What is the capital of Algeria?

The capital of Algeria is Algiers.

What is the population of Algeria?

Algeria has a population of about 47.44 million, the #33 largest of 225 countries in YearMaps. Source: World Bank, 2025.

Algeria covers 2.38M km², ranking #11 by area, with about 20 people per square kilometre.

Which countries border Algeria?

Algeria shares a land or maritime border with Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Spain, Italy, Mali, Tunisia, Libya.

What is the largest city in Algeria?

Algiers is the largest city in Algeria, with a metropolitan population of about 3.35 million.

What is the highest mountain in Algeria?

The highest summit recorded for Algeria in YearMaps is Tahat at 2,908 m (9,541 ft). Summits on a border are counted for both countries.

Country · Africa · DZ

Map of Algeria

Algeria is a country in Africa with its capital at Algiers, home to about 47.44 million people across 2.38M km². The interactive map below plots 51 cities and towns, 4 mountain summits and 14 ports recorded for Algeria in YearMaps.

Population: 47.44 million
Area: 2.38M km²
Capital: Algiers
Continent: Africa

About Algeria

Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. Spanning over 2,381,741 square kilometres (919,595 sq mi), it is the largest country in Africa and the tenth largest in the world. It is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia; to the east by Libya; to the southeast by Niger; to the southwest by Mali, Mauritania, and Western Sahara; to the west by Morocco; and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. With a population of over 47 million, Algeria is the tenth-most populous country in Africa. Its capital and largest city is Algiers.

Algeria's territory has been a crossroads of cultures and civilizations for millennia, shaped first by indigenous Amazigh societies, including the Numidians, whose kingdom became one of the earliest major states in the region, as well as by Phoenician, Roman, Vandal, and Byzantine influences. From the 7th century onward, the spread of Islam and the arrival of Arab tribes gradually transformed the region's linguistic, religious, and cultural landscape, contributing to the development of a distinct Algerian identity rooted in both Arab-Islamic and Amazigh heritage. Between the 8th and 15th centuries, Algeria was ruled by a succession of local Islamic dynasties including Rustamids, Fatimids, Zirids, Hammadids, Almohads and Zayyanids. In 1516, the Regency of Algiers was established, gradually emerging as a largely autonomous state owing nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire. After nearly three centuries as a major power in the Mediterranean, the country was invaded by France in 1830 and formally annexed in 1848, though it was not fully conquered and pacified until 1903. French rule brought mass European settlement that displaced the local population; by mid-1870, indigenous Algerians declined by up to a third due to warfare, disease, and starvation. French colonization faced continuous Algerian resistance, from Emir Abdelkader's campaigns and the Mokrani Revolt to the rise of nationalist movements in the 20th century. The Sétif and Guelma massacre in 1945 catalysed local resistance that culminated in the outbreak of the Algerian War in 1954. Algeria gained independence in 1962. It descended into a bloody civil war from 1992 to 2002, remaining in an official state of emergency until the 2010–2012 Algerian protests during the Arab Spring.

Algeria has a semi-arid climate, with the Sahara desert dominating most of the territory except for its fertile and mountainous north, where most of the population is concentrated.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Algeria (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Geography and Climate of Algeria

