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Algeria has the distinction of being the largest country to border the
Mediterranean Sea and is the largest country in Africa after Sudan's split and the eleventh
largest in the world with a population of some 43.05 million (2019). As a major exporter of oil and gas on the doorstep of Europe, Algeria is in 91st place out of 189 countries and territories in 2019 when ranked in terms of life expectancy, literacy, access to knowledge and the living standards of a country putting it above other Arab states and above average world development although outside coastal areas where most of the population reside, a third of the child population live in poverty. Originally
known as Numidia, Algeria at stages in its history became part of the Roman and
later Byzantine empires, until conquered by Muslim Arab armies in the mid
seventh century. In later centuries Spain made inroads into Algiers as part of
its expansionist policies however the country was conquered in 1516 and became
part of the Ottoman Empire although the Spanish maintained a hold there until
1792 when its two held cities were sold by the King of Spain to the Bey
(provincial governor) of Algiers.
During the Ottoman rule (below) Algeria
became a great military power and assumed a reputation for piracy until
successfully invaded by France in 1830. Following this bloody invasion in which
many tens of thousands of Algerians died, there was a mass migration from France
to populate the cities there and firmly make it an integral part of France. The native Algerian people never
accepted this French rule and in 1954 the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN)
launched the Algerian War of Independence which ended with a plebiscite called
by then French President Charles de Gaulle. There was an overwhelming vote for
full independence which was granted on 5th July 1962. The FLN has dominated
Algerian politics ever since.
During the 1990s
the Islamic Salvation Front challenged the FLN's dominance however army
intervention to crush the movement led to all out insurgency in which some
100,000 people died. By the late 1990s the armed wing of the FIS, the Islamic
Slavation Army, was crushed and disbanded by government forces and subsequent
democratic elections saw Abdelaziz Bouteflika elected president on three
occasions, at least one of which is largely seen as 'rigged'.
Today Algeria faces a number of problems including inefficient
government and allegations of corruption, high levels of
unemployment, poor housing for the masses as well as power
outages. Against the backdrop is a simmering Islamic discontent with the
government with extremist groups carrying out regular kidnapping
and bombings against both the government and western interests
in the country.
Algeria Profile: Child Sponsor Algeria
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Algeria Profile: Algerian Desert
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