Area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas
Population: 32,531,853 (July 2005 est.)
Ethnic groups
Arab-Berber 99%
European less than 1% note: almost all Algerians are Berber in origin, not Arab; the minority who identify themselves as Berber live mostly in the mountainous region of Kabylie east of Algiers; the Berbers are also Muslim but identify with their Berber rather than Arab cultural heritage; Berbers have long agitated, sometimes violently, for autonomy; the government is unlikely to grant autonomy but has offered to begin sponsoring teaching Berber language in schools
Capital: Aljir, population 2,570,000
Largest Cities
Oran – 600,000
Konstantina – 450,000 Anaba – 240,000 Beshar In Salah Uargla
Official Language
Arabic (official) French Berber dialects
Religion
Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%
Christian and Jewish 1%
Political system: Republic
GDP: purchasing power parity – $212,3 billion (2004 est.)
GDP per head: purchasing power parity – $6,600 (2004 est.)
Annual growth: 1,22% (2005 est.)
GDP – composition by sector
agriculture: 10,3%
industry: 57.4% services: 32.3% (2004 est.)
Inflation: 3.1% (2004 est.)