Algeria

Algeria Background__** __**Religion**__ __**Population**__ __**Boarders**__
 * __[[image:africa.gif]]
 * Earlist inhabitants were called Berbers
 * Later called Imazighens
 * Means "free men"
 * Conqured by the Phoenicians
 * Carthaginian empire flourished (circa 800-146 B.C.)
 * Destroyed by Romans
 * Vandels held the castal region after the Romans
 * Umayyad (Arab) invasion in the 7th century
 * Arab introduced islam to the Imazighens
 * Got control back in the 8th century
 * Several empires during the 13th century
 * From the early 1500's, was part of the Ottoman Empire
 * Pirate attacks were one reason France invaded in 1830
 * Eventually became French territory
 * Present day boarders set in !902
 * War began in 1954
 * Independance in 1962
 * __Independance__**
 * Between France and Afriaca
 * Began on November 5th, 1954
 * Ended 1963
 * Neither side was ever quite sure of the deathcount
 * Algeria thinks around 1.5 million
 * France thinks around 55,000
 * __Government__**
 * Algeria has a stong executive president
 * elected to a 5 year term
 * currently Abdelaziz Bouteflika
 * A prime minister
 * appointed by the president
 * currently Ahemed Ouyahia
 * Parliment's lower house is 389 seats
 * directly elected to 5 year terms
 * Parliment's upper house is 144 seats
 * 1/3 is appointed by president
 * 2/3 are chosen by local concils
 * serve 6 year terms
 * Although Islam is the state religion, Algeria is not an Islamic republic
 * 99% are Sunni Muslim
 * 1% are Christian or Jewish
 * __Language__**
 * Arabic is the official language
 * Tamazight is also a national language
 * There is a little French
 * Standard Arabic is used for
 * School
 * Government administration
 * Media reports
 * 33,769,668
 * growing by 1.2%
 * About 60% live in urban areas
 * Largest city
 * Capital
 * Algiers
 * roughly 3 million
 * 2nd largert
 * Oran
 * about 1 million
 * __Education__**
 * School is free till age 15
 * Instruction is mainly in Arabic
 * Begin at age 6
 * Attend 9 years at a "fundemental" school
 * Stresses basic skills, science, and technology
 * More than 3/4 of all pupils go on to secondary school
 * Boys are more likly to complete those 3 yaers than girls
 * Has a few small and lage universities
 * Other students can obtain training at vocational schools and technological institutes
 * __Important__**
 * Life expectancy
 * Males- 70
 * Females- 73
 * Infant morality
 * 34 per 1,000
 * Ethnic gruops
 * 99% Arab
 * Less than 1% European
 * Currency
 * Algerian dinar
 * Adult literacy rate
 * male- 80%
 * female- 60%
 * Unemployment rate
 * 12.3%
 * GDP per capita
 * $7,062
 * Internet access
 * Some have it
 * Needs to be more affortable
 * Net Migration Rate
 * -0.29 migrants/1,000 population
 * Location
 * Lattitude- 36.47
 * Longitude- 2.03
 * Northern Africa
 * Illicit drugs
 * Narcotics
 * Stimulants
 * Depressents
 * Sedatives
 * Hallucinogens
 * Cannabis

__**Exports**__ __**Imports**__
 * Libya
 * Mali
 * Mauritania
 * Mediterranian Sea
 * Morocco
 * Niger
 * Tunisia
 * Private Owners
 * Surplus Textiles
 * Leather goods
 * Agricultural produce
 * Phosphates
 * wine
 * metals
 * metal products
 * fruits
 * vegtables
 * iron ore
 * Crude oil
 * Condensates
 * Natural gas
 * Refined products
 * Foodstuffs- 31.5%
 * Semifinished goods- 32%
 * Industrial goods- 25%
 * Other consumer goods- 10.5%
 * __Natural Reasources__**
 * Petroleum
 * Natural Gas
 * Iron Ore
 * Phospates
 * Uranium
 * Lead
 * Zinc
 * __Agriculture__**
 * Poor soil
 * Mainly
 * wheat
 * barley
 * pulses
 * fresh vegitables
 * dates
 * table grapes
 * wine grapes
 * figs
 * olives
 * citrus
 * One of the world's largest agricultural import markets

