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note: a law banning political parties based on religion was enacted in March 1997

Political pressure groups and leaders:

The Algerian Human Rights League or LADDH [Hocine ZEHOUANE]; SOS Disparus [Nacera DUTOUR]; Somoud [Ali MERABET]

International organization participation:

ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BIS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Amine KHERBI

chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800

FAX: [1] (202) 667-2174

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Robert S. FORD

embassy: 5 Chemin Cheikh Bachir, El-Ibrahimi, El-Biar 16000 Algiers

mailing address: B. P. 408, Alger-Gare, 16030 Algiers

telephone: [213] 70-08-2000

FAX: [213] 21-60-7355

Flag description:

two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white; a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent centered over the two-color boundary

note: the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state religion)

Economy Algeria

Economy - overview:

The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 60% of budget revenues, 30% of GDP, and over 95% of export earnings. Algeria has the eighth-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the fourth-largest gas exporter; it ranks 14th in oil reserves. Sustained high oil prices in recent years have helped improve Algeria's financial and macroeconomic indicators. Algeria is running substantial trade surpluses and building up record foreign exchange reserves. Algeria has decreased its external debt to less than 10% of GDP after repaying its Paris Club and London Club debt in 2006. Real GDP has risen due to higher oil output and increased government spending. The government's continued efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector, however, has had little success in reducing high unemployment and improving living standards. Structural reform within the economy, such as development of the banking sector and the construction of infrastructure, moves ahead slowly hampered by corruption and bureaucratic resistance.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$224.7 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$131.6 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

4.6% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$6,500 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 8.2%

industry: 61.4%

services: 30.4% (2007 est.)

Labor force:

9.38 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture 14%, industry 13.4%, construction and public works 10%, trade 14.6%, government 32%, other 16% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate:

13% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line:

25% (2005 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 2.8%

highest 10%: 26.8% (1995)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

35.3 (1995)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

3.7% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):

24.6% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $56.36 billion

expenditures: $40.8 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt:

19% of GDP (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products:

wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle

Industries:

petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing

Industrial production growth rate:

5% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

31.91 billion kWh (2005 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 99.7%

hydro: 0.3%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:

27.52 billion kWh (2005 est.)

Electricity - exports:

275 million kWh (2005 est.)

Electricity - imports:

359 million kWh (2005 est.)

Oil - production:

2.09 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:

250,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - exports:

1.724 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - imports:

12,390 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - proved reserves:

14.68 billion bbl (2007 est.)

Natural gas - production:

84.4 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

21.8 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

62.6 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

4.359 trillion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:

$30.58 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:

$59.52 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:

petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97%

Exports - partners:

US 27.2%, Italy 17%, Spain 9.8%, France 8.8%, Canada 8.1%, Belgium 4.3% (2006)

Imports:

$27.52 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities:

capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods

Imports - partners:

France 22.1%, Italy 8.6%, China 8.6%, Germany 5.9%, Spain 5.9%, US 4.8%, Turkey 4.5% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:

$370.6 million (2005 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$110.6 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external:

$4.392 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:

$10.63 billion (2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:

$851 million (2007 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$NA

Currency (code):

Algerian dinar (DZD)

Currency code:

DZD

Exchange rates:

Algerian dinars per US dollar - 69.9 (2007), 72.647 (2006), 73.276 (2005), 72.061 (2004), 77.395 (2003)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Communications Algeria

Telephones - main lines in use:

2.841 million (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

20.998 million (2006)

Telephone system:

general assessment: a weak network of fixed-main lines, which remains low at less than 10 telephones per 100 persons, is partially offset by the rapid increase in mobile cellular subscribership; in 2006, combined fixed-line and mobile telephone density surpassed 70 telephones per 100 persons

domestic: privatization of Algeria's telecommunications sector began in 2000; three mobile cellular licenses have been issued and, in 2005, a consortium led by Egypt's Orascom Telecom won a 15-year license to build and operate a fixed-line network in Algeria; the license will allow Orascom to develop high-speed data and other specialized services and contribute to meeting the large unfulfilled demand for basic residential telephony; internet broadband services began in 2003 with approximately 200,000 subscribers in 2006

international: country code - 213; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-4 fiber- optic submarine cable system that provides links to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia; microwave radio relay to Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia; coaxial cable to Morocco and Tunisia; participant in Medarabtel; satellite earth stations - 51 (Intelsat, Intersputnik, and Arabsat) (2007)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 25, FM 1, shortwave 8 (1999)

Radios:

7.1 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

46 (plus 216 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions:

