Algeria officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is the largest country by total area in Africa. The country has a semi-arid geography, with most of the population living in the fertile north and the Sahara dominating the geography of the south.

Algeria covers a population of 44 million and is the ninth-most populous country in Africa. The capital and largest city is Algiers, located in the far north, on the Mediterranean coast. The vast majority of Algeria's population is Arab-Berber, practicing Islam, and using the official languages of Arabic and Berber.

However, French serves as an administrative and education language in some contexts and Algerian Arabic is the main spoken language. Algeria is a semi-presidential republic, with local constituencies consisting of 58 provinces and 1,541 communes. Algeria is a regional power in North Africa, and a middle power in global affairs.

It has the highest Human Development Index of all non-island African countries and one of the largest economies on the continent, based largely on energy exports. Algeria has the world's sixteenth-largest oil reserves and the ninth-largest reserves of natural gas.

Algeria's military is one of the largest in Africa, and has the largest defence budget on the continent. It is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC, the United Nations, and the Arab Maghreb Union, of which it is a founding member.

Algeria

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