea. A few small rivers are also found in this area.

The major mountains in Algeria are Tahat, Chélia, Mount Babor, Azao, Issa, Lalla Khedidja, etc. Some of the main rivers in the country are Chelif, Djedi, Seybouse, Ziz, and Medjerda. Lake Chott Melrhir is the largest lake in the country having a maximum area of 6,700 sq km or 2,600 sq mi.

There are three types of climatic conditions found in Algeria, and they are the transitional climate in the hilly/mountainous regions in the north, the desert climate in the Sahara desert, and the mild Mediterranean climate found in the coastal areas.

A high belt that is parallel to the coastline has two mountain ranges: Tell Atlas and Saharan Atlas. The Tell Atlas mountain range gets more rainfall because of the humid winds coming from the sea. In fact, it gets snowy during winter. It has a slightly continental climate, characterized by hot summers and cold winters.

The desert climate in the vast Saharan desert comes with hot, dry, and long summer. It gets more and more hot and dry as one moves towards the south. During the winter season, the far southern parts are the warmest, where the day temperature revolves around 25-27 °C (77-80 °F). The desert area gets very less rainfall, which is less than 100 mm (4 in) annually and many times it can be even below 50 mm (2 in). The downpour takes place mainly in the winter season in the northern parts and during summer in the far south.

The temperature variation is enormous between the days and nights, which is around 20 °C (35 °F). While the temperature in the nighttime is below freezing point at night time during winter, it remains mild during days. Sand storms can happen anytime in the desert areas, especially the regions having sand dunes.

Mediterranean climate prevails in the thin coastal belt. The climate is characterized by hot, sunny summers as well as mild, rainy winters. The western parts get around 330-400 mm (13-16 in) per year, and that’s why the area has arid landscape. Rainfall is abundant (600-800 mm or 23.5-31.5 in) during October-April. The coastal areas get a uniform temperature.

 While the daily day temperature average temperature revolves around 11-12 °C (52-53.5 °F), the temperature revolves around 25-26 °C (77-79 °F) during August.

Fairly high humidity prevails during the summer season. The breeze blowing from the sea makes the summer more humid. A hot desert wind known as Chili sometimes blows (especially during autumn and spring), bringing sands and dust along with it. It can cause the relative humidity to drop suddenly.

Springtime (especially during April-May) is the best time to visit the coastal cities, mountain belts, and Algiers of Algeria. Winter (December-to-February) is the best time to visit the desert or arid areas. Mid-May-to-October is the best time to visit the beaches in Algeria.

What is the Economy of Algeria?

The World Bank classifies Algeria as an upper-middle-income economy. In 2018, the nominal GDP grew at 2.1% to reach US$180.689 billion. The main exports are petroleum gas, refined petroleum, crude petroleum, Ammonia, coal tar oil, etc. The main imports are cars, wheat, packaged medicaments, concentrated milk, refined petroleum, etc. Algerian economy has a negative balance of trade of US$9.5 billion.

Algeria has one of the world’s largest natural gas/oil reserves. The economy depends on the hydrocarbons to a significant extent (contributing around 30% to the GDP and 60% to the budget revenues).

The unemployment rate in 2018 was 12.15%. During 1991-2018, the average unemployment rate was 18.71%. The country has a high percentage of economic inequality. There is a 27.7% difference in the consumption rate of the rich and poor in Algeria.

As per the official statistics based on the poverty line defined by US$3.57 (US$3.18) per day in 2011 PPP in urban (rural) areas, the national poverty rate was 5.5%. However, the extreme poverty (population living below US$1.90 per day at 2011 international prices) rate was 0.5% in 2011.

What is the Transportation System of Algeria?

Algeria has 104,000 km (64,623 mi) long roadways, out of which 71,656 km (44,525 mi) is paved and 32,344 km (20,098 mi) is unpaved. The country also has 3,973 km (2,469 mi) long railways, out of which 2,888 km (1,795 mi) is standard-gauge (includes 283 km or 176 mi electrified railway network) and 1,085 km (674 mi) is narrow-gauge. There are 157 airports in Algeria, out of which 64 have paved runways, and 93 have unpaved runways. Three heliports are also there. The main seaports are Algiers, Skikda, Oran, Mostaganem, Jijel, Djendjene, Bejaia, Arzew, and Annaba.

What International Organizations is Algeria part of?

UN, NAM, ILO, UNESCO, IMF, ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BIS, CAEU, CD, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MONUSCO, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UNCTAD, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, OSCE (partner), WTO (observer), ICC (national committees), ITUC (NGOs), OAS (observer)