Knowing about Islamic countries

People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria

I- Profile of Algeria:

- Official name: People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria

- Surface area: 2,381,741 square kilometres (second-largest country in Africa and the 11th largest country in the world).

- Nature of the political regime: Republican.

- Capital city: Algiers.

- Main cities: Oran, Constantine, Annaba (in the north), and Ghardaia, Adrar, Tamanrasset (in the south).

- President of the Republic: President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA.

- Head of Government: Mr. Ahmed OYAHIA.

- Suffrage: 18 years of age.

- National languages: Arabic, Tamazight.

- Official language: Arabic.

- National currency: the Algerian Dinar (100 cents).

- Religious holidays: the 1st Moharam – Achoura (10th Moharam) – Mouloud (12th Rabii I: Anniversary of the birth of the Prophet), Aïd Al-Fitr (1st Shawal)– Aïd Al-Adha (10th Dhu Al-Hijja).

- Official holidays: New Year’s Day, 1st May (Labor Day), 1st November (Revolution Day), 5th July (Independence Day).

- Time zone: GMT + 1.

- Population: 32,814,160 inhabitants (2003 estimate), the 34th most populated country in the world.

- General population density: 13 inhabitants per square kilometre.

- Population growth rate: 1.53% (2003 estimate).

- Life expectancy: 74 years (2004 estimate).

- Urban population rate: 58.3%, rural population rate: 41.7%.

- The gross domestic product per capita: 2,093 dollars (2003 estimate). 

- Trade balance surplus: 8.9 billion dollars (2003 estimate) accounting for 13.7% of the GDP.

- Inflation rate: 2.2% (2004 estimate).

- Debt-external: 21.4 billion dollars (end of 2004 estimate).

- Debt service: 12.6% of the exports (2004 estimate).

- Highest point: Mt. Tahat in the Ahaggar Mts. (2,918 metres).

- Lowest point: Chott Melghir (40 meters).

- Longest river: Oued Chlef (700 kilometres).

II- Nature: 

A) Location:

1) Geographical location:

Algeria is located in the middle of the world. It covers a big part of North Africa. It is the second largest African country after Sudan and the 11th largest country in the world.

On the northern side, it overlooks the western basin of the Mediterranean Sea with 1,200 kilometres (745.65 miles). 

It is in the middle of the Arab Maghreb countries and the African Sahel with borders totalling 6,343 kilometres (3,941.36 miles). It borders on the Tunisian Republic (965 kilometres) and the Libyan Jamahiriya in the east (982 kilometres), on the Kingdom of Morocco (1,559 kilometres) in the west, on  the Republic of Niger (956 kilometres) in NE, and on the Republic of Mali (1,376 kilometres) and the Republic of Mauritania (463 kilometres) in SW.

2- Geographic coordinates:

Algeria is at longitude 9° West and 12° East and latitude 18° and 38° North. This shows how spacious Algeria is. In fact it extends over 1,500 to 2,000 kilometres from the North to the South and from the West to the East.

3- The strategic location of Algeria:

Algeria has an important and strategic location in the world. It falls in the middle of three continents (Africa, Asia and Europe). It borders on the most important sea: the Mediterranean Sea which connects with the most important oceans (The Atlantic Ocean, The Indian Ocean, and The Pacific). Algeria is located on a crossroads of the world’s ancient civilizations. It is the gate of Africa to Europe. This has made of it the object of colonial rivalry in the past as well as lately. It is currently attracting the attention of the modern world because of its geographic nature and its abundant natural resources.

4- Terrain in Algeria:

Terrain in Algeria is diversified from the North to the South between recently-formed mountain chains, old mountains, alluvial plains, low basins, large plateaus, a rocky and stony desert and sandy moving hills.

Algeria falls into two distinct geographical areas taking into consideration the relief: Northern Algeria with its recently-formed and twisted structure and the South-Saharan Algeria with its old structure. 

4-1 Northern Algeria: It covers 16% of the global area (381,741 square kilometres). The relief of this region is made of:

- The coastal plains: Narrow, discontinuous, low, fertile (like the plains of M’tiga , Oran and Annaba).

- The inland plains: Discontinuous, larger and higher, with a broken series of mountain ranges and massifs (500/700m), like the plains of Tlemcen, Sidi Bel-Abbès, Tiart, Sétif, Constantine.

- The High Plateaus (the high plains or steppes): They cover the Tell Atlas region and the Saharan Atlas Mts, ranging between 700 and 1,000 metres. They are characterized by their spaciousness in the West and their narrowness in the East. They also contain shallow salt lakes (Chotts) the most important of which are Chott al-Hodna, Chott Ash-Shargui and Chott Al-Gharbi.

- The Tell Atlas range borders on the Mediterranean Sea. It is characterized by its sharp peaks and stretches from the West to the East. Its area ranges between 70 and 150 kilometres from the North to the South. The average height is 1,820 metres. The most important mountains are: Al-Bibane Mountain, The Wersenis Mountain and The Djurdjura Mountain which includes the culminating point (Lalla Khadija 2,308 metres).

