Algeria

Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the <a href="/facts/Maghreb/oIcU24Mz">Maghreb</a> region of <a href="/facts/North_Africa/ItxQAfs7">North Africa</a>. It is bordered to <a href="/facts/Algeria%25E2%2580%2593Tunisia_border/cLjJXl1p">the northeast</a> by <a href="/facts/Tunisia/4uC8Po6k">Tunisia</a>; to <a href="/facts/Algeria%25E2%2580%2593Libya_border/jx24U1Uw">the east</a> by <a href="/facts/Libya/HMPH8PWR">Libya</a>; to <a href="/facts/Algeria%25E2%2580%2593Niger_border/CsmYJplB">the southeast</a> by <a href="/facts/Niger/hRbX6MkM">Niger</a>; to <a href="/facts/Algeria%25E2%2580%2593Western_Sahara_border/uLV1gRn3">the southwest</a> by <a href="/facts/Mali/sAaVqV1e">Mali</a>, <a href="/facts/Mauritania/JcP8EJku">Mauritania</a>, and <a href="/facts/Western_Sahara/xAmSkuJl">Western Sahara</a>; to <a href="/facts/Algeria%25E2%2580%2593Morocco_border/AIsT1N75">the west</a> by <a href="/facts/Morocco/6ly8170M">Morocco</a>; and to the north by the <a href="/facts/Mediterranean_Sea/Vr2pzVbM">Mediterranean Sea</a>. The capital and <a href="/facts/List_of_cities_in_Algeria/t2Ct79S4">largest city</a> is <a href="/facts/Algiers/Cdk8BQl1">Algiers</a>, located in the far north on the Mediterranean coast.
Inhabited since <a href="/facts/Prehistory/52D6oKM4">prehistory</a>, Algeria has been at the crossroads of numerous cultures and civilisations for millennia, including the <a href="/facts/Phoenicians/6GXLneNU">Phoenicians</a>, <a href="/facts/Numidia/ErVpEwob">Numidians</a>, <a href="/facts/Ancient_Rome/cGqIuxPd">Romans</a>, <a href="/facts/Vandals/THjfVCF7">Vandals</a>, and <a href="/facts/Byzantine_Greeks/QWe9G3mS">Byzantine Greeks</a>. Its modern identity is rooted in centuries of <a href="/facts/Arab_migrations_to_the_Maghreb/FhDV0aIE">Arab Muslim migration</a> since <a href="/facts/Muslim_conquest_of_the_Maghreb/BA2TSPJg">the seventh century</a> and the subsequent <a href="/facts/Arabization/buoJF4m2">Arabisation</a> of indigenous <a href="/facts/Berbers/kuN9pFNf">Berber</a> populations. Following a succession of <a href="/facts/List_of_Muslim_states_and_dynasties/DVfgkBu3">Islamic Arab and Berber dynasties</a> between the eighth and 15th centuries, the <a href="/facts/Regency_of_Algiers/7NTmU9u8">Regency of Algiers</a> was established in 1516 as a largely independent <a href="/facts/Tributary_state/MJKQYJtp">tributary state</a> of the <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Empire/6QvfTRsg">Ottoman Empire</a>. After nearly three centuries as a major power in the Mediterranean, the country was <a href="/facts/Invasion_of_Algiers_in_1830/g0x6zDRf">invaded by France</a> in 1830 and <a href="/facts/French_Algeria/TCd9S56V">formally annexed</a> in 1848, though it was not fully <a href="/facts/French_conquest_of_Algeria/k1rLM9RH">conquered</a> and <a href="/facts/Pacification_of_Algeria/dCyp1AkG">pacified</a> until 1903. French rule brought <a href="/facts/Pied-Noir/zRzf5LxW">mass European settlement</a> that displaced the local population, which was reduced by up to one-third due to warfare, disease, and starvation. The <a href="/facts/S%25C3%25A9tif_and_Guelma_massacre/PC0hYh8B">Sétif and Guelma massacre</a> in 1945 catalysed local resistance that culminated in the outbreak of the <a href="/facts/Algerian_War/5VAQbI3y">Algerian War</a> in 1954. Algeria <a href="/facts/Independence_Day_(Algeria)/616UB54B">gained independence</a> in 1962. It descended into a <a href="/facts/Algerian_Civil_War/kk6eolWu">bloody civil war</a> from 1992 to 2002, remaining in an official state of emergency until the <a href="/facts/2010%25E2%2580%25932012_Algerian_protests/pGTgAVH5">2010–2012 Algerian protests</a> during the <a href="/facts/Arab_Spring/IJrjLoll">Arab Spring</a>.
