Overview

Algeria is an Arab country in Northern Africa that gained independence from France in 1962. Bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia, Algeria is more than three times the size of Texas. Its name is Arabic for "the islands," and it is believed to be a reference to the 998 kilometers of coastline beside the rocky islands of the Mediterranean. The country is mostly high plateau and desert with some mountains. The Sahara desert covers 80 percent of the entire country. Natural resources include petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, and zinc. Algeria has the fifth-largest reserves of natural gas in the world, is the second largest gas exporter, and ranks fourteenth for oil reserves. Its population of 30 million speaks Arabic, the official language, as well as French and Berber dialects. Algeria's ethnic mix is 99 percent Arab-Berber, with less than one percent European. The term...