- The Saharan Atlas chain extends to the South of the High Plateaus over 700 kilometres. The highest peaks in the range feature the Amour Mountain, the Oulad Nail Mountain and the Aurès Mountain that harbours the highest peak (Choulia with 2,328 metres).

4-2 The Southern (Saharan) Region represents 84% of the area of Algeria (2,000,000 square kilometres). It is a very spacious plateau, with a flat and barely high surface, except for the high massifs of the Ahaggar. It falls into 4 distinct regions:

- The South-East Depression: A low region with an average elevation of 200 metres. It is interspersed with “Chotts” like Chott Milghir at (-35 m) below sea level. This depression is marked with the abundance of underground waters and their closeness to the surface. There are also important oases like Biskra, Ouargla, Al-Ouadi and Hassi Massoud.

- The region of the rocky plateau (Al-hmada): It locates on the northern extremes and in the middle like the plateau of Tadmaït north of Aïn Saleh which is 762 metres high.

- The erosion plains: They cover the largest area in the Sahara. The region is covered with large sand areas called Ergs featuring the Great Eastern Erg, the Great Western Erg, and the Chech Erg.

- The high massifs in the south-eastern region: It is the region where the Tassili and the Ahaggar Mts are located. The range has also Algeria's loftiest point, Mt. Tahat (2, 918 m).

The formations composing the Sahara’s terrain vary from one region to the other but fall into three kinds : the Hmadas, the Ergs, and the Regs (flat and large terrains covered with stones).

B) Climate :

Algeria is divided into two regions from the climatic point of view. A mild and humid climate prevails in the north. The south has a hot and arid climate. A transitory semi-arid climate prevails in the region between the north and the South. Rainfall gets less heavy as one moves from the east to the west and from the north to the south.

1- The humid Mediterranean climate prevails in the Tell region. It is hot and arid in summer, and rainy and mild in winter. Rainfall ranges between 400 and 1,000 mm and can reach up to 1,000 mm in the eastern heights.

2- The semi-arid Mediterranean climate prevails in the High plateaus and the Saharan Atlas. It is hot and dry in summer and cold with low rainfall during winter. The average annual rainfall is between 200 and 400 mm.

3- The Saharan climate prevails in the south. It is very hot and arid the whole year with poor rainfalls not exceeding 50 mm except in the high-altitude regions where they can reach 100 mm.

C) Watercourses :

Watercourses in Algeria are short, shallow and very twisting. They originate from the natural springs. The abundance or scarcity of water in these watercourses depends on the rainfall.

They generally get dry in summer when only little water remains in some of them. During winter they often become torrential. They flow into different regions which can be classified as follows:

1- The northern wadies (the wadies of the Tell region): The majority of them originate from the Tell Atlas region except for Oued Chlef. They connect with the sea. The most important of them are Oued Tafna, Oued Sig, Oued Chlef, Oued Ysser, Oued Soummam, Oued-Kébir, Oued Sibouss.

2- The inland wadies (the wadies of the High Plateaus): Most of them originate from the Tell Atlas and the Saharan Atlas Mountains, and they flow to the Chotts : Oued Jeddi, Oued El-Arab, Oued Gsab.

3- The Saharan wadies: They rise in the heights of the Ahaggar or from the Saharan Atlas mountains and run beneath the sand surface. They are known as capricious wadi floods. The most important of them are Oued Agharghar, Oued Saoura, Oued Tamanrasset.

D) The Flora :

The importance and diversity of the flora depend on the available waters and the elevation. On the coastal line there are forests of maritime pine, the pine of Alep, oak and cork trees. The heights are covered with zeen and evergreen oak trees. In regions that are more than 1,300 metres high we find cedar forests.

In the High Plateaus, esparto is predominant. In the desert there are palm trees and some thorny plants in the oases.

III- Demography :

1- Population size :

At the end of the Liberation War, Algeria was inhabited by some 9 million people. In the year 2000 it went above the 30-million people mark (30,170,000 people in January 2001) and reached 33,200,000 people at the end of 2005. The population is expected to reach 50 million people by the year 2050. The population of Algeria increased three and a half times between 1962 and 2003.

2- Population density :

The majority of the population live in the north of the country (65%) on a surface area that does not exceed 4% of the global area. The population is concentrated in the Tell region along the coastlines which abound in waters and where 70% of arable lands are located. The population density in this region stands at 245 people per square kilometre. 25% of the population live in the High Plateaus’ region which represents 9% of the overall area and which is known for its pastoral lands. The remaining 10% are scattered in the desert which represents 87% of the global area of the country with a population density of less than 1 person per square kilometre. They are scattered in the oases where abundant waters are available.

3- Population growth :

The population growth rate in Algeria which used to be one of the highest in the world (3.4%) considerably dropped at the end of 2003 to 1.53%. This is due to the increase of the age of marriage to 29 years for girls and 33 years for boys with a considerable drop in the birth rate, noting that there are about 4.5 million families.

4- Housing :

The majority of Algerians are owners of their own houses (more than 70%), yet the rate of occupation increased in a significant way (7 people per house). Many workshops have been launched since five years for the building of 150,000 houses each year.

5- Employment and unemployment :

The active category in the base week of September 2004 reached 24.4% (7,800,000 people) with an increase of 3.2%.

