Demographics of Algeria
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This article is about the demographic features of the population of Algeria, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Ninety-one percent of the Algerian population lives along the Mediterranean coast on 12% of the country's total land mass. Forty-five percent of the population is urban, and urbanization continues, despite government efforts to discourage migration to the cities. Currently, 24,182,736 Algerians live in urban areas, and about 1.5 million nomads live in the Saharan area.
99% of the population is classified ethnically as Arab-Berber[1] and 96% religiously as Sunni Muslim, the few non-Sunni Muslims are mainly Ibadis 1.3% from the M'Zab valley (See Islam in Algeria). A mostly foreign Roman Catholic community also about Christians especially Protestant evangelic and almost 500 Jewish, most of them live in Bejaia. The Jewish community of Algeria, which once constituted 2% of the total population, has substantially decreased due to emigration, mostly to France and Israel.
Algeria's educational system has grown rapidly since 1962; in the last 12 years, attendance has doubled to more than 5 million students. Education is free and compulsory to age 16. Despite government allocation of substantial educational resources, population pressures and a serious shortage of teachers have severely strained the system, as have terrorist attacks against the educational infrastructure during the 1990s. Modest numbers of Algerian students study abroad, primarily in France and French-speaking areas of Canada. In 2000, the government launched a major review of the country's educational system.
Housing and medicine continue to be pressing problems in Algeria. Failing infrastructure and the continued influx of people from rural to urban areas has overtaxed both systems. According to the UNDP, Algeria has one of the world's highest per housing unit occupancy rates for housing, and government officials have publicly stated that the country has an immediate shortfall of 1.5 million housing units.
Population
Vital statistics
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1901 | 4,739,300 | — |
| 1906 | 5,231,700 | +2.00% |
| 1911 | 5,563,800 | +1.24% |
| 1921 | 5,804,200 | +0.42% |
| 1926 | 6,066,400 | +0.89% |
| 1931 | 6,553,500 | +1.56% |
| 1936 | 7,234,700 | +2.00% |
| 1948 | 8,681,800 | +1.53% |
| 2010 | 35,600,000 | +2.30% |
| 2011 | 36,300,000 | +1.97% |
| 2012 | 37,100,000 | +2.20% |
| 2013 | 37,900,000 | +2.16% |
| Source: Office National des Statistiques (ONS)[2] | ||
Figures from National Office of Statistics Algeria[3] and United Nations Demographic Yearbook:[4]
| Average population (x 1000) (1 January) | Live births | Deaths | Natural change | Crude birth rate (per 1000) | Crude death rate (per 1000) | Natural change (per 1000) | Total fertility rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 13 123 | 667 000 | 50.8 | |||||
| 1967 | 13 497 | 630 000 | 46.7 | |||||
| 1968 | 13 887 | 618 000 | 44.5 | |||||
| 1969 | 14 287 | 665 000 | 46.5 | |||||
| 1970 | 14 691 | 689 000 | 46.9 | |||||
| 1971 | 15 098 | 687 000 | 45.5 | |||||
| 1972 | 15 512 | 697 000 | 44.9 | |||||
| 1973 | 15 936 | 717 000 | 45.0 | |||||
| 1974 | 16 375 | 722 000 | 44.1 | |||||
| 1975 | 16 834 | 738 000 | 43.8 | |||||
| 1976 | 17 311 | 751 000 | 43.4 | |||||
| 1977 | 17 809 | 728 000 | 40.9 | |||||
| 1978 | 18 331 | 767 000 | 41.9 | |||||
| 1979 | 18 885 | 797 000 | 42.2 | |||||
| 1980 | 19 475 | 819 000 | 42.0 | |||||
| 1981 | 20 104 | 835 000 | 41.5 | |||||
| 1982 | 20 767 | 852 000 | 41.0 | |||||
| 1983 | 21 453 | 812 000 | 37.9 | |||||
| 1984 | 22 150 | 850 000 | 38.4 | |||||
