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People's Democratic Republic of Algeria

الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية (Arabic)<
Motto: بالشّعب وللشّعب
By the people and for the people
Anthem: Kassaman
(English: "We Pledge")
Location of  Algeria  (dark green)
Location of  Algeria  (dark green)
Location of Algeria
Capital
and largest city
Algiers
36°42′N 3°13′E / 36.700°N 3.217°E / 36.700; 3.217
Official languages
Other languages French (business and education)
Ethnic groups
  • 99% Arab-Berber
  • 1% others
Demonym(s) Algerian
Government Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic
Abdelkader Bensalah
(Acting)
Noureddine Bedoui
Legislature Parliament
Council of the Nation
People's National Assembly
Independence from France
• Declared
July 3, 1962
• Recognized
July 5, 1962
Area
• Total
2,381,741 km2 (919,595 sq mi) (10th)
• Water (%)
1.1
Population
• 2021 estimate
44,700,000 (32nd)
• 2013 census
37,900,000
• Density
17.7/km2 (45.8/sq mi) (168th)
GDP (PPP) 2022 estimate
• Total
$581.189 billion (111th)
• Per capita
$13,002
GDP (nominal) 2022 estimate
• Total
$191.941 billion
• Per capita
$4,294
Gini (2011) 27.6
low
HDI (2019) Increase 0.748
high · 83rd
Currency Dinar (DZD)
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
Date format dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side right
Calling code +213
ISO 3166 code DZ
Internet TLD .dz
الجزائر.
LocationAlgeria
Algeria on a world map

Algeria (official name: People's Democratic Republic of Algeria) is a country in the Western part of North Africa. It is the largest country in Africa. Its name comes from the capital city of Algiers. It is the largest country in Africa. Algeria is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea in the north, Tunisia in the northeast, Libya in the east, Niger in the southeast, Mauritania and Mali in the southwest, Western Sahara in the west, and Morocco in the northwest.

History

It is estimated that Algeria has had people since 10,000 BC. This can be seen in Tassili National Park. By 600 BC, Phoenicians were at Tipasa. The first Muslim Arabs came to Algeria in the mid-7th century. Many people chose this religion.

In the 11th century, the Arab tribes of Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym were established between Tunisia and eastern Algeria. The famous mathematician, Fibonacci (1170—1250), lived in Algeria as a teenager. This is where he learned the Hindu-Arabic number system and realized it was simpler to use. In the 1500s and 1700s, the Spanish Empire ruled a lot of Algeria. Algeria was made a part of the Ottoman Empire in 1517. Pirates worked from the Barbary Coast. They took people to sell as slaves.

France ruled Algeria starting in 1830. In 1954, the National Liberation Front (Front de Libération Nationale or FLN) wanted freedom from France. They fought a war. Algeria became independent from France on July 5, 1962. In 1963, Ahmed Ben Bella became the first President of Algeria.

The Algerian Civil War started in 1991. It ended in 2002. After many people protested, like in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, the government stopped the state of emergency on February 24, 2011.

Geography

A large part of southern Algeria is the Sahara Desert. The Aures and Nememcha mountain ranges are in the north. The highest point is Mount Tahat at 9,852 ft.(3,003 m).

Languages

Official languages are Arabic and Berber. French is widely spoken, too.

Population

Algeria's population is about 39.5 million people. There are over 40 cities with more than 100,000 people.

Divisions

There are 48 provinces (since 1983) in Algeria, they are:


UNESCO World Heritage Sites

There are several UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Algeria:

  • Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad, the first capital of the Hammadid empire
  • Tipasa, a Phoenician and later Roman town
  • Djémila and Timgad, both Roman ruins
  • M'Zab Valley, a limestone valley containing a large urbanized oasis
  • the Casbah, important citadel of Algiers.
  • Tassili n'Ajjer, a mountain range and the only natural World Heritage Sites

Interesting facts about Algeria

  • Algeria is the only country to mention the names of two countries in its national anthem.
  • The national animal of Algeria is the fennec fox.
  • Algiers, Algeria, has the tallest minaret in the world. It is 870 feet tall.
  • The U.S. Army used to import camels from Algeria.
  • There are two Nobel Prize winners who are from Algeria: Albert Camus for literature and Claude Cohen Tannoudji for physics.
  • Part of the original (1932) Tarzan movie was filmed in Algeria.
  • The Sahara makes up more than four-fifths of the country’s area.
  • Algerians often invite friends to drink tea with them.
  • The national dish of Algeria is couscous.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Argelia para niños

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