According to the International Labour Office estimates, the active category reached 5,900,000 people accounting for 42.1% of the population during the third trimester of 2004 compared to 39.8% in September 2003. The number of unemployed people reached 7,100,000 people, which represents a significant fall from the rate of 2003.

An increase in female employment has been noticed as the number of working women reached 1,400,000 women in comparison to 933,000 in 2003.

Concerning the distribution of the working population sorted out by the economic sectors, it should be noted that the services’ sector monopolizes the working force with more than 50% whereas there was an increase in the size of the population working in the industry and public works’ sectors as it shifted from 24% in 2003 to 26% in 2004.

6- Health :

Life expectancy in Algeria is continuously increasing. It was estimated at 73.4 years in 2003 and shifted to 74.8 years in 2004 (73.9 years for males and 75.8 years for females) thanks to the improvement of the population’s living conditions.

Like the other sectors, the sector of public health in Algeria has witnessed a considerable progress. Expenditure in the sector of health represents more than 4.1% of the gross domestic product, including 75% by the public sector and 25% by the private one. In the year 2002, health infrastructure was as follows:

- 13 university hospital centers.

- 32 specialized hospital centers (with 5,960 beds).

- 372 public maternity homes (with 3,316 beds).

- 513 polyclinics.

- 1,281 health centers (with 4,228 treatment rooms).

7) Reform within the educational system :

The Algerian Constitution guarantees free and compulsory education for every person from the schooling age (7 years) until the age of 16 years. Since independence, the State has attached a great importance to this sector by adopting an educational policy that has been consolidated with the introduction of reforms at different stages. The aim has been to catch up with the modern countries and establish a modern, open education system. This has led the President to put this issue at the top of his concerns. The National Commission for Education Reform was set up to this end.

Pursuant to the conclusions of the Commission, the Ministry of National Education has started through its different institutions and its executives at their various levels to supervise a series of major processes for the reform of the system. At the forefront of its priorities come the development of curricula and the training of human resources in order to face the challenges facing the continuous building process.

7,741,099 pupils entered school, dropping by 2.15% compared to the previous year. 578,824 pupils entered elementary school for the first time, which represents a decrease of 3.13%.

642,439 new students entered the first year of the junior high school which means a decrease of 1.64%, contrary to senior high school and higher education. In fact, there was a rise of 23.02% in the number of students who entered the first grade of the senior high school as they reached 402,976 students in 2005.

In the main, we note a decrease in the number of pupils and teachers each year, due to the fall in the population growth rate; whereas we note an increase in the number of educational institutions each year as part of  the development process of education.

IV- The administrative system :

The administrative system in Algeria is made up of administrative entities called the Wilayas, the district and the municipalities. The Wilaya is composed of many districts and each district is made up of many municipalities. In turn, each municipality is composed of many cities and villages.

1) The Wilaya is an administrative territory of the State. It is a territorial public commune with a legal person and financial autonomy. It has political, economic, social and cultural prerogatives. It is managed by an Executive Council which is composed of many directors who represent the different departments and is chaired by the “Wali” who is appointed by the President of the Republic. It is also managed by the Wilaya’s Popular Council which is appointed by the Wilaya’s residents.

2) The district is made up of many municipalities. Its mission consists in coordinating between the municipalities. It is managed by the President of the District who is appointed by the President of the Republic.

3) The municipality is the main administrative cell in the administrative system. It is mainly a territorial, social, administrative, economic and cultural structure which is managed by the Municipal Popular Council which is elected by the residents of the Municipality.

To bring the administration closer to citizens, the administrative system had to change several times since independence. Short after the independence, there were 15 wilayas and 676 municipalities in Algeria. The number of administrative divisions later scaled up to 31 wilayas, 704 municipalities in 1974 and to 48 wilayas and 1,541 municipalities in 1984.

V- The economic situation :

A) The economic situation on the eve of independence :

On the eve of independence, the Algerian economic situation was as follows :

- A collapsed economy with no industrial infrastructure. 

- The obstruction and suspension of production in many industrial and mining units because of sabotage acts and the departure of foreign executives.

- The State’s treasury was emptied of money and gold and foreign exchange reserves due to their smuggling abroad by the colonizers.

- Disparity in income between individuals and between the Wilayas and the aggravation of rural exodus and immigration abroad.

- Imbalance between the economic growth and the demographic growth rates and the emergence of problems such as housing, health and unemployment.

- Scientific and cultural underdevelopment due to the stultification policy applied by the French colonizer to the Algerian people as illiteracy rate reached 90%.

B) Development under the Socialist regime :

Algeria has adopted the socialist regime as a method for global development through :

- The implementation of the nationalization process, starting with the lands of the settlers and the unoccupied properties (the properties of the settlers who had fled such as houses, shops and factories), the nationalization of mines (6/5/1966) and La Banque d’Algérie which became the Algerian Central Bank. Foreign banks were nationalized (1966) and so were insurance companies, foreign trade, the transportation sector and the sector of hydrocarbons (24/2/1971).

- The adoption of the auto-management system (the management of the nationalized agricultural lands) (the decrees of March 1963).