| 1985 | 22 847 | 864 000 | 37.8 | |||||
| 1986 | 23 539 | 781 000 | 33.2 | |||||
| 1987 | 24 226 | 755 000 | 31.2 | |||||
| 1988 | 24 905 | 806 000 | 32.4 | |||||
| 1989 | 25 577 | 755 000 | 153 000 | 602 000 | 29.5 | |||
| 1990 | 25 022 | 775 000 | 151 000 | 624 000 | 30.94 | 6.03 | 24.91 | 4.50 |
| 1991 | 25 643 | 773 000 | 155 000 | 618 000 | 30.1 | 6.0 | 24.1 | |
| 1992 | 26 271 | 799 000 | 160 000 | 639 000 | 30.4 | 6.1 | 24.3 | |
| 1993 | 26 894 | 775 000 | 168 000 | 607 000 | 28.8 | 6.2 | 22.6 | |
| 1994 | 27 496 | 776 000 | 180 000 | 596 000 | 28.2 | 6.5 | 21.7 | |
| 1995 | 28 060 | 711 000 | 180 000 | 531 000 | 25.3 | 6.4 | 18.9 | |
| 1996 | 28 566 | 654 000 | 172 000 | 482 000 | 22.9 | 6.0 | 16.9 | |
| 1997 | 29 045 | 654 000 | 178 000 | 476 000 | 22.5 | 6.1 | 16.4 | |
| 1998 | 29 507 | 607 000 | 144 000 | 463 000 | 20.6 | 4.9 | 15.7 | |
| 1999 | 29 965 | 593 643 | 141 000 | 452 643 | 19.8 | 4.7 | 15.1 | |
| 2000 | 30 416 | 588 628 | 140 000 | 448 628 | 19.36 | 4.59 | 14.77 | 2.40 |
| 2001 | 30 879 | 618 380 | 141 000 | 477 380 | 20.0 | 4.6 | 15.5 | |
| 2002 | 31 357 | 616 963 | 138 000 | 478 963 | 19.7 | 4.4 | 15.3 | |
| 2003 | 31 848 | 649 000 | 145 000 | 504 000 | 20.4 | 4.6 | 15.8 | |
| 2004 | 32 364 | 669 000 | 141 000 | 528 000 | 20.7 | 4.4 | 16.3 | |
| 2005 | 32 906 | 703 000 | 147 000 | 556 000 | 21.4 | 4.5 | 16.9 | |
| 2006 | 33 481 | 739 000 | 144 000 | 595 000 | 22.1 | 4.3 | 17.8 | |
| 2007 | 34 096 | 783 000 | 149 000 | 634 000 | 23.0 | 4.4 | 18.6 | |
| 2008 | 34 591 | 817 000 | 153 000 | 664 000 | 23.62 | 4.42 | 19.2 | 2.81 |
| 2009 | 35 268 | 849 000 | 159 000 | 690 000 | 24.07 | 4.51 | 19.56 | 2.84 |
| 2010 | 35 978 | 888 000 | 157 000 | 731 000 | 24.68 | 4.37 | 20.31 | 2.87 |
| 2011 | 36 717 | 910 000 | 162 000 | 748 000 | 24.78 | 4.41 | 20.37 | 2.87 |
| 2012 | 37 495 | 978 000 | 170 000 | 808 000 | 26.08 | 4.53 | 21.55 | 3.02 |
| 2013 | 38 297 | 963 000 | 168 000 | 795 000 | 25.14 | 4.39 | 20.75 | 2.93 |
| 2014[5] | 39 114 | 1 014 000 | 174 000 | 840 000 | 25.93 | 4.44 | 21.50 | 3.03 |
| 2015 | 39 963 | 1 040 000 | 183 000 | 858 000 | 26.03 | 4.57 | 21.50 | 3.10 |
Cities
Below is a list of the most important Algerian cities:
| | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Province | Pop. | Rank | Name | Province | Pop. | ||
 Algiers  Oran |
1 | Algiers | Algiers Province | 2,988,145 | 11 | Biskra | Biskra Province | 205,608 |  Constantine .jpg) Sétif |
| 2 | Oran | Oran Province | 1,224,540 | 12 | Bou Saâda | M'sila Province | 201,263 | ||
| 3 | Constantine | Constantine Province | 943,112 | 13 | Tébessa | Tébessa Province | 196,537 | ||
| 4 | Sétif | Sétif Province | 609,499 | 14 | Ouargla | Ouargla Province | 183,238 | ||
| 5 | Annaba | Annaba Province | 317,206 | 15 | Skikda | Skikda Province | 178,687 | ||
| 6 | Blida | Blida Province | 264,598 | 16 | Béjaïa | Béjaïa Province | 177,988 | ||
| 7 | Batna | Batna Province | 246,379 | 17 | Bordj Bou Arréridj | Bordj Bou Arréridj Province | 167,230 | ||
| 8 | Chlef | Chlef Province | 235,062 | 18 | Béchar | Béchar Province | 165,627 | ||
| 9 | Tlemcen | Tlemcen Province | 221,231 | 19 | Ain Beida | Oum El Bouaghi Province | 155,852 | ||
| 10 | Sidi Bel Abbès | Sidi Bel Abbès Province | 208,498 | 20 | Médéa | Médéa Province | 140,151 | ||
Ethnic groups
The Algerian Arab population are believed to be between 15% to 17% of the population. The ethnic Berbers in Algeria are believed to be 85% to 88% [6][7] and are the indigenous ethnic group of Algeria and are believed to be the ancestral stock on which elements from the Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks as well as other ethnic groups have contributed to the ethnic makeup of Algeria.[8] Descendants of Andalusian refugees are also present in the population of Algiers and other cities.[9] Moreover, Spanish was spoken by these Aragonese and Castillian Morisco descendants deep into the 18th century, and even Catalan was spoken at the same time by Catalan Morisco descendants in the small town of Grish El-Oued.[10]
