Tiaret,Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen
Independence: 5 July 1962 (from France)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 1 November (1954)
Constitution: 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, and 28 November 1996; note - referendum approving the revisions of 28 November 1996 was signed into law 7 December 1996
Legal system: socialist, based on French and Islamic law; judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of various public officials, including several Supreme Court justices; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Liamine ZEROUAL (appointed president 31 January 1994, elected president 16 November 1995) head of government : Prime Minister Ahmed OUYAHIA (since 31 December 1995) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 November 1995 (next to be held NA 2000); prime minister appointed by the president election results : Liamine ZEROUAL elected president; percent of vote - Liamine ZEROUAL 61.3%
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the National People's Assembly or Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani (380 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms; suspended since 1992) and the Council of Nations (144 seats; one-third of the members appointed by the president, two-thirds elected by indirect vote; members serve six-year terms; created as a result of the constitutional revision of November 1996) elections : National People's Assembly - first-round held 26 December 1991; second round canceled by the military after President BENDJEDID resigned 11 January 1992, effectively suspending the assembly (next election scheduled for 5 June 1997) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - the fundamentalist FIS won 188 of the 231 seats contested in the first round of the 1991 elections
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: Islamic Salvation Front (FIS, outlawed April 1992), Ali BELHADJ, Dr. Abassi MADANI, Rabeh KEBIR (self-exile in Germany); National Liberation Front (FLN), Boualem BENHAMOUDA, secretary general; Socialist Forces Front (FFS), Hocine Ait AHMED, secretary general (self-exile in Switzerland); Movement of a Peaceful Society (Hamas), Mahfoud NAHNAH, chairman; Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD), Said SAADI, secretary general; Algerian Renewal Party (PRA), Noureddine BOUKROUH, chairman; Nahda Movement (Al Nahda), Abdallah DJABALLAH, president; Democratic National Rally (RND), Abdelkader BENSALAH, chairman; Movement for Democracy in Algeria (MDA), Ahmed Ben BELLA note : the government established a multiparty system in September 1989 and, as of 31 December 1990, over 50 legal parties existed; a new party law was enacted in March 1997
International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ramtane LAMAMRA 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 Ronald E. NEUMANN embassy : 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers mailing address: B. P. Box 549, Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers telephone: [213] (2) 69–11-86, 69–12-55 FAX: [213] (2) 69–39-79
Flag description: two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white with a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state religion)
Economy
Economy - overview: The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 57% of government revenues, 25% of GDP, and almost all export earnings; Algeria has the fifth-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the second largest gas exporter; and it ranks fourteenth for oil reserves. Algiers' efforts to reform one of the most centrally planned economies in the Arab world began after the 1986 collapse of world oil prices plunged the country into a severe recession. In 1989, the government launched a comprehensive, IMF-supported program to achieve economic stabilization and to introduce market mechanisms into the economy. Despite substantial progress toward economic adjustment, in 1992 the reform drive stalled as Algiers became embroiled in political turmoil. In September 1993, a new government was formed, and one priority was the resumption and acceleration of the structural adjustment process. Buffeted by the slump in world oil prices and burdened with a heavy foreign debt, Algiers concluded a one-year standby arrangement with the IMF in April 1994. Following a Paris Club debt rescheduling in 1995, a robust harvest, and elevated oil prices, the economy experienced a strong recovery and key economic improvements. Recent and planned investments in developing hydrocarbon resources are likely to increase growth and export earnings.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $115.9 billion (1996 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,000 (1996 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 12% industry: 50% services: 38% (1995 est.)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 19.8% (1996 est.)
Labor force: total: 7.8 million (1996 est.) by occupation: government 29.5%, agriculture 22%, construction and public works 16.2%, industry 13.6%, commerce and services 13.5%, transportation and communication 5.2% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 28% (1996 est.)
Budget: revenues : $14.3 billion expenditures: $17.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995 est.)
Industries: petroleum, light industries, natural gas, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - capacity: 6.01 million kW (1994)
Electricity - production: 18.7 billion kWh (1994)
Electricity - consumption per capita: 583 kWh (1995 est.)
Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle
Exports: total value: $11 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.) commodities: petroleum and natural gas 97% partners: Italy 18.8%, US 14.8%, France 11.8%, Spain 8%, Germany 7.9% (1995 est.)
Imports: total value : $10.5 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.) commodities: capital goods, food and beverages, consumer goods partners: France 29%, Spain 10.5%, Italy 8.2%, US 8%, Germany 5.6% (1995 est.)
Debt - external: $32 billion (1996 est.)
Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $420 million (1996)
Currency: 1 Algerian dinar (DA) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Algerian dinars (DA) per US$1 - 57.136 (January 1997), 54.749 (1996), 47.663 (1995), 35.059 (1994), 23.345 (1993), 21.836 (1992)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Algeria:Communications
