POPULATION 32,277,942
MUSLIM 97 percent
CHRISTIAN AND JEWISH 1 percent
ATHEIST 2 percent

Country Overview

Introduction

The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria lies in North Africa. It is bordered on the east by Tunisia and Libya; on the south by Niger, Mali, and Mauritania; on the west by Western Sahara and Morocco; and on the north by the Mediterranean Sea. It is the second largest country in Africa and the eleventh largest in the world. There is a narrow coastal area in the north, which is fairly fertile, and a vast desert in the south. The two parts are separated by mountain ranges, including the Atlas.

From 1100 B.C.E. the Phoenicians established colonies in the region. The Romans ruled from 200 B.C.E. to about 670 C.E., when the area was conquered by Arabs. Christianity, which had arrived with the Romans, declined after the Arab conquest. From the eighth to the...