| Country name | conventional long form: People's Democratic Republic of Algeria conventional short form: Algeria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Sha'biyah local short form: Al Jaza'ir etymology: the country name derives from the capital city of Algiers |
| Government type | presidential republic |
| Capital | name: Algiers geographic coordinates: 36 45 N, 3 03 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: name derives from the Arabic "al-Jazair" meaning "the islands" and refers to the four islands formerly off the coast but joined to the mainland since 1525 |
| Administrative divisions | 48 provinces (wilayas, singular - wilaya); Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba, Batna, Bechar, Bejaia, Biskra, Blida, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira, Boumerdes, Chlef, Constantine, Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Oued, El Tarf, Ghardaia, Guelma, Illizi, Jijel, Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara, Medea, Mila, Mostaganem, M'Sila, Naama, Oran, Ouargla, Oum el Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Souk Ahras, Tamanrasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen |
| Independence | 5 July 1962 (from France) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 5 July (1962); Revolution Day, 1 November (1954) |
| Constitution | history: several previous; latest approved by referendum 23 February 1989 amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or through the president with the support of three fourths of the members of both houses of Parliament in joint session; passage requires approval by both houses, approval by referendum, and promulgation by the president; the president can forego a referendum if the Constitutional Council determines the proposed amendment does not conflict with basic constitutional principles; articles including the republican form of government, the integrity and unity of the country, and fundamental citizens’ liberties and rights cannot be amended; amended 2002, 2008, 2016; last in 2020 |
| Legal system | mixed legal system of French civil law and Islamic law; judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of various public officials including several Supreme Court justices |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: the mother must be a citizen of Algeria dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Abdelmadjid TEBBOUNE (since 12 December 2019) head of government: Prime Minister Ayman BENABDERRAHMANE (since 7 July 2021); note - President TEBBOUNE appointed BENABDERRAHMANE as prime minister following the resignation of Prime Minister Abdelaziz DJERAD on 24 June Abdelaziz DJERAD (since 28 December 2019)cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in two rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 12 December 2019 (next to be held in 2024); prime minister nominated by the president after consultation with the majority party in Parliament election results: Abdelmadjid TEBBOUNE (NLF) 58.1%, Abdelkader BENGRINA (Movement of National Construction) 17.4%, Ali BENFLIS (Vanguard of Freedoms) 10.6%, Azzedine MIHOUBI (RND) 7.3%, Abdelaziz BELAID (Future Front) 6.7% |
| Legislative branch | description: bicameral Parliament consists of: Council of the Nation (upper house with 144 seats; one-third of members appointed by the president, two-thirds indirectly elected by simple majority vote by an electoral college composed of local council members; members serve 6-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 3 years) National People's Assembly (lower house with 407 seats including 8 seats for Algerian diaspora); members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by open-list proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms); note - in March 2021, President TEBBOUNE ordered the number of Assembly seats be reduced to 407 from 462 elections: Council of the Nation - last held on 29 December 2018 (next to be held in December 2021) National People's Assembly - snap election held on 12 June 2021 (next to be held on 12 June 2026) election results: Council of the Nation - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 137, women 7, percent of women 5%, National People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 98, MSP 65, RND 58, EL Mostakbel 48, Movement of National Construction 39, other 15, independent 84; composition - men 373, women 34, percent of women 8.4%; note - total Parliament percent of women 7.4% |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: Supreme Court or Cour Suprême, (consists of 150 judges organized into 8 chambers: Civil, Commercial and Maritime, Criminal, House of Offenses and Contraventions, House of Petitions, Land, Personal Status, and Social; Constitutional Council (consists of 12 members including the court chairman and deputy chairman); note - Algeria's judicial system does not include sharia courts judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the High Council of Magistracy, an administrative body presided over by the president of the republic, and includes the republic vice-president and several members; judges appointed for life; Constitutional Council members - 4 appointed by the president of the republic, 2 each by the 2 houses of Parliament, 2 by the Supreme Court, and 2 by the Council of State; Council president and members appointed for single 6-year terms with half the membership renewed every 3 years subordinate courts: appellate or wilaya courts; first instance or daira tribunals |
| Political parties and leaders | Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI] Algerian Popular Movement or MPA [Amara BENYOUNES] Algerian Rally or RA [Ali ZAGHDOUD] Algeria's Hope Rally or TAJ [Amar GHOUL] Democratic and Social Movement or MDS [Hamid FERHI] Dignity or El Karama [Aymene HARKATI] Ennour El Djazairi Party (Algerian Radiance Party) or PED [Badreddine BELBAZ] Front for Justice and Development or El Adala [Abdallah DJABALLAH] Future Front or El Mostakbel [Abdelaziz BELAID] Islamic Renaissance Movement or Ennahda Movement [Mohamed DOUIBI] Justice and Development Front or FJD [Abdellah DJABALLAH] Movement of National Construction (Harakat El-Binaa El-Watani) [Abdelkader BENGRINA] Movement of National Understanding or MEN Movement for National Reform or Islah [Filali GHOUINI] Movement of Society for Peace or MSP [Abderrazak MAKRI] National Democratic Rally (Rassemblement National Democratique) or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA] National Front for Social Justice or FNJS [Khaled BOUNEDJEMA] National Liberation Front or FLN [Mohamed DJEMAI] National Party for Solidarity and Development or PNSD [Dalila YALAQUI] National Reform Movement or Islah [Djahid YOUNSI] National Republican Alliance or ANR [Belkacem SAHLI] New Dawn Party or PFJ [Tahar BENBAIBECHE] New Generation or Jil Jadid [Soufiane DJILALI] Oath of 1954 or Ahd 54 [Ali Fawzi REBAINE] Party of Justice and Liberty [Mohammed SAID] Rally for Culture and Democracy or RCD [Mohcine BELABBAS] Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Hakim BELAHCEL] Union for Change and Progress or UCP [Zoubida Assoul] Union of Democratic and Social Forces or UFDS [Noureddine BAHBOUH] Vanguard of Freedoms (Talaie El Houriat) [Ali BENFLIS] Youth Party or PJ [Hamana BOUCHARMA] Workers Party or PT [Louisa HANOUNE] note: a law banning political parties based on religion was enacted in March 1997 |
| International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BIS, CAEU, CD, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Madjid BOUGUERRA (since 23 February 2015) chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800 FAX: [1] (202) 986-5906 email address and website: [email protected] https://www.algerianembassy.org/ consulate(s) general: New York |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Gautam RANA (since 20 January 2021) embassy: 05 Chemin Cheikh Bachir, Ibrahimi, El-Biar 16030, Alger mailing address: 6030 Algiers Place, Washington DC 20521-6030 telephone: [213] (0) 770-08-2000 FAX: [213] (0) 770-08-2299 email address and website: [email protected] https://dz.usembassy.gov/ |
| 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; the colors represent Islam (green), purity and peace (white), and liberty (red); the crescent and star are also Islamic symbols, but the crescent is more closed than those of other Muslim countries because Algerians believe the long crescent horns bring happiness |
| National symbol(s) | five-pointed star between the extended horns of a crescent moon, fennec fox; national colors: green, white, red |
| National anthem | name: "Kassaman" (We Pledge) lyrics/music: Mufdi ZAKARIAH/Mohamed FAWZI note: adopted 1962; ZAKARIAH wrote "Kassaman" as a poem while imprisoned in Algiers by French colonial forces |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
