Algeria (2005) | Malawi (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 48 provinces (wilayas, singular - wilaya); Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba, Batna, Bechar, Bejaia, Biskra, Blida, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira, Boumerdes, Chlef, Constantine, Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Oued, El Tarf, Ghardaia, Guelma, Illizi, Jijel, Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara, Medea, Mila, Mostaganem, M'Sila, Naama, Oran, Ouargla, Oum el Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Souk Ahras, Tamanghasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen | 24 districts; Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Chitipa, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga, Kasungu, Lilongwe, Machinga (Kasupe), Mangochi, Mchinji, Mulanje, Mwanza, Mzimba, Ntcheu, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntchisi, Rumphi, Salima, Thyolo, Zomba; note - there may be three new districts named Balaka, Likoma, and Phalombe |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29% (male 4,811,086/female 4,626,271)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 10,861,862/female 10,701,459) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 719,460/female 811,715) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
44.43% (male 2,348,940; female 2,337,290) 15-64 years: 52.78% (male 2,741,622; female 2,825,966) 65 years and over: 2.79% (male 119,283; female 175,149) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle | tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses; cattle, goats |
Airports | 137 (2004 est.) | 44 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 52
over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 27 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
6 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 85
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 26 914 to 1,523 m: 38 under 914 m: 19 (2004 est.) |
total:
38 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 23 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 2,381,740 sq km
land: 2,381,740 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
118,480 sq km land: 94,080 sq km water: 24,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
Background | After more than a century of rule by France, Algerians fought through much of the 1950s to achieve independence in 1962. Algeria's primary political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), has dominated politics ever since. Many Algerians in the subsequent generation were not satisfied, however, and moved to counter the FLN's centrality in Algerian politics. The surprising first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the December 1991 balloting spurred the Algerian army to intervene and postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming power. The army began a crack down on the FIS that spurred FIS supporters to begin attacking government targets. The government later allowed elections featuring pro-government and moderate religious-based parties, but did not appease the activists who progressively widened their attacks. The fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense fighting between 1992-98 and which resulted in over 100,000 deaths - many attributed to indiscriminate massacres of villagers by extremists. The government gained the upper hand by the late-1990s and FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000. However, small numbers of armed militants persist in confronting government forces and conducting ambushes and occasional attacks on villages. The army placed Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA in the presidency in 1999 in a fraudulent election but claimed neutrality in his 2004 landslide reelection victory. Longstanding problems continue to face BOUTEFLIKA in his second term, including the ethnic minority Berbers' ongoing autonomy campaign, large-scale unemployment, a shortage of housing, unreliable electrical and water supplies, government inefficiencies and corruption, and the continuing - although significantly degraded - activities of extremist militants. Algeria must also diversify its petroleum-based economy, which has yielded a large cash reserve but which has not been used to redress Algeria's many social and infrastructure problems. Algeria assumed a two-year seat on the UN Security Council in January 2004. | Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule, the country held multiparty elections in 1994 under a provisional constitution, which took full effect the following year. National multiparty elections were held again in 1999. |
Birth rate | 17.13 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 37.8 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $31.47 billion
expenditures: $29.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.8 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$490 million expenditures: $523 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | Algiers | Lilongwe |
Climate | arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer | sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November) |
Coastline | 998 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, and 28 November 1996 | 18 May 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form: People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
conventional short form: Algeria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Sha'biyah local short form: Al Jaza'ir |
conventional long form:
Republic of Malawi conventional short form: Malawi former: British Central African Protectorate, Nyasaland Protectorate, Nyasaland |
Currency | - | Malawian kwacha (MWK) |
Death rate | 4.6 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 22.81 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $21.9 billion (2004 est.) | $2.9 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Richard W. ERDMAN
embassy: 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers mailing address: B. P. 408, Alger-Gare, 16030 Algiers telephone: [213] (21) 691-425/255/186 FAX: [213] (21) 69-39-79 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Roger A. MEECE embassy: Area 40, Plot 24, Kenyatta Road mailing address: P. O. Box 30016, Lilongwe 3, Malawi telephone: [265] 773 166 FAX: [265] 770 471 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Amine KHERBI
chancery: 2137 Wyoming Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2174 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Paul Tony Steven KANDIERO chancery: 2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1007 |
Disputes - international | Algeria supports the exiled Sahrawi Polisario Front and rejects Moroccan administration of Western Sahara; Algeria's border with Morocco remains an irritant to bilateral relations, each nation has accused the other of harboring militants and arms smuggling; in an attempt to improve relations after unilaterally imposing a visa requirement on Algerians in the early 1990s, Morocco lifted the requirement in mid-2004 - a gesture not reciprocated by Algeria; Algeria remains concerned about armed bandits operating throughout the Sahel who sometimes destabilize southern Algerian towns; dormant disputes include Libyan claims of about 32,000 sq km still reflected on its maps of southeastern Algeria and the FLN's assertions of a claim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco | dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) |
