Intro

Algeria is a Country that has been a part of the complicated past of both North Africa and the Middle East. To say there is potential to be a powerful and wealthy nation is perhaps an understatement. The importance of Algeria in the new world going forward cannot be understated. In this post, I will give a brief understanding of Algeria. This is a part of my, ‘Country by Country’ series, and I suggest you look at other countries in this series.

History of Algeria

Algeria, like most countries, has a rich history that spans thousands of years. Being on the Mediterranean coast, its history is intertwined with Rome and even has historical significance with civilizations like Carthage. Eventually, though, it was conquered by the Romans. As one would expect, this would cause Algeria to become a Christian nation, at first. However, this changed some centuries later when Islam spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa. This caused Islam to become the new religion and Arabs to move in mass to Algeria. Algeria would change hands between the different Caliphates that would come to power within the region.

Algeria Modern History

Algeria's history took a turn when the new European powers started to take a new interest with Africa. First was the conclaves and effects of Spanish conquest. However, this would pale in comparison to the impact that France had on the region. French rule changed Algeria within and caused a struggle between its Islamic roots and French society. Groups opposing French rule rose up during this period of strife. It finally came to a head in the Algerian War for Independence lasting from 1954 to 1962. After a grueling fight, Algeria was granted independence. This, however, didn’t stop the instability that would plague Algeria for decades to come. A civil war arose in 1991 that lasted until 2002. Afterwards, Algeria would be ruled by Bouteflika. His rule finally ended in 2019. Instability continued even after his rule ended as mass protests were seen as recently as 2021 against the government of Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

Location and Geographic Features

As has been mentioned, the region for which Algeria occupies is Northern Africa. This is also referred to as Maghreb, which is the northwestern part of northern Africa. Maghreb typically includes Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. Algeria is considered one of the Saharan countries in Africa. For you see, Algeria's northern area is mountainous and a sight to behold. However, in the south, about 80% of the country, is made of desert.

Algeria Basic Facts

Algeria is around 2,400,000 square km or 920,000 square miles. This is equivalent to almost 3 and half times the area of Texas. It would also be 4 and half times the area of France. This is all to say that Algeria is a huge country. It has a population of around 44 million. This would be just a few million more people than California or a few million people less than that of Spain. The median age of Algeria is about 28 years old. The population is about 85% Arabic and 15% Berber. The language reflects this fact. The religion of Algeria is around 99% Muslim.

Economy of Algeria

The economy of Algeria is nothing to sneeze at. It has a GDP of that is near the top 50. It has a better GDP than Hungary while just a little lower than Greece. It has a population that is below the poverty line between 4% and 5% as of 2021. Algeria has a rich collection of natural resources that would be the envy of most nations. It has natural gas, oil, gas, iron, zinc, lead, silicon, and helium. As for the resources that are great importance for Algeria, gas and natural gas are very important. In fact, Algeria is the 10th greatest natural gas exporter, and 4th gas exporter. Though, there is a problem with how to properly address many of the economic problems found within Algeria. A lack of a solid economic plan going forward has been a constant criticism of Algeria's economic policy. While on paper Algeria's economy is powerful, there are many problems as well.

Algerian Neighborhood

Finally, let’s talk a bit about Algeria's neighbors and foreign policy in general. Algeria, generally has friendly relations with other members of the Maghreb. Algeria has tried to take a leading role in working on issues within the African continent. This being said, in recent years, Algeria has started to take a more assertive tone. There has also been a historical conflict between Algeria and Morocco. Morocco has claims on Western Sahara as well as Morocco normalizing relations with Israel, which have both deepened tensions between the two nations.

Algeria Foreign Policy Abroad

When it comes to the greater powers, Algeria has been playing a game of trying not to pick sides. Overall, Algeria has tried to maintain good relations with all the great powers of the world. They try to remain friendly between the US and EU as well as with Russia and China. This can be seen with the fact that Algeria has not picked a side in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, given the fact that China been a major exporter of Algeria and Russia a big arms dealer, it may lead one to believe that Algeria is not so neutral between the conflict of the East and West. A policy that is not so neutral has been its policy toward Israel. They have continued to refuse recognition and hold the plight of the Palestinians as a major part of their foreign policy.

Conclusion

Algeria is a fascinating country that has had an impactful past. While scars of past colonialism still show in some of Algeria's actions, Algeria is not bound by them. Algeria seems to be looking to be a major player in not just the African stage, but the world stage as well. Given the instability of their government and, for now, the lack of a proper planning for their economy, it is anybody’s guess as to what the future for Algeria holds. The one thing that is known is that their future will be of some significance for both the African and global order. If you found this post interesting, I suggest looking at other countries in this series that I call ‘Country by Country.’