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Arid Territory

Algeria is located in northwestern Africa. It is bounded to the north by the Mediterranean Sea, to the northwest by Morocco, to the west by Mauritania, to the southwest by Mali, to the south by Niger, to the east by Libya and to the northeast by Tunis.

Almost 90% of its area is covered by desert, in this case the Algerian part of the Sahara Desert, where the huge dunes of the areas named the Grand Erg Oriental and the Grand Erg Occidental. From north to south this country includes the coastal Tell range or Atlas Tell range; a series of high plateaus which cross the territory from east to west for around 7000km2; the Saharan Atlas range; the Algerian Sahara, and finally the mountainous Ahaggar Massif, where the highest peak in Algeria, Mount Tahat at 3,003 metres above sea level, is found.

It has only one large river, the Cheliff (725km long). Its lakes are actually seasonal, as, when they evaporate because of the intense heat, they become salt plains named Chott.

The Algerian climate is varied.  A Mediterranean climate predominates in the north, a continental climate in the plateau area and a desert climate, with large temperature variation between day and night, in the south.

Political Organisation

The Executive branch in Algeria is headed by the President (Head of State), who is elected every five years by universal suffrage. However, some functions of the executive branch are also exercised by the Prime Minister who is named by the President, as is the Cabinet.

The Legislative branch consists of a bicameral Parliament, formed by the National Popular Assembly, which has 380 members, and the Council of the Nation, which has 144 members. The Judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court or Supreme Tribunal as its highest body.

Algeria is organised into 48 provinces or wilayahs, run by governors or walis.

Rich in hydrocarbons

Since its independence in 1962, Algeria has based its economy almost exclusively on its large amount of hydrocarbon resources. The sector provides nearly 30% of the national GDP, around 60% of fiscal income and over 95% of Algerian exports. Although its petroleum reserves are not so important within the context of the OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries), its natural gas reserves, 4.5 billion cubic metres, certainly are.

Likewise, industry related to the extraction, production, liquefaction, refining and distribution of hydrocarbons is well developed, although there are also other industrial areas, such as the steel industry, which produces 2.2 million tonnes annually.

In agriculture only five million hectares of a total of seven and a half million hectares of cultivable land are used. Therefore 80% of the food products consumed annually in Algeria are imported.

Strong Migration

59% of the Algerian population lives in cities, mainly located in the north, near the Mediterranean. The average growth rate of the country was 1.7% between 2000 and 2005, a little lower than the average for the African continent.
The largest problem facing Algeria, however, is migration due to bloody internal political conflicts. In fact, at the beginning of the 21st century nearly 700,000 people left the country for Europe, France being the destination for 90% of them.

Ghardaia

Of the seven places considered holy in Algeria, this city located in the M’Zab valley is the most popular. It represents the ideal urban design of ancient cities in this country, with a large mosque as its centre. In 1989 this locality, founded in 1048 A.D., was declared a World Heritage Site.

 


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