- The entrusting of the management of unoccupied properties to specialized public services.

- The improvement of the living conditions of farmers, halting rural exodus and the abolition of exploitation through the implementation of the project of 1,000 collective agricultural farms.

- The setting-up of different national companies which were granted the monopoly of the market and capital goods in order to encourage national production.

- The creation of a national heavy industry, such as the processing industry in order to be  the basis for light industries.

- The adoption of planning in order to orient and organize the national economy through the triennial plan (1967-1969), the first four-year plan (1970-1973) and the second four-year plan (1974-1977).

C) Economic changes :

The implementation of the socialist regime led to many shortcomings the most important of which are:

- The delay in the establishment of the constitutional institutions (The Constitution 1976, the Legislative body 1977)…

- The suppression of the private sector at least in the field of light and medium-sized industries in order to support the heavy industry,

- Failure in the implementation of the agricultural revolution regime which led, among others, to a permanent deficit in agricultural products,

- The failure of the program of the struggle against scarcity, which set the door wide open to the over-consumption of necessary and luxury goods alike (1979-1988).

- The failure of the policy of restructuring major national companies, each of which was transformed into many companies.

All this coincided with a sharp and abrupt fall in the price of oil on the international markets (1985). This constituted a shock viewing that the Algerian economy mainly depends on hydrocarbons which account for 98% of  export earnings. This crisis burdened all the changes and soon gave rise to demonstrations and uprisings on the 5th October 1988. This has resulted in the reform of the constitution in order to allow for multiplicity and the adoption of the free market economy.

Entering the free market economy required :

- The restructuring of all industrial activity institutions;

- The privatization of some small and big institutions;

- The encouraging of the national and foreign private sectors;

- Opening the way for individual initiative;

- The establishment of a partnership with the European Union;

- Starting the necessary measures in order to join the World Trade Organization.

The IMF-supported reforms policy, commingled with debt rescheduling by the Paris Club and the continuous rise in oil prices have led to the improvement of the economic and financial situation of the country since 2000. This is due to the adopted fiscal policy which has engendered a decrease in debt, a surplus in the trade balance and the constitution of a considerable foreign exchange reserve.

The five-year plan (2005-2009) has been elaborated for a budget of 60 billion dollars with the aim of sustaining growth.

D) The economic sectors of the country :

1) Agriculture :

- The area of arable lands is estimated at 40,735,920 hectares, which accounts for 17% of the total area.

- Algeria had 52 dams up to the year 2003.

- The annual crops production of Algeria includes cereals (5.19 million quintals), leguminous plants (38 million quintals), fruits (11.7 million quintals), citrus fruits (5 million quintals) and fishing products (142,000 tons).

-Algeria exports dates and a big quantity of leguminous plants.

2) Industry :

2.1 Metals : Among the most important metals produced by Algeria: iron (1,378,000 tons), concentrated lead (1,000 tons), zinc (2,800 tons) and phosphate (905,000 tons among which 722,000 tons for exports).

2.2 Energy :

- Hydrocarbons : Algeria has the world’s fifth-largest reserves of natural gas and is the world’s second-largest gas exporter. It has the 14th-largest reserves of oil in the world. The Algerian economy is based mainly on hydrocarbons which represent more than 2/3 of national taxes and more than 95% of foreign exchange income. They also represent 46% of the sectors’ added value in 2004.

- Electricity and gas : Thanks to a real production exceeding 7,000 megawatts, electricity coverage reached 95%, a rate similar to those of the countries of the European Organization for Cooperation and Development. 5 million families benefit from the services of the electricity network the distribution of which is managed by Sonelagaz. Whereas 1.7 million families now benefit from the direct provision of natural gas, a connection is now being established in order to supply 70% of the families by the year 2005. This rate is expected to reach 100% by the year 2015.

2.3 Industry : Algeria has an important industrial park. Statistics have shown that there are 70 industrial zones and more than 500 activity zones on an area of more than 22,000 hectares. Among the most profitable industries in Algeria there are iron industry, mining, engineering industry, electrical and electronic industry, chemical, plastic and rubber industry, food industry and agribusiness and other industries such as leather, shoes, textile, wood, cork and paper.

3) Infrastructures and equipment :

3-1 Roads : The highway network is still very weak as it is limited to some hundred kilometers only (there is a project for the establishment of a 1,216-kilometre East-west highway that will be consolidated with a parallel road which will pass across the High Plateaus and the works of which will be completed by the end of the year 2009). 

The paved roads’ network has improved substantially as it is the densest in Africa with 100,000 kilometres. The national park is composed of 3,027,445 units, 40% of which are commercial.

3-2 Railway transportation : There is a total sum of 3,572 kilometer of railways, with a small section of that being electrified. There is a project for the consolidation of the line linking the Tunisian borders and the Moroccan ones within the framework of the Maghreb train’s project.

 3-3 Air transportation : Algeria has 35 airports, 13 of which are in conformity with the International standards. The international air transportation network is very modern. 

3-4 The most important ports and harbours are : Oran, Annaba and Djendjene which operate 72% of the maritime traffic. The ports of Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Skikda and Bejaïa are used as stations for hydrocarbons’ export.

