Countries of the World - Algeria

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ALGERIA Algeria is the next country in alphabetical order. It is located in northern Africa northeast of Tunisia, east of Libya, southeast of Niger, southwest of Mali, Mauritania, and Western Sahara, west of Morocco, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north. Algeria has a population of 44 million. It is the tenth most populous in Africa and thirty-second in the world. It is semi-arid with most people living in the north while the Sahara dominates the south. Algeria went through several changes in who controlled the country. Spanish expansionism led to the establishment of the Regency of Algiers in 1516. France invaded in 1830 and controlled the country until 1903. They were part of France for many years and had over a million European settlers. The Sétif and Guelma massacre in 1945 marked a turning point in Franco-Algerian relations and led to the Algerian War. The end of the war gained them their independence on 5 July 1962 with a proclamation of the People’s Democratic Republic on 25 September 1962. The capital of Algeria is Algiers. Algeria has two official languages: Arabic and Tamazight. Other languages are Algerian Arabic and French. Ethnic groups are Arabs and Berbers. The religion is 99% Sunni Islam with 1% Christian and Jews. The government is Unitary semi-presidential republic. They have a Parliamentary legislature. During the Ottoman Empire, Barbary pirates, operating from Algiers and Salé in Morocco, preyed on Christian and non-Islamic shipping in the western Mediterranean Sea. They raided ships as far north as Iceland. The pirates captured ships and crews and sold them to slave markets in North Africa. They ransomed their prisoners, giving them a lucrative business throughout the 17th century. They captured one million to 1.25 million slaves for sale in the slave markets or ransom. Slave trade and piracy ceased with the French invasion. Algeria’s economy is reliant on petroleum and has been a member of OPEC since 1969. Hydrocarbons are the backbone of their economy. Tourism is also a large part of their economy since 2004 when they built many hotels. There are several UNESCO World Heritage sites in Algeria. Thanks for reading. If you have anything to add, I appreciate it. It's always fun to learn about the various cultures and countries of the world. The image is a public domain of the Algerian Flag.