In 2008 there were 600,000 to 2 million erstwhile Algerian Turks, descendants of Turk rulers, soldiers, and others who ruled the region during the Ottoman rule in North Africa.[11] Today's Turkish descendants are often called Kouloughlis, meaning descendants of Turkish men and native Algerian women.[12][13]
The majority of Algerians identifies with an Arabic-based identity due to the 20th century Arab nationalism.[14][15] The ethnic Berbers are divided into many groups with varying languages. The largest of these are the Kabyles, who live in the Kabylie region east of Algiers, the Chaoui of North-East Algeria, the Tuaregs in the southern desert and the Shenwa people of North Algeria.[16]
During the colonial period, there was a large (10% in 1960)[17] European population who became known as Pied-Noirs. They were primarily of French, Spanish and Italian origin. Almost all of this population left during the war of independence or immediately after its end.[18]
Religion
Islam is the predominant religion with 99% of the population.[20][20] There are about 150,000 Ibadis in the M'zab Valley in the region of Ghardaia.[21]
There were an estimated 10,000 Christians in Algeria in 2008.[22] In a 2009 study the UNO estimated there were 45,000 Catholics[23] and 50,000–100,000 Protestants in Algeria.[23] A 2015 study estimates 380,000 Muslims converted to Christianity in Algeria.[24]
Following the Revolution and Algerian independence, all but 6,500 of the country's 140,000 Jews left the country, of whom about 90% moved to France with the Pied-Noirs and 10% moved to Israel.
Languages
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Modern Standard Arabic is the official language.[25] Algerian Dziriya (Darja) is the language used by the majority of the population. Colloquial Algerian Arabic is heavily infused with borrowings from French and Berber.
Berber is the official language.[26]
Although French has no official status, Algeria is the second-largest Francophone country in the world in terms of speakers,[27] and French is widely used in government, media (newspapers, radio, local television), and both the education system (from primary school onwards) and academia due to Algeria's colonial history. It can be regarded as the de facto co-official language of Algeria. In 2008, 11.2 million Algerians could read and write in French.[28] An Abassa Institute study in April 2000 found that 60% of households could speak and understand French. In recent decades the government has reinforced the study of French and TV programs have reinforced use of the language.
Algeria emerged as a bilingual state after 1962.[29] Colloquial Algerian Arabic is spoken by about 72% of the population and Berber by 27–30%.[30]
Spoken and popular languages
- Dialectal Algerian Dziriya: 75% (including all dialects: Eastern, Western, Algiers dialect, Saharan)
- French: 70% (as a 2nd or 3rd language, spoken by both low and highly educated people)[31]
- Berber language: 32.5% (including all dialects: Chaouia, Kabyle, Tamahaq, Chenoua, Mozabite (Tumẓabt))
- English: 15% (as a 3rd language, spoken by highly educated people)
- Korandje language (Kwarandzyey): 0.01%
Official and recognized languages
- Modern Standard Arabic: official language of the state, as defined in the Algerian constitution. Classical Arabic can be read and written by about 69.9% of Algerians. The language is used in writing only, not in daily conversation.
