The Northern Country of Algeria

One of Africa’s largest countries, Algeria is bordered by the Mediterranean to the north, Tunisia and Libya to the east, Niger and Mali to the south, Mauritania, Western Sahara, and Morocco to the west. Since the late twentieth century, Algeria has suffered from much politically motivated violence. As early as 1830, when the French first invaded, there was fierce opposition to foreign control. Algeria remained a province of France until the liberation movement arose in the 1950s. Independence was finally granted in 1962. Within several years, there was another revolution led by the Algerian military, which ruled for ten years until elections in 1976. Then, Colonel Houari Boumedienne, who had led the military government, was formally elected president. With his death in 1978, the Revolutionary Council took over once again until the 1990 elections, when the gains made by the Islamic fundamentalist movement were nullified by the military, which seized power in 1992. Virtual civil war has continued ever since, with thousands of Algerians being killed. Fortunately, a majority of the population accepted the elections of 2001 and a relative peace has been maintained.

The new constitution officially recognizes those of Arab and of Berber identity, the latter being the original inhabitants of the country. The Berber language is also officially recognized, although Arabic continues as the general language, and French is used in business and government. The current population is approximately 31 million. Islam is the major religion, with 98 percent of the population being Sunni Muslims. There are over a dozen institutions of higher learning, and an adult literacy rate of over 62 percent. Petroleum is Algeria’s main export. In 1991, foreign oil companies were permitted to acquire up to 49 percent of the oil and gas reserves. Oil and gas constitute nearly onethird of the country’s GNP. A variety of other mineral wealth is also exported including iron, lead, phospates, and zinc as well as marble, salt, and coal. Although little of Algeria is suitable for agriculture, it is known for its citrus fruits and wine. Industrial production is growing but increased urbanization and agricultural decline have led to increased migration to Europe.
Our best evidence of the ancient Saharan civilization, established as early as 6,000 BCE, is in the fabulous rock art at Tassili and other sites far into Algeria’s Saharan territory. These rock paintings and engravings, depicting elephants, giraffes, even cattle, prove that the Sahara was once fertile and supported an extraordinary civilization that must have had ties to North African cities, such as Carthage and ancient Egypt. Some scholars even speculate on links to other African civilizations to the south on the basis of these detailed paintings.