Visa,Embassy,travel and country Information for Algeria

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Country Information

• Population: 32,531,853
• Land Area: 2,381,740 sq km
• Capital City: Algiers
• Languages: Arabic(official),  French,  Berber dialects
• Religions: 99% Sunni Muslim, 1% Christian and Jewish
• Government: republic
• Date of independence: 7/5/1962
• GDP: $233.9 billion (2005 est.)

Geography

Most of the coastal area is hilly, sometimes even mountainous, and there are a few natural harbours. The area just south of the coast, known as the Tell Atlas, is fertile. Further south is the Atlas mountain range and the Sahara desert. The Ahaggar Mountains (Arabic: جبال هقار‎), also known as the Hoggar, are a highland region in central Sahara, southern Algeria. They are located about 1,500 km (932 miles) south of the capital, Algiers and just west of Tamanghasset.

Algiers, Oran and Constantine are Algeria's main cities.

Administrative Divisions

Algeria is currently divided into 48 provinces (wilayas), 553 districts (daïras) and 1,541 municipalities (communes, baladiyahs). Each province, district, and municipality is named after its seat, which is mostly also the largest city.

According to the Algerian constitution, a province is a territorial collectivity enjoying some economic freedom. The People's Provincial Assembly is the political entity governing a province, which has also a "president", who is elected by the members of the that assembly. They are in turn elected on universal suffrage every five years. The "Wali" (Prefect or governor) directs each province. This person is chosen by the Algerian President to handle the PPA's decisions.

The administrative divisions have changed several times since independence. When introducing new provinces, the numbers of old provinces are kept, hence the non-alphabetical order. With their official numbers, currently (since 1983) they are: