it to build fencesinternational: inadequate; international traffic carried by
microwave radio relay from the Tirane exchange to Italy and Greece
Radio broadcast stations: AM 17, FM 1, shortwave 0
Radios: 577,000 (1991 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 9
Televisions: 300,000 (1993 est.)
Defense———
Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior
Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Manpower availability: males age 15–49: 723,231 males fit for military service: 588,304 males reach military age (19) annually: 29,340 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $45 million, 2.5% of GDP (1995)
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@Algeria———
Map—
Location: 28 00 N, 3 00 E—Northern Africa, bordering the
Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
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)
Geography————
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea,
between Morocco and Tunisia
Geographic coordinates: 28 00 N, 3 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total area: 2,381,740 sq km
land area: 2,381,740 sq km
comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 6,343 km
border countries: Libya 982 km, Mali 1,376 km, Mauritania 463 km,
Morocco 1,559 km, Niger 956 km, Tunisia 965 km, Western Sahara 42 km
Coastline: 998 km
Maritime claims: exclusive fishing zone: 32–52 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: part of southeastern region claimed by
Libya; land boundary dispute with Tunisia settled in 1993
Climate: arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers
along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high
plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in
summer
Terrain: mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow,
discontinuous coastal plain
lowest point: Chott Melrhir −40 m
highest point: Tahat 3,003 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates,
uranium, lead, zinc
Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 13%
forest and woodland: 2%
other: 82%
Irrigated land: 3,360 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming
practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum
refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the
pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in
particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and
fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water
natural hazards: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes;
mud slides
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
Desertification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
Geographic note: second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)
People———
Population: 29,183,032 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 40% (male 5,910,543; female 5,701,647)
15–64 years: 56% (male 8,319,650; female 8,162,816)
65 years and over: 4% (male 510,308; female 578,068) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.21% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 28.51 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 5.9 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: −0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 48.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.31 years male: 67.22 years female: 69.46 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.59 children born/woman (1996 est.)
