Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria), is a country in the Maghreb. In terms of land area, it is the largest country on the Mediterranean Sea, the largest in the Arab world and second-largest on the African continent after Sudan, and the 11th-largest country in the world. It will become the largest African country once the secession of Southern Sudan from Sudan takes place on 9 July 2011.
Algeria is bordered in the northeast by Tunisia, in the east by Libya, in the west by Morocco, in the southwest by Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Mali, in the southeast by Niger, and in the north by the Mediterranean Sea. Its size is almost 2,400,000 square kilometres (926,645 sq mi), and it has an estimated population of 35.7 million (2010). The capital of Algeria is Algiers.
Algeria is a member of the Arab League, United Nations, African Union, and OPEC. It is also a founding member of the Arab Maghreb Union.
History of Algeria
The History of Algeria takes place in the fertile coastal plain of North Africa, which is often called the Maghreb (or Maghrib). North Africa served as a transit region for people moving towards Europe or the Middle East, thus, the region's inhabitants have been influenced by populations from other areas. Out of this mix developed the Berber people, whose language and culture, although pushed from coastal areas by conquering and colonizing Carthaginians, Romans, and Byzantines, dominated most of the land until the spread of Islam and the coming of the Arabs. The most significant forces in the country's history have been the spread of Islam, Arabization, Ottoman and French colonization, and the struggle for independence. Modern Algeria is mainly Arabic-speaking, but a large portion of the population still speaks Berber, surviving from Neolithic times.
Early inhabitants of the central Maghreb left behind significant remains including remnants of hominid occupation from c. 200,000 BC found near Saïda. Neolithic civilization (marked by animal domestication and subsistence agriculture) developed in the Saharan and Mediterranean Maghrib between 6000 and 2000 BC. This type of economy, richly depicted in the Tassili n'Ajjer cave paintings in southeastern Algeria, predominated in the Maghrib until the classical period. The amalgam of peoples of North Africa coalesced eventually into a distinct native population, the Berbers lacked a written language and hence tended to be overlooked or marginalized in historical accounts.
Since the 4000 BC, the indigenous peoples of northern Africa (identified by the Romans as Berbers) were pushed back from the coast by successive waves of Phoenician, Roman, Vandal, Byzantine, Arab, Turkish, and, finally, French invaders. During the pre-Roman era, several successive Independent States (Masaesyli, Massylii, Moors) developed on the territory of present-day Algeria.
In Antiquity Algeria was known as the Numidia kingdom and its people were called Numidians. The kingdom of Numidia had early relations with Carthaginians, Romans and Ancient Greeks, the region was considered a fertile area, and Numidians were known for their fine cavalry.
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