Economic aid - recipient | $122.8 million (2002 est.) | $427 million (1999) |
Economy - overview | The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 60% of budget revenues, 30% of GDP, and over 95% of export earnings. Algeria has the seventh-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the second-largest gas exporter; it ranks 14th in oil reserves. Sustained high oil prices in recent years, along with macroeconomic policy reforms supported by the IMF, have helped improve Algeria's financial and macroeconomic indicators. Algeria is running substantial trade surpluses and building up record foreign exchange reserves. Real GDP has risen due to higher oil output and increased government spending. The government's continued efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector, however, has had little success in reducing high unemployment and improving living standards. Structural reform within the economy moves ahead slowly. | Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world's least developed countries. The economy is predominately agricultural, with about 90% of the population living in rural areas. Agriculture accounts for 37% of GDP and 85% of export revenues. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. In late 2000, Malawi was approved for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. The government faces strong challenges, e.g., to fully develop a market economy, to improve educational facilities, to face up to environmental problems, and to deal with the rapidly growing problem of HIV/AIDS. |
Electricity - consumption | 23.61 billion kWh (2002) | 950 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 500 million kWh (2002) | 3 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 150 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 25.76 billion kWh (2002) | 1.025 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
2.44% hydro: 97.56% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m
highest point: Tahat 3,003 m |
lowest point:
junction of the Shire River and international boundary with Mozambique 37 m highest point: Sapitwa 3,002 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water | deforestation; land degradation; water pollution from agricultural runoff, sewage, industrial wastes; siltation of spawning grounds endangers fish populations |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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 |
Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuko, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European |
Exchange rates | Algerian dinars per US dollar - 72.061 (2004), 77.395 (2003), 79.682 (2002), 77.215 (2001), 75.26 (2000) | Malawian kwachas per US dollar - 80.0946 (December 2000), 59.5438 (2000), 44.0881 (1999), 31.0727 (1998), 16.4442 (1997), 15.3085 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (since 28 April 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Ahmed OUYAHIA (since 9 May 2003) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 8 April 2004 (next to be held NA April 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA reelected president for second term; percent of vote - Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA 85%, Ali BENFLIS 6.4%, Abdellah DJABALLAH 5% |
chief of state:
President Bakili MULUZI (since 21 May 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Bakili MULUZI (since 21 May 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 36-member Cabinet named by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 15 June 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Bakili MULUZI reelected president; percent of vote - Bakili MULUZI (UDF) 51.4%, Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA (MCP-AFORD) 44.3% |
Exports | NA | $416 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97% | tobacco, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products |
Exports - partners | US 22.6%, Italy 17.2%, France 11.4%, Spain 10.1%, Canada 7.5%, Brazil 6.1%, Belgium 4.6% (2004) | South Africa 16%, Germany 16%, US 15%, Netherlands 7%, Japan (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white; a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent centered over the two-color boundary; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state religion) | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $9.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10.3%
industry: 57.4% services: 32.3% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
37% industry: 29% services: 34% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.1% (2004 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 28 00 N, 3 00 E | 13 30 S, 34 00 E |
Geography - note | second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan) | landlocked |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 104,000 km
paved: 71,656 km (including 640 km of expressways) unpaved: 32,344 km (1999) |
total:
16,451 km paved: 3,126 km unpaved: 13,325 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 26.8% (1995) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA | $435 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods | food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment |
Imports - partners | France 30.3%, Italy 8.2%, Germany 6.5%, Spain 5.5%, US 5.2%, China 5.1%, Turkey 4.3% (2004) | South Africa 43%, Zimbabwe 14%, UK 5%, Germany 5%, Zambia, Japan, US (1999) |
Independence | 5 July 1962 (from France) | 6 July 1964 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Industries | petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing | tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods |
Infant mortality rate | total: 31 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 34.83 deaths/1,000 live births female: 26.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
121.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.1% (2004 est.) | 29.5% (2000) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BIS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 8 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 5,600 sq km (1998 est.) | 280 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Court Supreme | Supreme Court of Appeal; High Court (chief justice appointed by the president, puisne judges appointed on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission); magistrate's courts |
Labor force | 9.91 million (2004 est.) | 3.5 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 14%, industry 13.4%, construction and public works 10%, trade 14.6%, government 32%, other 16% (2003 est.) | agriculture 86% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 6,343 km
border countries: Libya 982 km, Mali 1,376 km, Mauritania 463 km, Morocco 1,559 km, Niger 956 km, Tunisia 965 km, Western Sahara 42 km |
total:
2,881 km border countries: Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km |
Land use | arable land: 3.22%
permanent crops: 0.25% other: 96.53% (2001) |
arable land:
34% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 39% other: 7% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects | English (official), Chichewa (official), other languages important regionally |
Legal system | socialist, based on French and Islamic law; judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of various public officials, including several Supreme Court justices; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the National People's Assembly or Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani (389 seats - changed from 380 seats in the 2002 elections; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Council of Nations (Senate) (144 seats; one-third of the members appointed by the president, two-thirds elected by indirect vote; members serve six-year terms; the constitution requires half the council to be renewed every three years)
elections: National People's Assembly - last held 30 May 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); Council of Nations (Senate) - last held 30 December 2003 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: National People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FLN 199, RND 48, Islah 43, MSP 38, PT 21, FNA 8, EnNahda 1, PRA 1, MEN 1, independents 29; Council of Nations - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party NA% |
unicameral National Assembly (193 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 15 June 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - UDF 48%, MCP 34%, AFORD 15%, others 3%; seats by party - UDF 94, MCP 66, AFORD 29, others 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73 years
male: 71.45 years female: 74.63 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
37.08 years male: 36.61 years female: 37.55 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70% male: 78.8% female: 61% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 58% male: 72.8% female: 43.4% (1999 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia | Southern Africa, east of Zambia |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 56 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 837,676 GRT/929,847 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 9, cargo 14, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 10, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 9 foreign-owned: 3 (United Kingdom 3) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
- |
Military branches | People's National Army (ANP; includes Land Forces), Algerian National Navy (MRA), Air Force (QJJ), Territorial Air Defense Force (2005) | Army (includes Air Wing and Naval Detachment), Police (includes paramilitary Mobile Force Unit) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2.48 billion (2004) | $9.5 million (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.2% (2004) | 0.76% (FY00/01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
2,466,708 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
1,265,893 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Revolution Day, 1 November (1954) | Independence Day, 6 July (1964) |
Nationality | noun: Algerian(s)
adjective: Algerian |
noun:
Malawian(s) adjective: Malawian |
Natural hazards | mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc | limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite |
Net migration rate | -0.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 1,344 km; gas 85,946 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,213 km; oil 6,496 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI]; Democratic National Rally or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA, chairman]; Islamic Salvation Front or FIS (outlawed April 1992) [Ali BELHADJ and Dr. Abassi MADANI, Rabeh KEBIR (self-exiled in Germany)]; National Entente Movement or MEN [Ali BOUKHAZNA]; National Liberation Front or FLN [Abdelaziz BELKHADEM, secretary general (also serves as Foreign Minister)]; National Reform Movement or Islah (formerly MRN) [Abdellah DJABALLAH]; National Renewal Party or PRA [Yacine TERKMANE]; Progressive Republican Party [Khadir DRISS]; Rally for Culture and Democracy or RCD [Said SAADI, secretary general]; Renaissance Movement or EnNahda Movement [Fatah RABEI]; Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Hocine Ait AHMED, secretary general (self-exiled in Switzerland)]; Social Liberal Party or PSL [Ahmed KHELIL]; Society of Peace Movement or MSP [Boujerra SOLTANI]; Workers Party or PT [Louisa HANOUN]
note: a law banning political parties based on religion was enacted in March 1997 |
Alliance for Democracy or AFORD [Chakufwa CHIHANA, president]; Malawi Congress Party or MCP [Gwanda CHAKUAMBA, president, John TEMBO, vice president]; Malawi Democratic Party or MDP [Kampelo KALUA, president]; National Independence Party; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Eston KAKHOME, president]; United Democratic Front or UDF [Bakili MULUZI] - governing party |
Political pressure groups and leaders | The Algerian Human Rights League or LADH or LADDH [Yahia Ali ABDENOUR]; SOS Disparus [Nacera DUTOUR]; Somoud [Ali MERABET] | NA |
Population | 32,531,853 (July 2005 est.) | 10,548,250
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 23% (1999 est.) | 54% (FY90/91 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.22% (2005 est.) | 1.5% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Djendjene, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda | Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Chilumba |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 25, FM 1, shortwave 8 (1999) | AM 9, FM 4 (plus 15 repeater stations), shortwave 3 (1998) |
Radios | - | 2.6 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 3,973 km
standard gauge: 2,888 km 1.435-m gauge (283 km electrified) narrow gauge: 1,085 km 1.055-m gauge (2004) |
total:
789 km narrow gauge: 789 km 1.067-m gauge |
Religions | Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1% | Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: telephone density in Algeria is very low, not exceeding five telephones per 100 persons; the number of fixed main lines increased in the last few years to a little more than 2,000,000, but only about two-thirds of these have subscribers; much of the infrastructure is outdated and inefficient
domestic: good service in north but sparse in south; domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations (20 additional domestic earth stations are planned) international: country code - 213; 5 submarine cables; microwave radio relay to Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia; coaxial cable to Morocco and Tunisia; participant in Medarabtel; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik, and 1 Arabsat (1998) |
general assessment:
NA domestic: fair system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,199,600 (2003) | 37,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,447,310 (2003) | 7,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 46 (plus 216 repeaters) (1995) | 1 (1999) |
Terrain | mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.92 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 5.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 25.4% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | 144 km
note: on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire Riverall |