Algeria
Edited by:
Massimo Martini
Access
Algeria cannot be reached by land from Italy directly: the overland route would require crossing France and Spain to the port of Almeria or Barcelona, from where ferries operate to Oran and Algiers run by the Algérie Ferries company. The main sea link connects Marseille to Algiers with regular crossings. By air, Algiers Houari Boumediene International Airport (ALG) is the country's main airport and offers direct connections to major European hubs, including Milan Malpensa; Oran Ahmed Ben Bella (ORN), Constantine Mohamed Boudiaf (CZL) and Annaba Rabah Bitat (AAE) airports handle regional international traffic. The internal motorway network includes the East-West motorway [A1] that crosses the country for more than 1,200 km from the Moroccan border to the Tunisian border, and the Algiers-Blida motorway [A2] to the hinterland. The Société Nationale des Transports Ferroviaires (SNTF) operates the railway network with connections between the main centres in the north; there are no railway lines to the Saharan areas. Intercity public transport relies on an extensive bus network. The southern Saharan territory is accessible mainly by air to the centres of Tamanrasset and Djanet, or by road via dirt tracks that require off-road vehicles.
Introduction
Algeria occupies the northern strip of the African continent, bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the north and stretching for most of its territory into the heart of the Sahara Desert. It is the largest country in Africa and the tenth largest in the world. The territory is divided into three parallel belts: the coastal Tell area, with its Mediterranean climate and the Atlas Mountains, the interior highlands where steppes and salt lakes characterise the landscape, and the immense Saharan expanse that occupies more than ninety per cent of the territory. The northern border opens onto the Mediterranean, while to the east the country borders Tunisia and Libya, to the west Morocco and Western Sahara, and to the south Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Chad. Algeria belongs to the Maghreb region and shares with its neighbours an intertwined history of Berber, Arab and Mediterranean cultures. The Arabic language and Tamazight, in its Algerian variant, are the official languages, while French retains a vehicular role in education and trade, a legacy of the long colonial period that ended with independence in 1962.
.Description
The Algerian territory presents a marked morphological variety between north and south. The northern belt is dominated by the Tellian Atlas chain, which runs parallel to the coast separating the coastal plain from the interior highlands; the highest peaks of this chain touch 2,300 metres in the Djurdjura (2,308m) and Aurès massifs. To the south of the Tellian Atlas lie the inland highlands, criss-crossed by seasonal salt lakes such as Chott el-Hodna and the southernmost Chott Melrhir (6,700 km² at the most), before the Saharan Atlas marks the northern limit of the Sahara. The Chelif River (700 km), which has its source in the Saharan Atlas and flows into the Mediterranean after passing through the north of the country, is the main watercourse with a relatively regular regime.
Algerian history is marked by deep cultural stratifications. Berber populations have inhabited the territory for millennia; the Arab conquest in the 7th century introduced Islam and started a long process of Arabisation that left intact the Berber communities of Kabylia, the Aurès and the southern Sahara. Ottoman Turkish rule from the 16th to the 19th century was followed by French occupation, which began in 1830 and lasted one hundred and thirty years. The Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962) ended with the Évian Accords and the proclamation of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria on 5 July 1962. The country is governed according to a presidential system; Abdelmadjid Tebboune was confirmed as president in the September 2024 elections.
Algeria's economy is heavily dependent on hydrocarbon reserves: the country is among Africa's leading producers of natural gas and oil, with deposits concentrated in the Eastern Sahara around Hassi Messaoud and Hassi R'Mel. Agriculture, limited to the fertile northern belts, produces cereals, citrus fruits, olives and dates (Phoenix dactylifera) in Saharan oases such as Mzab, Ouargla and El Oued. The mining industry and hydrocarbon derivatives account for the dominant share of exports.
Algerian culture is a lively synthesis of Berber, Arab-Islamic traditions and Mediterranean influences. The chaabi music of Algiers, the raï of Oran - recognised by UNESCO as an intangible heritage of humanity in 2022 - and the Tuareg music of the southern Sahara express distinct identities within a plural national framework. The month of Ramadan is an occasion of cultural and social intensity throughout the country.
Algeria's protected areas comprise nine national parks, including the Tassili n'Ajjer National Park (established in 1972, UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982) in the south-eastern region, known for its Saharan rock carvings and wind-sculpted sandstone landscapes, and the Ahaggar National Park (established in 1987), which protects the volcanic massif of the southern Sahara with its igneous landscapes. Both parks are recognised as UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. The site of Djémila, the Roman ruins of Timgad, the Mozabite city of Ghardaïa and the Casbah of Algiers are among the seven Algerian sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Walking in Algeria is mainly concentrated in the southern Saharan area, with the Ahaggar massif and the Tassili n'Ajjer plateau as the main destinations for desert trekking. The Hoggar massif, with its logistics centre in Tamanrasset, offers trekking routes through volcanic canyons, lava plateaus and landscapes of great geomorphological variety; the Assekrem (2,780m), with its historic hermitage of Father de Foucauld, is a classic stop. In Tassili, walking circuits between the sandstone formations of Red Tadrart and the rock carvings of Tin-Tazarift require permits and a guide. In the northern areas, the massifs of Djurdjura in Kabylia and Aurès offer hiking among cedar and oak forests at moderate altitudes; the Djurdjura National Park (established in 1925) has a network of marked trails.
Mountaineering in the classical sense is limited in Algeria due to the predominantly desert nature of the highest relief. Mount Tahat (2,918m), the highest point in the country in the Ahaggar massif, was first reached in 1930 by Swiss climber Edward Wyss-Dunant. The volcanic structures of the Atakor massif, with basaltic pinnacles and reliefs of igneous origin, offer interesting technical possibilities in a Saharan high-altitude context; Tuareg guides from the Tamanrasset region have been accompanying expeditions for decades. Mountaineering in the traditional sense is practised in the northern massifs of the Djurdjura, where some of the limestone walls allow rock climbing.
Trail running in Algeria has developed mainly in connection with the Saharan landscapes; the best known race is the Grand Erg Occidental Trail, which takes place in the dunes of the Western Desert. The Sahara Marathon, organised in the context of the Sahrawi refugee camps near Tindouf, is a solidarity event that attracts international participants. The massifs of the north, including the Djurdjura and the Aurès, offer favourable terrain for trail running on trails and forest tracks.
Information
General Data
Capital: Algiers
Area: 2,381,741 km²
Minimum elevation: -26m (Chott Melrhir)
Maximum elevation: 2,918m - Mount Tahat
Number of inhabitants: 46,800,000 (as of 01.01.2024, estimate)
Official name: الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية / Tagduda tamgdayt taɣrfant tadzayrit
Name of inhabitants: Algerians
Main administrative subdivisions: 58 wilayas
Bordering nations: Libya - Mali - Marocco - Mauritania - Niger - Western Sahara - Tunisia
Institutional website: https://www.el-mouradia.dz