| Abstract: | Data are presented on the economy, the people, the population's health, and the culture in this country profile of Algeria. The population numbers 21.7 million. The infant mortality rate, used as a health indicator, is 81/1000 live births. Algeria's gross national product per capita is $2410 (US$15,390). Its main imports are machinery, transport equipment, food, tobacco, and consumer goods. The primary exports include oil, petroleum products, liquified natural gas, wine, and tobacco. Algeria's traditional Berber culture has survived occupation by Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, and Europeans. The country is made up of an assortment of different social groups and ethnicities, and modern Algeria realized its unitary identity from the anti-colonial struggle. Recent laws allow freedom of association, an indication of growing pluralism in a state where opposition traditionally has been proscribed. 1987 marks the 25th anniversary of Algeria's independence, obtained after a long and bitter war with France. The victory of the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) was a signal for French settlers to leave in droves, and much of the country's managerial and technical expertise left with them. Yet, the FLN inherited a sound infrastructure on which to build a modern post-colonial society. Additionally, the country also was to benefit from plentiful hydrocarbon reserves, which guaranteed good foreign exchange earnings. One of the country's goals is to feed itself by investing in a long-neglected agricultural sector, yet presently oil and gas revenues continue to be the driving force behind development. The plans for increasing food production include greater scope for private farmers. A widening gap exists between those who espouse the old values forged by the liberation struggle and a younger generation, for whom the FLN's founding precepts and the leadership's old authoritarian style mean considerably less. |