3-5 Wire and radio communications : The fixed telephone network is composed of 2.2 million lines, 30% of which are used by the administrations, merchants, services and institutions. The rate of citizens benefiting from the fixed telephone network is very weak as it stands at less than 30%.

Concerning the use of mobile phones, a rapid progress has been noticed with more than 7 million subscribers dealing with two foreign operators (the Egyptian Orascom and the Kuwaiti El Watania) in addition to the national operator “Mobilis”. Preparations are underway in order to supply Algeria with a modern radio and wire communication network. The operation of the numbering of the fixed telephony through optic fibres’ connection was completed in the year 2001. It is worth-mentioning that the fixed telephony network covers all the national territory despite some constraints resulting from the insufficient number of transmission stations and lines.

VI- History

The history of Algeria goes back to ancient times during which the Algerian people had periods of prosperity, development as well as intellectual and civilizational creative activity.

A) The Algerians’ contribution to the edification of the human civilization :

1- The history of Algeria dates back to the ancient Stone Age. The majority of archeologists agree that the ancient inhabitants of North Africa belong to the white race which has contributed to setting the foundations of the human civilization.

These scientists believe that the first human being was found in North Africa, the cradle of the white race, and then moved to Europe. Their theories were corroborated by the archeological discoveries made by the archeologist Arambourg in 1954 in the region of Maascar which is located to the West of Algiers at the site of Tirinifine where he found a skeleton dating back to 450,000 years BC. The archeologist discovered in the same region another skeleton which dates back to about 500,000 years BC in addition to some Acheulean tools such as stone axes and knives.

These remnants have been attributed to the Atlanthropus mauritanicus Group and they prove that the present Algeria is the cradle of the civilized human being which has contributed to the edification of the different civilizations of the Stone Age such as the  Mousterian, the Aterian, the Oranian, the Capsian and many other civilizations which lived in different parts of the Algerian country in the north, south, east and west (Tbessa, Tirinifine, Tassili, Mechta Al-Arabi, Sétif) until the beginning of History when writing was discovered (Tifinagh script).

The Algerian country went through rough times during which it entered a fierce war and had to struggle bitterly against the foreign colonizers’ and the Crusaders’ expansionist attempts. Through these battles, the Algerian people confirmed its firm attachment to freedom and independence and its willingness to fight for its land and its sovereignty and to defend its dignity.

The main characteristics of Algeria have been gradually defined as it has been influenced by the geographic and intellectual environment of Africa, the Orient and the Mediterranean basin. In fact, since prehistoric times, the inhabitants of Algeria have interacted with the events taking place in the region as they were influenced by them and did also influence them. There were many immigration waves and cultural trends from the Orient and some regions of Africa to North African countries, on the one hand, and from North Africa to the Orient and some other African regions, on the other hand. This is what is indicated by the drawings, tools and the remnants of the ancient life styles and the different beliefs that prevailed in the region such as the drawings found in the region of Tassili and many others.

2- The Amazigh were the first to inhabit Algeria: The Greeks and then the Romans used to call the inhabitants of North Africa “The Berbers” which, in their language, means the foreigners who do not speak their language.

But these people call themselves “The Amazigh” which means the free men. What proves this is that a delegation of the inhabitants of North Africa to Caliph Omar Ibn Al-Khattab after the conquest of Egypt introduced themselves as Amazigh not Berbers.

B) The Amazigh move from the tribal regime to the establishment of the Mamluks : 

In the beginning of History, Algeria, like other world countries, was ruled by many emirates within the tribal organization. However, the attachment of the Amazigh to freedom, their defense of their land and the resulting resistance to foreign hegemony, soon created a system of values that led them to unify the leadership and paved the ground for the emergence of an organized dynasty like Numidia.

1- The Numidian dynasty (the second and third century BC): Numidia entered the war for its establishment as a State at many levels especially in the era of Massinissa who exploited all the political, military and diplomatic means in order to realize national unity. He set up a strong land army and a maritime fleet in order to ward the colonizers off and to secure foreign trade routes. At the same time, Massinissa persuaded the nomads to settle down by teaching them the techniques of farming and developing irrigation networks, which engendered a big economic prosperity.

As a result of this it did not take long before the Numidian dynasty gained a good reputation abroad. It imposed itself as an awesome power in the Mediterranean basin, a power that is feared by Carthage, courted by Rome and of which the Greek emirates were proud to be an alley viewing its contribution to the securing of foreign trade routes.

Massinissa expressed his vigilant concern for the independence of the Numidian Dynasty and his determination to mobilize the people in order to face foreign designs through a slogan he used which is “Africa for the Africans”. It was thus the first voice that rose to proclaim the right of the Africans and no one but the Africans to manage their own affairs and to be the lords on their lands.

The Numidian Dynasty survived through the era of Jugurtha but the expansion of the Roman Empire and the collapse of Carthage incited Rome to dominate Numidia, convinced that the duration of the power and the independence of the Numidian Dynasty was an obstacle to its expansionist plans in the North African lands which it wanted to use as a storehouse to secure its food needs and as a strategic depth.