- Berber language (Tamazight): official language of the state.[32]
Literacy
Definition: Age 15 and over can read and write
- Total population: 69.9%
- Male: 79.6%
- Female: 60.1% (2002 est.)
Education expenditures
- 14% of GDP (2015)
CIA World Factbook demographic statistics
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.[33]
Nationality
- Noun: Algerian(s)
- Adjective: Algerian
Median age
- total: 27.6 years
- male: 27.4 years
- female: 27.8 years (2011 est.)
Net migration rate
- -0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)
- -0.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)
Urbanization
- Urban population: 66% of total population (2010)
- Rate of urbanization: 2.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
- Rate of urbanization: 2.3% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
Sex ratio
- At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
- Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
- 15–64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
- Total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2012 est.)
Infant mortality rate
- Total: 27.73 deaths/1,000 live births
- Male: 30.86 deaths/1,000 live births
- Female: 24.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
- Total: 24.9 deaths/1,000 live births
- Male: 27.82 deaths/1,000 live births
- Female: 21.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
- Total population: 74.73 years
- Male: 72.99 years
- Female: 76.57 years (2012 est.)
HIV/AIDS
- Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% ; note - no country specific models provided (2001 est.)
- People living with HIV/AIDS: 21,000 (2007 est.)
- Deaths: less than 1000 (2007 est.)
Major infectious diseases
- Degree of risk: intermediate
- Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
- Vectorborne disease: cutaneous leishmaniasis is a high risk in some locations (2005)
Genetics
Y-Dna Haplogroup frequencies in coastal Algeria
| Population | Nb | E1a | E1b1a | E1b1b1a | E1b1b1b | E1b1b1c | F | K | J1 | J2 | R1a | R1b | Q | Study |
| 1 Oran | 102 | 0 | 7.85% | 5.90% | 45.10% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22.50% | 4.90% | 1% | 11.80% | 1% | Robino et al. (2008)[34] |
| 2 Algiers | 35 | 2.85% | 0 | 11.40% | 42.85% | 0 | 11.80% | 2.85% | 22.85% | 5.70% | 0 | 0 | 0 | Arredi et al. (2004)[35] |
| 3 Tizi Ouzou | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47.35% | 10.50% | 10.50% | 0 | 15.80% | 0 | 0 | 15.80% | 0 | Arredi et al. (2004) |
| Total | 156 | 0.65% | 5.10% | 6.40% | 44.90% | 1.30% | 9.58% | 0.65% | 21.80% | 4.50% | 0.65% | 9.60% | 0.65% | |
In a recent genetic study by Semino et al. (2004), Algerian Arabs and Berbers were found to have more genetic similarities than was once believed.[36] This led scientists to conclude that the North African population was mainly Berber in origin and that the population had been 'Arabised', by the migration of Near-Eastener people.
The Haplogroup J, common marker in Middle-Eastern population is found at near 30% in Algeria, which is one of the most common haplogroup of the country along with E1b1b .
Recent studies on the common J1 Y chromosome suggest it arrived over ten thousand years ago in North Africa, and M81/E3b2 is a Y chromosome specific to North African ancestry, dating to the Neolithic. A thorough study by Arredi et al. (2004) which analyzed populations from Algeria concludes that the North African pattern of Y-chromosomal variation (including both E3b2 and J haplogroups is largely of Neolithic origin, which suggests that the Neolithic transition in this part of the world was accompanied by demic diffusion of Afro-Asiatic–speaking pastoralists from the Middle East. This Neolithic origin was later confirmed by Myles et al. (2005) which suggest that "contemporary Berber populations possess the genetic signature of a past migration of pastoralists from the Middle East",[37]
References
- ↑ http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Y-DNA_J/default.aspx
- ↑ Office National des Statistiques
- ↑ "National Office of Statistics". 2015-06-09.
- ↑ "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
- ↑ http://www.ons.dz/-Demographie-.html
- ↑ Nations Online
- ↑ CIA World Factbook
- ↑ UNESCO (2009). "Diversité et interculturalité en Algérie" (PDF). UNESCO. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2013.
