Algeria ( or ), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a former French colony 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. It is also the largest country in the Arab world.

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. France colonised Algeria starting in 1830. In 1954, the National Liberation Front (Front de Libération Nationale or FLN) wanted freedom from France. They fought a war. 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:



 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.

References

Notes

Other websites

 
Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
1962 establishments in Africa