2- The Algerians’ interminable fight against foreign incursions : The Algerians proved that they have a strong personality and that they are an independent nation. In order to preserve their identity, language and customs, they have been continuously fighting against foreign invaders such as the Carthaginians and the Romans (46 BC / 429 AD), the Vandals (431 AD-534 AD) and the Byzantines (534 AD-647 AD).

Led by Jugurtha (the grandson of Massinissa), the people resisted the Roman colonization for a long time (Rome was the biggest country at that time) to defend the heritage of their ancestors. Jugurtha endeavored to preserve the unity of the country, oust the Romans and secure the independence of the country.

The fight against the Roman presence went on until the 4th century AD through many popular revolutions under the leadership of Tacfarinas and his followers. Throughout its occupation by the Romans, the Vandals and the Byzantines, Algeria turned into a boiling theater of war which proves that the values of resistance and the struggle for liberation and the use of the available means to fight against the colonizers remained undaunted in the popular consciousness throughout these eras.

C) The Islamic conquest (647 AD) :

The advent of Islam to the region and the adherence of its inhabitants to it in addition to the organic link between Islam and the Arabic language, in its quality as the language of the Quran, marked the beginning of a new era as it definitely changed the Algerian society and melted its social, economic and cultural structures into the crucible of the Islamic-Arab civilization.

Thus the inhabitants of Algeria started to form a new society the constituents of whose personality were perfected within the civilization of Islam. Algeria has continued, within the framework of the Islamic Arab Maghreb, on its civilizational march which later stopped with the Roman's hegemony.

1- The Rustamid Dynasty (767 – 909 AD) : There were many attempts at establishing a local rule for Algeria, which indicated the end of the era of the centralized authority within which the countries of the Arab Maghreb were subject to the authority, management and guidance of the capital of the Islamic Caliphate’s rule in the Orient. Algeria was no exception among the Islamic countries especially that those attempts, either in the Orient or in the Occident, constituted no violation of the principles, instructions and rules of Islam and were no revolution against it or a deviation from its doctrine.

The Rustamid Dynasty was the first state in the Islamic era in Algeria and its emergence was marked with the constitution of a national authority that is administratively independent from the Islamic central authority.

The Rustamid capital (Tahert) soon grew up as a flourishing economic area stretching as far beyond the country's extent. It was the strategic location it occupied as the key pass of gold-trading route, between Africa and the Mediterranean Sea, which earned the city its cultural and civilizational prosperity.

2- The Zirids - the Hammadid Dynasty - (1007-1052 AD) :  The dynasty founded by the Banou-Ziri was known as the Zirid Dynasty. Its first capital was Ashir and then Kairouoan. The capital of the Hammadids, an offshoot of the Zirids, was at first "Qalaat Beni Hammad", deriving its importance from its strategic location as a key trading pass between the Algerian Sahara and the African countries located south to it and the Sahel which used to trade with Europe. This is the reason why the Hammadid Dynasty built the Annassiria (Bejaia) on the ruins of the Phoenician city of Saldae to later make it the capital of the country. It is there that the Italians learnt mathematics and started to spread it across Europe.

The Hammadid dynasty knew a considerable economic and cultural prosperity and a big civilizational development which were noticed in the revival and development of many cities such as Biskra, Sétif, Meliana, Al-Media and Algiers.

3- The Almohads and the edification of the Arab Maghreb (1121 - 1235 AD) : The Almohad dynasty was erected in the city of Marrakech, Morocco, on the ruins of the Zirid/ Hammadid Dynasty in Algeria, the Zirid/Baddisi Dynasty in Tunisia and the Almoravid Dynasty in Morocco. The Almohads managed to unify the Arab Maghreb for the first time in the long history of this region and all its four parts submitted to it.

The realization of the union which extended to Andalusia brought about civilizational prosperity and economic progress. It also led to an incomparable cultural and scientific development. This translated into the various civilizational contributions of the Arab Maghreb in that era such as the appearance of many leading personalities in science, literature and religion and many such world renowned philosphers as Averröes, Ibn Tufayl, Ibn Baja, among many others.

The Almohads owe their success to the intellectual genius of Mahdi Ibn Tumart as well as to the extraordinary political talent and military experience of Abd al-Mumin.

The Almohad Dynasty became the most prominent political power in the Mediterranean basin. This is the reason why Salah Eddine Al-Ayoubi asked the Sultan Ya'qub al-Mansur al-Muwahidi in the year 585 Anno Hegira/1190 AD to help him prevent the Crusaders’ armies from reaching Syria.

The Almohads underwent ongoing decline and many states emerged in consequence which tried in vain to unify the Arab Maghreb under their reigns. These were the Merinid Dynasty in Morocco, the Zianid Dynasty in Algeria and the Hafsid Dynasty in Ifriqiya (Tunis).

4- The Ziyanid Dynasty (1235 - 1556 AD) : The Ziyanid Dynasty, which chose Tlemecen as its capital, was the most important political and civilizational power in Algeria after the collapse of the Almohads rule.

Under the rule of the Ziyanids Ibn Khaldun emerged as an eminent thinker who achieved a significant breakthrough in sociology the world over.