- ↑ Ruedy, John Douglas (2005). Modern Algeria – The Origins and Development of a Nation. Indiana University Press. p. 22. ISBN 9780253217820.
- ↑ De Epalza, Mikel (2011). El español hablado en Túnez por los moriscos (siglos XVII-XVIII). Universitat de València. pp. 32–38–39–444. ISBN 9788437084152.
- ↑ Turkish Embassy in Algeria (2008). "Cezayir Ülke Raporu 2008". Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 4. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013.
- ↑ Ruedy, John Douglas (2005). Modern Algeria: The Origins and Development of a Nation. Indiana University Press. p. 22. ISBN 0-253-21782-2.
- ↑ Stone, Martin (1997). The Agony of Algeria. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 29. ISBN 1-85065-177-9.
- ↑ Stokes, Jamie (2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East: L to Z. Infobase Publishing. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-4381-2676-0.
- ↑ Oxford Business Group (2011). The Report: Algeria 2011. Oxford Business Group. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-907065-37-8.
- ↑ Marion Mill Preminger (1961). The sands of Tamanrasset: the story of Charles de Foucauld. Hawthorn Books.
- ↑ Cook, Bernard A. (2001). Europe since 1945: an encyclopedia. New York: Garland. p. 398. ISBN 0-8153-4057-5.
- ↑ De Azevedo, Raimond Cagiano (1994). Migration and Development Co-Operation. Council of Europe. p. 25. ISBN 9789287126115.
- ↑ "Africa :: ALGERIA". CIA The World Factbook.
- 1 2 "The World Factbook – Algeria". Central Intelligence Agency. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ↑ "Ibadis and Kharijis". (via Angelfire). Retrieved 23 April 2010.
- ↑ "Algerian Christian converts fined". BBC News. 3 June 2008.
- 1 2 Deeb, Mary Jane. "Religious minorities" Algeria (Country Study). Federal Research Division, Library of Congress; Helen Chapan Metz, ed. December 1993. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ↑ Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census
- ↑ "Présentation de l'Algérie". French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. 23 October 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
- ↑ "APS" (PDF). Algeria Press Service. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
- ↑ "La mondialisation, une chance pour la francophonie". Senat.fr. Retrieved 17 January 2013. (Archive) "L'Algérie, non-membre de l'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, comptabilise la seconde communauté francophone au monde, avec environ 16 millions de locuteurs, suivie par la Côte d'Ivoire avec près de 12 millions de locuteurs francophones, le Québec avec 6 millions et la Belgique avec plus de 4 millions de francophones."
- ↑ "Le dénombrement des francophones" (PDF). Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. (Archive) p. 9 "Nous y agrégeons néanmoins quelques données disponibles pour des pays n’appartenant pas à l’OIF mais dont nous savons, comme pour l’Algérie (11,2 millions en 20081)," and "1. Nombre de personnes âgées de cinq ans et plus déclarant savoir lire et écrire le français, d’après les données du recensement de 2008 communiquées par l’Office national des statistiques d’Algérie."
- ↑ New, The (19 November 2008). "Algeria's liberation terrorism and Arabization". blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
- ↑ Leclerc, Jacques (5 April 2009). "Algérie: Situation géographique et démolinguistique". L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde (in French). Université Laval. Archived from the original on 24 January 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
- ↑ fr:Langues en Algérie
- ↑ "APS" (PDF). Algeria Press Service. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
- ↑ CIA - The World Factbook -- Algeria
- ↑ Robino et al. (2008), Analysis of Y-chromosomal SNP haplogroups and STR haplotypes in an Algerian population sample
- ↑ Arredi et al. (2004),A Predominantly Neolithic Origin for Y-Chromosomal DNA Variation in North Africa
- ↑ Semino et al. (2004), Origin, Diffusion, and Differentiation of Y-Chromosome Haplogroups E and J
- ↑ although later papers have suggested that this date could have been as longas ten thousand years ago, with the transition from the Oranian to the Capsian culture in North Africa. SpringerLink - Journal Article
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Demographics of Algeria. |
- (ONS.dz) Official Demographics Statistics of Algeria
- Population cartogram of Algeria
- Unexpected developments in Maghrebian fertility
This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2009 edition".
and the As of 2003 U.S. Department of State website.
| Religions | |
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| Ethnic groups | |
| Languages | |
