ALGERIA
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LAND
2,460,500 km2; 3% cultivated, 16% pasture and meadows, 1% forested, 80% desert, waste, or urban
Land boundaries: 6,260 km
WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 12 nm
Coastline: 1,183 km
PEOPLE
Population: 20,030,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 3.1%
Nationality: noun—Algerian(s); adjective—Algerian
Ethnic divisions: 99% Arab-Berbers, less than 1% Europeans
Religion: 99% Muslim; 1% Christian and Hebrew
Language: Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
Literacy: 25% (5% Arabic, 9% French, 11% both)
Labor force: 4.0 million; 19% agriculture, 17% industry, 64% other (military, police, civil service, transportation workers, teachers, merchants, construction workers); at least 19% of urban labor unemployed
Organized labor: 25% of labor force claimed; General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA) is the only labor organization and is subordinate to the National Liberation Front
GOVERNMENT
Official name: Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria
Type: republic
Capital: Algiers
Political subdivisions: 31 Wilayas (departments or provinces)
Legal system: based on French and Islamic law, with socialist principles; new constitution adopted by referendum November 1976; judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of various public officials, including several Supreme Court justices; Supreme Court divided into four chambers; legal education at Universities of Algiers, Oran, and Constantine; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: 1 November
Branches: executive dominant; unicameral legislature; judiciary
Government leader: President, Col. Chadli BENDJEDID, elected 7 February 1979 as successor to deceased President Boumediene
Suffrage: universal over age 19
Elections (latest): presidential 7 February 1979; departmental assemblies 2 June 1974; local assemblies 30 March 1975; legislative elections held 25 February 1977
Political parties and leaders: National Liberation Front (FLN), Secretary General Chadli Bendjedid
Communists: 400 (est.); Communist Party illegal (banned 1962)
Member of: AFDB, AlOEC, Arab League, ASSIMER, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMCO, IMF, IOOC, ISCON, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
ECONOMY
GDP: $41.0 billion (1981 est.), $1,720 per capita; 6.2% real growth in 1981
Agriculture: main crops—wheat, barley, grapes, citrus fruits
Major industries: petroleum, light industries, natural gas, mining, petrochemical, electrical, and automotive plants under construction
Electric power: 1,780,000 kW capacity (1980); 6,400 million kWh produced (1980), 336 kWh per capita
Exports: $14.0 billion (f.o.b., 1981 est.); major items—petroleum and gas 98.0%; US 52.0%, France 23.0%
Imports: $11.0 billion (f.o.b., 1981 est.); major items—capital goods 32.0%, semifinished goods 25.0%, foodstuffs 19.0%; France 23.0%, US 7.4%
Major trade partners: US, West Germany, France, Italy
Monetary conversion rate: 1 Algerian dinar (DA)=US$0.23
Fiscal year: calendar year
