Algeria is the second largest country in Africa, after Sudan. It is located in the northern part of the continent, in the southwestern Mediterranean region known as the Maghrib (Arabic, meaning "sunset"), which also includes Morocco to the northwest, Tunisia to the northeast, Libya to the southeast, and Mauritania to the southwest. Algeria is also bordered by Mali on the southwest and Niger on the southeast. Algeria has an area of 2,381,740 square kilometers (91,935 square miles) of mostly desert (85%) as well as some high plateau, two mountain ranges, and a coastal plain. Algeria's most fertile lands (3.2% of its total area) are in the northern lowlands, where most farms and orchards are located. Most of Algeria's major cities are located in the north. The largest city is Algiers, the capital, with a population of 1.5 million. Other major cities include Oran, Constantine, Annaba, and Batna.

Algeria's population was 32,129,324 in 2004. Forty percent...