D) Algeria in modern history

1- The modern Algerian state in the Ottoman era (1518 - 1830 AD) : The intellectual lethargy and the cessation of independent judgement led to a civilizational regression that spread across the Islamic world. The Arab Maghreb countries were no exception and were also affected by the results of this decline. They lost political power, especially with the collapse of Granad, to covetous enemies. Awakened to t he strategic importance of the Islamic Maghreb, the European Christians waged a new series of Crusades against the Islamic Maghreb. Thus Algeria found itself at the top of the Christian expansionist objectives.

It was not really a coincidence that Spain managed, 13 years after the fall of Granada, to capture the port tower of Mers-el-Kebir, then Oran, and to make for the conquest of several other Algerian ports. It was not alone for the purpose of occupation that Spain made this incursion, but also to christianize the inhabitants as mentioned in the reports of Spanish officials.

The masses, with their good sense, found in the brothers Aruj and Khair ad-Dine a political leadership capable of unifying them.

Algeria was brought into the Ottoman Empire in 1518 AD by Khair ad-Din and his brother Aruj. It then became owner of a maritime fleet that soon became a deterring power in the Meditterranean basin and helped set the foundations of the rule which constituted the basis of what would be called without any exagerration “the modern Algerian State” with its independent regime and its well-defined insitutions and this was the Algerian State in the Ottoman era.

The Algerian State under the Ottoman Empire operated its powerful fleet in order to carry out naval warship (jihad) to thwart foreign stratagems and foil the new crusaders’ attempts.

During this era, Algeria managed to confirm itself as a fearsome country, with well-defined features, caracteristics and borders. It emerged as a strong country in the modern sense of the term, with a personality which is recognized within and outside the regions coming under the Ottoman Caliphate .

2- The European colonial designs : The last stages of the life of the modern independent Algerian State under the Ottoman calipahte was characterized by the intellectual decline that befell the Islamic world at a time when Europe was witnessing a great economic development and was entering the industrial revolution era. Europe started to envisage dominating many regions in the world in order to secure its needs. The European interference in the Algerian affairs started to become plain at the beginning of the 19th century especially when the Vienna Conference (1815) decided to attack the Algerian maritime forces on the pretext of declaring war on piracy.

3- The French occupation 1830 : Having successfully repelled the successive invasion attempts, Algeria has now to enter a war in order not only to defend its dignity and sovereignty inside its borders but also to parry attacks against its neighbors and against the Islamic world. This led Algeria to participate with its fleet in the naval Battle of Navarino (October 1827 AD). The battle was unbalanced and the majority of the units of the Algerian fleet were destroyed and so were the units of the Ottoman fleet by the fleets of the French, Britain and Russian Allies.

France, which had long planned for the occupation of Algeria from a long time, seized this opportunity, invaded the country by the end of June 1830 and occupied it starting from the 5th July.

E) Resistance to the French occupation :

1- Popular resistance under the leadership of Ahmed Bey and Emir Abd al-Kader : No sooner had the Dey Hussein surrendered by virtue of the Treaty signed on the 5th July 1830 than the French violated it. However, the Algerian people did not give up and the masses soon resorted to arms in response to a call for Jihad (Muslim war).

In fact, popular resistance extended ever much of north Algeria marking the start of Algeria’s first organized was for liberations. The early Algerian resistance was led by Ahmed Bey in the eastern part of Algeria as well as by Amir Abd al-Kader in the West and in the middle of the country. The aim of this resistance was to repel the occupiers and also to rebuild the State, a process that lasted until 1848, after the constitution of a government and a consultative council, the organization of the army, the setting-up of a military industry and the coining of the currency. He also intensified his diplomatic contacts and concluded many treaties.

2- Popular resistance spreads throughout the country : The Algerian resistance to the French occupation was first led by Ahmed Bey and Emir Abdelkader. The Algerians then took to an intense armed struggle across the country under command of such famous national figures as Al-Mokrani and Cheikh Al-Haddad (1871-1872), Lalla Fatma n'Soumer (1851-1857), Bou-Amama (1881-1908), Ouled Sidi Cheikh (1864-1881), and Bnacer Bin Chohra, in the Oasis of Zaatcha (1849), the Aurès (1916) and several other areas. The battle continued until the year 1920 when the resistance from Cheick Amoud in Tassili in the south of the Sahara was subdued.

Although these resistance movements did not succeed in achieving the targeted victory, yet they prevented the French colonization in Algeria from advancing as easily as expected.

3- The Algerian people change their resistance method (1900 - 1954) :  The non-organization of the popular uprisings and the multiplicity of their leaderships constituted an obstacle to their victory. This led a group of intellectuals to change the resistance method by adopting different forms (parties, associations, clubs, newspapers and education). Between the first and second World Wars, many political and cultural movements and organizations emerged and contributed, to a varying degree, to stir national awareness.

Algeria's early nationalist organization, the North African Star, was formed by Messali Hadj. It was dedicated to the independence of the Arab Maghreb. The North African Star soon transformed into an Algerian movement and was supplanted later by the Parti du Peuple Algérien (French for the Party of the Algerian People) to mobilize all social strata at home and in France for an independent Algeria. There emerged also an assimilationaist trend which advocated, under the leadership of Mohamed Bendjelloul and Ferhat Abbas, an Algeria where Algerians would have the same rights as Frenchmen. Algeria's reform move was pursued by the "Association of Algerian Muslim Oulema" through publishing its newspapers as well as by establishing free mosques to stress teaching of the Arabic language and national history and to preserve the national identity.

