Title: Algeria Content: thumb|right|Algeria on a world map Algeria ( or ), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in North Africa and the largest country in Africa. It is part of the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa. Algiers is the capital. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea in the north, Tunisia in the northeast, Libya in the east, Niger in the southeast, Mauritania and Mali in the southwest, Western Sahara in the west and Morocco in the northwest. ==History== People have lived in Algeria for thousands of years, which can be seen in the cave paintings at Tassili National Park that date to around 7000BC. By 600 BC, Phoenicians were in Hippo Regius (now called Annaba), Rusicade (now Skikda), and Tipasa in the central coastal part of the country. The Romans would annex (take over) the region by the conclusion of the Punic Wars in 146BC, with what is now modern-day Algeria staying in Roman hands till the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century and the region being taken over by the Germanic Vandals. Algeria would become part of the Islamic world when the first Muslim Arabs came to Algeria in the mid-7th century, resulting in many people converting to the new religion of Islam. In the 11th century, the Arab tribes of Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym were living between Tunisia and eastern Algeria (Constantois). The famous mathematician, Fibonacci (1170—1250) lived in Algeria as a teenager. This is where he learned the Hindu–Arabic numeral system. Algeria was made part of the Ottoman Empire in 1517. Enslavement of black people was practiced there as it was throughout the empire. In the 1500s and 1700s, the Spanish Empire ruled a lot of Algeria. Spain was expelled from Algeria by the Ottomans. France colonized Algeria starting in 1830. In 1954, the National Liberation Front (Front de Libération Nationale or FLN) wanted freedom from France. They fought a war against France to free Algeria. It became independent from France on July 5, 1962. In 1963 Ahmed Ben Bella became the first President of Algeria. The Algerian Civil War started in 1991. It ended in 2002. The government stopped the state of emergency on 24 February 2011. ==Geography== A large part of southern Algeria is the Sahara Desert. The Aures and Nememcha mountain ranges are in the north. The highest point is Mount Tahat (3,003 m). ==Languages== The official languages of the country are Arabic as a first language and Berber as a second language. Many people speak French, too. French is considered a lingua franca in Algeria - common language between members of the population. ==Population== Algeria's population is about 45 million people. There are over 40 cities with more than 100,000 people. ==Politics== The Parliament of Algeria is made up of two chambers: *The Council of the Nation (Upper Chamber) *The People's National Assembly (Lower Chamber) ==Divisions== There are 48 provinces (since 1983) in Algeria, they are: __NOTOC__ : 1 Adrar : 2 Chlef : 3 Laghouat : 4 Oum el Bouaghi : 5 Batna : 6 Bejaia : 7 Biskra : 8 Bechar : 9 Blida : 10 Bouira : 11 Tamanghasset : 12 Tebessa : 13 Tlemcen : 14 Tiaret : 15 Tizi Ouzou : 16 Algiers : 17 Djelfa : 18 Jijel : 19 Setif : 20 Saïda : 21 Skikda : 22 Sidi Bel Abbes : 23 Annaba : 24 Guelma : 25 Constantine : 26 Medea : 27 Mostaganem : 28 M'Sila : 29 Mascara : 30 Ouargla : 31 Oran : 32 El Bayadh : 33 Illizi : 34 Bordj Bou Arréridj : 35 Boumerdès : 36 El Tarf : 37 Tindouf : 38 Tissemsilt : 39 El Oued : 40 Khenchela : 41 Souk Ahras : 42 Tipasa : 43 Mila : 44 Ain Defla : 45 Naama : 46 Ain Temouchent : 47 Ghardaia : 48 Relizane ==UNESCO World Heritage Sites== There are several UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Algeria including Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad, the first capital of the Hammadid empire; Tipasa, a Phoenician and later Roman town; and Djémila and Timgad, both Roman ruins; M'Zab Valley, a limestone valley containing a large urbanized oasis; also the Casbah of Algiers is an important citadel. The only natural World Heritage Sites is the Tassili n'Ajjer, a mountain range.