Algeria

Exact population: 32,930,091 (July 2006 est.)
Literacy: Total population: 70%; male: 78.8%; female: 61%
Ethnicities: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%; note: almost all Algerians are Berber in origin, not Arab; the minority who identify themselves as Berber live mostly in the mountainous region of Kabylie east of Algiers; the Berbers are also Muslim but identify with their Berber rather than Arab cultural heritage; Berbers have long agitated, sometimes violently, for autonomy; the government is unlikely to grant autonomy but has offered to begin sponsoring teaching Berber language in schools
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
Terrain: Mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Extremes: Lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m; highest point: Tahat 3,003 m
Imports: France 30.3%, Italy 8.2%, Germany 6.5%, Spain 5.5%, US 5.2%, China 5.1%, Turkey 4.3% (2004)
Exports: US 22.6%, Italy 17.2%, France 11.4%, Spain 10.1%, Canada 7.5%, Brazil 6.1%, Belgium 4.6% (2004)
Industries: Petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing

Source: CIA World Factbook