Algeria - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Algeria. Largest country in Africa but 80% desert; canyons and caves in the southern Hoggar Mountains and in the barren Tassili n'Ajjer area in the southeast of the country contain numerous examples of prehistoric art -- rock paintings and carvings depicting human activities and wild and domestic animals (elephants, giraffes, cattle) -- that date to the African Humid Period, roughly 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, when the region was completely vegetated. Mother's mean age at first birth is (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 78 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of Algeria
Location Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
Geographic coordinates 28 00 N, 3 00 E
Map references Africa
Tarrain mostly high plateau and desert; Atlas Mountains in the far north and Hoggar Mountains in the south; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Natural Resources petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc
Natural Hazards mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season; droughts
Irrigated Land 12,605 sq km (2016)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Major aquifers Lullemeden-Irhazer Aquifer System, Murzuk-Djado Basin, North Western Sahara Aquifer, Taoudeni-Tanezrouft Basin
Land Boundaries 6,734 km
Border Countries Libya 989 km; Mali 1,359 km; Mauritania 460 km; Morocco 1,941 km; Niger 951 km; Tunisia 1,034 km
Coastline 998 km
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
Area
Total Area
Land Area 2,381,740 sq km
Water Area 0 sq km
comparative Area slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm
Contiguous zone 24 nm
Exclusive fishing zone 32-52 nm
Elevations
Highest point Tahat 2,908 m
Lowest point Chott Melrhir -40 m
Mean elevation 800 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 17.4% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 3.2% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 0.4% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 13.8% (2018 est.)
Forest 0.8% (2018 est.)
Other 81.8% (2018 est.)
Population Distribution

The vast majority of the populace is found in the extreme northern part of the country along the Mediterranean Coast as shown in this population distribution map

People and Society

In Algeria, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Arab-Amazigh 99%, European less than 1%

Population
Pop growth rate 1.54% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 20.2 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 4.4 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 6.3% of GDP (2020)
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density 1.9 beds/1,000 population (2015)
Total fertility rate 2.94 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 1.43 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate 53.6% (2018/19)
Est married women (ages 15-49) 56% (2023 est.)
Literacy age 15 and over can read and write
Education expenditures 7% of GDP (2020 est.)
Net Migration rate -0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Algerian | Algerian(s)
Languages
Religions Muslim (official; predominantly Sunni) 99%, other (includes Christian, Jewish, Ahmadi Muslim, Shia Muslim, Ibadi Muslim) <1% (2012 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 30.8% (male 7,411,337/female 7,062,794)
15-64 years 62.3% (male 14,846,102/female 14,441,034)
65 years and over 6.9% (2024 est.) (male 1,597,382/female 1,663,824)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 58.5
Youth dependency ratio 48.7
Elderly dependency ratio 9.8
Potential support ratio 10.2 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 29.1 years (2024 est.)
Male 28.8 years
Female 29.4 years
Urbanization
Urban population 75.3% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 1.99% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 2.902 million ALGIERS (capital), 936,000 Oran (2022).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.96 male(s)/female
Total population 1.03 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 18.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 19.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 17.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 77.9 years (2024 est.)
Male 77.2 years
Female 78.7 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 99.6% of population
Improved: rural rural: 98.8% of population
Improved: total total: 99.4% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 0.4% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 1.2% of population
Unimproved: total total: 0.6% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 98.3% of population
Improved: rural rural: 91.3% of population
Improved: total total: 96.5% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 1.7% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 8.7% of population
Unimproved: total total: 3.5% of population (2020 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 0.59 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 0.31 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 0.2 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 0.08 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 21% (2020 est.)
Male 41.3% (2020 est.)
Female 0.7% (2020 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 18 3.8% (2019 est.)
Demographic profile

For the first two thirds of the 20th century, Algeria's high fertility rate caused its population to grow rapidly. However, about a decade after independence from France in 1962, the total fertility rate fell dramatically from 7 children per woman in the 1970s to about 2.4 in 2000, slowing Algeria's population growth rate by the late 1980s. The lower fertility rate was mainly the result of women's rising age at first marriage (virtually all Algerian children being born in wedlock) and to a lesser extent the wider use of contraceptives. Later marriages and a preference for smaller families are attributed to increases in women's education and participation in the labor market; higher unemployment; and a shortage of housing forcing multiple generations to live together. The average woman's age at first marriage increased from about 19 in the mid-1950s to 24 in the mid-1970s to 30.5 in the late 1990s.

Algeria's fertility rate experienced an unexpected upturn in the early 2000s, as the average woman's age at first marriage dropped slightly. The reversal in fertility could represent a temporary fluctuation in marriage age or, less likely, a decrease in the steady rate of contraceptive use.

Thousands of Algerian peasants - mainly Berber men from the Kabylia region - faced with land dispossession and economic hardship under French rule migrated temporarily to France to work in manufacturing and mining during the first half of the 20th century. This movement accelerated during World War I, when Algerians filled in for French factory workers or served as soldiers. In the years following independence, low-skilled Algerian workers and Algerians who had supported the French (known as Harkis) emigrated en masse to France. Tighter French immigration rules and Algiers' decision to cease managing labor migration to France in the 1970s limited legal emigration largely to family reunification.

Not until Algeria's civil war in the 1990s did the country again experience substantial outmigration. Many Algerians legally entered Tunisia without visas claiming to be tourists and then stayed as workers. Other Algerians headed to Europe seeking asylum, although France imposed restrictions. Sub-Saharan African migrants came to Algeria after its civil war to work in agriculture and mining. In the 2000s, a wave of educated Algerians went abroad seeking skilled jobs in a wider range of destinations, increasing their presence in North America and Spain. At the same time, legal foreign workers principally from China and Egypt came to work in Algeria's construction and oil sectors. Illegal migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Malians, Nigeriens, and Gambians, continue to come to Algeria in search of work or to use it as a stepping stone to Libya and Europe.

Since 1975, Algeria also has been the main recipient of Sahrawi refugees from the ongoing conflict in Western Sahara (today part of Morocco). More than 100,000 Sahrawis are estimated to be living in five refugee camps in southwestern Algeria near Tindouf.

All Important Facts about Algeria

Want to know more about Algeria? Check all different factbooks for Algeria below.

Algeria is found in Northern Africa