__**Land**__
 * Use
 * Arable land 3%
 * Permanent crops 1%
 * Other 96%
 * Elevations
 * Lowest point
 * Chott Melrhir
 * -40 m
 * Highest point
 * Tahat
 * 3,003 m
 * Physical Features
 * Dominated by high platueaus and deserts
 * Mountains
 * Coastal plain
 * Atlas Mt.- (1,800 m)
 * High Plateau- (1,200 m)
 * Hoggar Mt.- (3,003 m)
 * Sahara Desert- (8,600,000 km2)
 * Hazards
 * Mountains
 * Earthquakes
 * Mudslides
 * Floods
 * Renewable water resources
 * 14.3 cu km
 * __Terrain__**
 * More than 4/5 dessert
 * Long mediterrainian coastline
 * Northern portion
 * Mountains
 * Valleys
 * Plateaus

      __Current Event 2009__ ISLAMABAD, January 1, 2009 (APP): Algerian ambassador Benfis Ahmed on Thursday called on President Asif Ali Zardari and presented him with a check for one million dollars for the rehabilitation of Balochistan earthquake victims.
 * __Enviromental issues__**
 * Soil erosion
 * overgrazing and other poor farming practices
 * Desertification
 * dumping of raw suwage
 * Petrolieum refining wastes and other Industrial effluents is leading to
 * polution to rivers and coastal waters
 * especially the Mediterrainin Sea
 * oil wastes
 * soil erosion fertilizer runoff
 * __Climate__**
 * Arid to semiarid
 * Mild, wet winters along caost
 * Hot, dry summers along coast
 * Dryer, cold winters on High Plateau
 * Hot summers on High Plateau
 * Hot, dust/sand-laden wind in Sirocco
 * especially common during the summer
 * __Sufferage__**
 * 18 years
 * universal
 * definition
 * Gives the age at enfranchisement and whether the right to vote is universal or restricted
 * __Industries__**
 * Mainly oil and natural gas
 * Others
 * Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing
 * Arts and Crafts
 * Automotive
 * Chemicals
 * Development
 * Energy
 * Equipment
 * Exchanges
 * Government
 * Leather
 * Manufacturing
 * Media
 * Mining
 * Packaging
 * Professional Services
 * Public Utilities
 * Real Estate
 * Security
 * Travel, Tourism, and Recreation
 * __Military__**
 * service age
 * 19-30 years of age
 * service obligation
 * 18 months
 * 6 months basic traning
 * 12 months civil projects
 * manpower avaliable for military service
 * males age 16-49
 * 9,736,757
 * females age 16-49
 * 9,590,978
 * manpower fit for service
 * males age 16-49
 * 8,317,473
 * females age 16-49
 * 8,367,005
 * manpower reaching military significant age annually
 * male
 * 375,852
 * female
 * 362,158
 * military expenditures
 * 3.3% of GDP
 * country comparison to the world
 * 41
 * __Economic Overview__**
 * 04-08 avg. 2008 2009 2010
 * GDP (% growth, real)
 * 4.4 3.2 2.5 3.0
 * Inflation (%chg, pa avg.)
 * 3.0 4.4 3.2 3.5
 * Fiscal Balance (% of GDP )
 * 11.1 14.1 -6.4 -5.1
 * Exports (%, comp. annual growth)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">25.9 30.0 -41.8 9.7
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Imports (%, comp. annual growth)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">20.5 41.7 -20.9 5.1
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Current Account (% of GDP)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">-21.5 -39.2 -31.0 -32.5
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">External Debt (% of GDP)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">12.5 1.8 1.3 1.1
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Debt Service Ratio (due)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">9.2 1.1 1.9 1.2
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Exchange Rate (to USD; eoy)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">71.0 71.2 64.7 66.2

President Zardari thanked the Algerian government and people for their support and solidarity with the victims of earthquake. He said Pakistan and Algeria had deep‑rooted ties dating back to the Algerian struggle for independence and expressed the hope that the time‑tested ties would be further strengthened in the years to come.

Ambassador Dr. Benfis Ahmed said the Algerian people had not forgotten the critical assistance lent by Pakistan during the difficult days of independence struggle. He said Algeria supported the efforts aimed at peace and development through dialogue and negotiations. He said Algeria wished to see Pakistan prosper in the days ahead.