4- The Algerian people victoriously take to the battle of self-determination (1954-1962) : Attempts by Algerian parties, movements and bodies ended in dismal failure to find a way to bring Algerians together in the decisive battle for an end to colonization. However, an elite group of the leaders of the Algerian Independence War, being conscious as they are of the requirements of the stage and undauntedly making for their plans, decided to league into the Revolutionary Committee of Unity and Action and later formed a militant group consisting of 22 elements to fight French colonial rule. This move marked the outburst of the armed revolution in the night of the 1st November 1954 according to the statement issued by the National Liberation Front announcing the objectives of the revolution and the method of the armed struggle.

The Liberation Front managed to achieve an unprecedented internal popular mobilization, and it was not until the Summam Congress, which was held on 20 August 1956, that its structure was determined and organized into internal and external civil networks.  The role of the National Liberation Front was to avail of the Arab-Islamic solidarity and the explansion across the world of national liberation movements as well as gain support of peace-loving entities. This, along with the heroism of soldiers of the National Liberation Army in the mounts and the courage of the volunteers and freedom fighters in the villages and cities, enabled the National Liberation Front to force its will on the enemy which was finally obliged to recognize it, negotiate with it and yield to the independence of Algeria on the 5th July 1962.

VII- The political regime :

The political regime in Algeria is republican, constitutional, democratic, institutional and plural.

A- Internal politics :

Algeria went through two distinct stages from the point of view of political development. These are:

1- The first stage (1962-1988) was marked with the implementation of a socialist-oriented constitution (The Constitution of the 8th September 1963), the first constitution of independent Algeria which was no longer in force as of 9 October 1963 and then the Constitution of 19 November 1976.

During this period, the principle of the unity of the power prevailed. Accordingly, the political power was dominated by one party “the National Liberation” which led the building movement after the independence relying in this on the principle of centrality in the political decision-taking while banning the principle of participation in the public administrative and economic life. Thus it did not give any freedom to the initiative which is necessary for the management of the wheels of the economy. Instead of that it created a heavy bureaucracy that had a bad effect on the efficiency of the economic and financial productivity and the performance of all the economic institutions (socialist institutions, national offices, national companies …).

This resulted in an economic and social crisis in the year 1985 and the problem of insolvency started to emerge. Relations with the international financial institutions abroad started to deteriorate. This led Algeria to reschedule its debts on conditions that were severe for the Algerian society. Algeria was faced with a crisis because of the shortage in the basic foodstuffs. The country could not benefit from its previous political memberships to the socialist countries or to the non-aligned movement or other political blocs. Algeria found itself isolated from the major economic blocs. A social explosion ensued at the end of 1988 and gave rise to a change of the political system with the adoption of multipartism and the free enterprise systems.

2- The second stage (from 1989 to the present): The Algerian people entered a new era with the adoption of the new constitution by the popular referendum held on 23 February 1989, a constitution which was amended following the countrywide referendum of 28 November 1996. This period of time is qualified by many as the era of opening up to democracy and political plurality and the edification of a real rule of the law. In fact the Constitution stipulates that the people is the source of all the powers and has the national sovereignty that it exercises through some bodies, in the form of a referendum or through the election of its representatives, guaranteeing public freedoms, the basic rights, the freedom of expression and creation and the freedom of the establishment of political parties.

This stage was characterized also by the adoption of the multiparty system. Thus the Constitution guarantees the right to create political parties.

3- The three powers (The Executive, The Legislative, The Judiciary) :

3-1 The Executive branch is represented by the President of the Republic and the Head of the Government.

- The President of the republic: Many presidential elections have been held in Algeria since its independence. However the first plural presidential elections were held on 16 November 1995 as the political parties took part in it and complete freedom and democracy were guaranteed.

To be an eligible candidate for the presidential elections, the candidate must be 40 or more years old on the day of the elections, have the original Algerian nationality alone, prove that his spouse has the Algerian nationality, be Muslim, enjoy all his civil and political rights and publicly declare his real estate and transferable property inside and outside the country.

The president is elected by universal suffrage. Victory in the elections requires an absolute majority of the expressed votes. The President is elected to a five-year term, renewable once.

-The Government: The President appoints the Head of Government. The latter presents members of the Government to the President who appoints them.

The Head of Government prepares and presents the program of his government for approval to the Council of Ministers and then to the People’s National Assembly. A public discussion is held by the People’s National Assembly to this aim. The Head of Government also presents a review of his program in front of the Council of the Nation.

3-2 The Legislative (The Parliament) : Like many countries in the world today (more than 70 countries), the parliamentary system in Algeria is based on the principle of bicameralism according to Article 98 of the Constitution which stipulates that: “The Legislative shall be exercised by the parliament which is made up of two chambers: the People’s National  Assembly and the Council of the Nation. The Parliament shall have the authority to prepare laws and vote them”.