Spanning 2,381,741 square kilometres (919,595 sq mi), Algeria is the world's <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area/XQWaBfYo">tenth-largest country by area</a> and the <a href="/facts/List_of_African_countries_by_area/HCCFYu70">largest in Africa</a>. It has a semi-arid climate, with the <a href="/facts/Sahara/JVlJd2VC">Sahara</a> desert dominating most of the territory except for its <a href="/facts/Soil_fertility/E7ofTY0f">fertile</a> and mountainous north, where most of the population is concentrated. With a population of 44 million, Algeria is the <a href="/facts/List_of_African_countries_by_population/UAWNuVGu">tenth-most populous country</a> in Africa, and the <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_population/N1Fq63C2">33rd-most populous</a> in the world. Algeria's official languages are <a href="/facts/Modern_Standard_Arabic/rXAjtFSs">Arabic</a> and <a href="/facts/Standard_Algerian_Berber/wEKNJz4M">Tamazight</a>; the vast majority of the population speak the <a href="/facts/Algerian_Arabic/ybUFGHgr">Algerian dialect of Arabic</a>. <a href="/facts/French_language_in_Algeria/UGt1L4hj">French</a> is used in media, education, and certain administrative matters, but has no official status. Most Algerians are <a href="/facts/Arabs/E77duPsg">Arabs</a>, with <a href="/facts/Berbers/kuN9pFNf">Berbers</a> forming a sizeable minority. <a href="/facts/Islam/zDLbL45C">Sunni Islam</a> is the official religion and practised by 99 percent of the population. 
Algeria is a <a href="/facts/Semi-presidential_system/vncj96gR">semi-presidential republic</a> composed of <a href="/facts/Provinces_of_Algeria/2yfhkrJm">58 provinces</a> (<a href="/facts/Wilaya/s7uvYNGu">wilayas</a>) and <a href="/facts/Communes_of_Algeria/R2A43VCe">1,541 communes</a>. It is a <a href="/facts/Regional_power/5sEzSjCx">regional power</a> in North Africa and a <a href="/facts/Middle_power/ku44qNYY">middle power</a> in global affairs. As of 2025, the country has the highest <a href="/facts/Human_Development_Index/hQpz064I">Human Development Index</a> in continental Africa, and the <a href="/facts/List_of_African_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)/nX3S8qhf">third largest economy in Africa</a>, due mostly to its large petroleum and natural gas reserves, which are the <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_proven_oil_reserves/1TqTuhrp">sixteenth</a> and <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_natural_gas_proven_reserves/xEqpQMoE">ninth largest</a> in the world, respectively. <a href="/facts/Sonatrach/t2ybXopp">Sonatrach</a>, the national oil company, is the largest company in Africa and a major supplier of natural gas to Europe. The <a href="/facts/Algerian_People%2527s_National_Armed_Forces/pNSfmwSA">Algerian military</a> is one of the largest in Africa, with the <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_with_highest_military_expenditures/QJemgRxr">highest defence budget</a> on the continent and the 22nd highest in the world. Algeria is a member of the <a href="/facts/African_Union/Pz1DVnDN">African Union</a>, the <a href="/facts/Arab_League/15f9WWWM">Arab League</a>, the <a href="/facts/Organisation_of_Islamic_Cooperation/wWSQSzfF">OIC</a>, <a href="/facts/OPEC/aQ9cxyG6">OPEC</a>, the <a href="/facts/United_Nations/fgXLnmgT">United Nations</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Arab_Maghreb_Union/2TaDakk6">Arab Maghreb Union</a>, of which it is a founding member.

Algeria open-in-new

Algeria