3.1 million (1997)

Internet country code:

.dz

Internet hosts:

2,077 (2007)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

2 (2000)

Internet users:

2.46 million (2006)

Transportation Algeria

Airports:

150 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 52

over 3,047 m: 10

2,438 to 3,047 m: 27

1,524 to 2,437 m: 10

914 to 1,523 m: 4

under 914 m: 1 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 98

2,438 to 3,047 m: 3

1,524 to 2,437 m: 26

914 to 1,523 m: 44

under 914 m: 25 (2007)

Heliports:

2 (2007)

Pipelines:

condensate 1,532 km; gas 13,861 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,408 km; oil 6,878 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 3,973 km

standard gauge: 2,888 km 1.435-m gauge (283 km electrified)

narrow gauge: 1,085 km 1.055-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 108,302 km

paved: 76,028 km

unpaved: 32,274 km (2004)

Merchant marine:

total: 35 ships (1000 GRT or over) 694,686 GRT/707,251 DWT

by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 8, chemical tanker 2, liquefied gas 9, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 1

foreign-owned: 12 (UK 12) (2007)

Ports and terminals:

Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Djendjene, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda

Military Algeria

Military branches:

National Popular Army (ANP; includes Land Forces), Algerian National Navy (MRA), Air Force (QJJ), Territorial Air Defense Force (2005)

Military service age and obligation:

19-30 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months (6 months basic training, 12 months civil projects) (2006)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 9,736,757

females age 16-49: 9,590,978 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 8,141,864

females age 16-49: 8,215,895 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

males age 16-49: 374,365

females age 16-49: 360,942 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:

3.3% (2006)

Transnational Issues Algeria

Disputes - international:

Algeria, and many other states, rejects Moroccan administration of Western Sahara; the Polisario Front, exiled in Algeria, represents the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic; Algeria's border with Morocco remains an irritant to bilateral relations, each nation accusing the other of harboring militants and arms smuggling; Algeria remains concerned about armed bandits operating throughout the Sahel who sometimes destabilize southern Algerian towns; dormant disputes include Libyan claims of about 32,000 sq km still reflected on its maps of southeastern Algeria and the FLN's assertions of a claim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

refugees (country of origin): 90,000 (Western Saharan Sahrawi, mostly living in Algerian-sponsored camps in the southwestern Algerian town of Tindouf)

IDPs: undetermined (civil war during 1990s) (2007)

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: Algeria is a transit country for men and women trafficked from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude; Algerian children are trafficked internally for the purpose of domestic servitude or street vending

tier rating: Tier 3 - Algeria did not report any serious law enforcement actions to punish traffickers who force women into commercial sexual exploitation or men into involuntary servitude in 2007; the government again reported no investigations of trafficking of children for domestic servitude or improvements in protection services available to victims of trafficking; Algeria still lacks victim protection services, and its failure to distinguish between trafficking and illegal migration may result in the punishment of victims of trafficking (2008)

This page was last updated on 15 July, 2008

The World Factbook

American Samoa

Introduction American Samoa

Background:

Settled as early as 1000 B.C., Samoa was "discovered" by European explorers in the 18th century. International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor of Pago Pago - the following year.

Geography American Samoa

Location:

Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand

Geographic coordinates:

14 20 S, 170 00 W

Map references:

Oceania

Area:

total: 199 sq km

land: 199 sq km

water: 0 sq km

note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island

Area - comparative:

slightly larger than Washington, DC

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

116 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:

tropical marine, moderated by southeast trade winds; annual rainfall averages about 3 m; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October); little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain:

five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island)

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

highest point: Lata Mountain 964 m

Natural resources:

pumice, pumicite

Land use:

arable land: 10%

permanent crops: 15%

other: 75% (2005)

Irrigated land:

NA

Natural hazards:

typhoons common from December to March

Environment - current issues:

limited natural fresh water resources; the water division of the government has spent substantial funds in the past few years to improve water catchments and pipelines

Geography - note:

Pago Pago has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the South Pacific Ocean, sheltered by shape from rough seas and protected by peripheral mountains from high winds; strategic location in the South Pacific Ocean

People American Samoa

Population:

57,496 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 32.5% (male 9,684/female 9,006)

15-64 years: 64.6% (male 19,377/female 17,757)

65 years and over: 2.9% (male 591/female 1,081) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 24 years

male: 23.9 years

female: 24.2 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

-0.322% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

21.24 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

3.24 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

-21.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.09 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.55 male(s)/female

total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 8.69 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 9.28 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 8.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)