Algeria has known many empires and dynasties, including the ancient Numidians (3rd century B.C.), Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, over a dozen different Arab and Amazigh dynasties, Spaniards, and Ottoman Turks. Under the Turks, the Barbary pirates operated from North Africa and preyed on shipping, from about 1500 until the French captured Algiers in 1830. The French southward conquest of Algeria proceeded throughout the 19th century and was marked by many atrocities. A bloody eight-year struggle culminated in Algerian independence in 1962. Algeria's long-dominant political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), was established in 1954 as part of the struggle for independence and has since played a large role in politics, though it is falling out of favor with the youth and current President Abdelmadjid TEBBOUNE. The Government of Algeria in 1988 instituted a multi-party system in response to public unrest, but the surprising first-round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the 1991 legislative election led the Algerian military to intervene and postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming power. An army crackdown on the FIS escalated into an FIS insurgency and intense violence from 1992-98 that resulted in over 100,000 deaths, many of which were attributed to extremist groups massacring villagers. The government gained the upper hand by the late 1990s, and FIS’s armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in 2000. FIS membership is now illegal. In 1999, Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA won the presidency with the backing of the military, in an election that was boycotted by several candidates protesting alleged fraud. He won subsequent elections in 2004, 2009, and 2014. Widespread protests against his decision to seek a fifth term broke out in early 2019. BOUTEFLIKA resigned in April 2019, and in December 2019, Algerians elected former Prime Minister Abdelmadjid TEBBOUNE as the country’s new president. A longtime FLN member, TEBBOUNE ran for president as an independent. In 2020, Algeria held a constitutional referendum on governmental reforms, which TEBBOUNE enacted in 2021. Subsequent reforms to the national electoral law introduced open-list voting to curb corruption. The new law also eliminated gender quotas in Parliament, and the 2021 legislative elections saw female representation plummet. The referendum, parliamentary elections, and local elections saw record-low voter turnout.

Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia.
Climate: Arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer.
Terrain: Mostly high plateau and desert; Atlas Mountains in the far north and Hoggar Mountains in the south; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain.
Highest point: Tahat 2,908 m.
Lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m.
Coastline: 998 km.
Land borders: Total: 6,734 km; border countries: Libya 989 km; Mali 1,359 km; Mauritania 460 km; Morocco 1,941 km; Niger 951 km; Tunisia 1,034 km.
Natural resources: Petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc.
Land use: Agricultural land: 17.4% (2023 est.); arable land: 3.2% (2023 est.); permanent crops: 0.4% (2023 est.); permanent pasture: 13.8% (2023 est.); forest: 0.7% (2023 est.); other: 81.9% (2023 est.)
Natural hazards: Mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season; droughts.
Geographic note: Largest country in Africa but 80% desert; canyons and caves in the southern Hoggar Mountains and in the barren Tassili n'Ajjer area in the southeast of the country contain numerous examples of prehistoric art -- rock paintings and carvings depicting human activities and wild and domestic animals (elephants, giraffes, cattle) -- that date to the African Humid Period, roughly 5,000 to 11,000 years ago, when the region was completely vegetated.
Languages: Arabic (official), French (lingua franca), Tamazight (official) (dialects include Kabyle (Taqbaylit), Shawiya (Tacawit), Mzab, Tuareg (Tamahaq))
Religions: Muslim (official; predominantly Sunni) 99%, other (includes Christian, Jewish, Ahmadi Muslim, Shia Muslim, Ibadi Muslim) <1% (2012 est.)
Ethnic groups: Arab-Amazigh 99%, European less than 1%.
Economy: Suffering oil and gas economy; lack of sector and market diversification; political instability chilling domestic consumption; poor credit access and declines in business confidence; COVID-19 austerity policies; delayed promised socio-economic reforms.

From the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived edition of 2026-01-22. The Factbook is no longer updated, so figures reflect that edition.

Algeria in Numbers

Population: 47.44 million
GDP: US$287.0 billion
GDP per person: US$6,051
Life expectancy: 76.5 years
Population growth: 1.32% a year
Population density: 20 per km²
Urban population: 75.8%
Surface area: 2,381,740 km²
Forest cover: 0.7%
Arable land: 3.2%
Access to electricity: 100.0%
Internet users: 77.4%

Indicators from World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0). The year under each figure is its reference year.

Algeria in Depth

History

Around ~1.8-million-year-old stone artifacts from Ain Hanech (Algeria) were considered to represent the oldest archaeological materials in North Africa. Stone artifacts and cut-marked bones that were excavated from two nearby deposits at Ain Boucherit are estimated to be ~1.9 million years old, and even older stone artifacts to be as old as ~2.4 million years. Hence, the Ain Boucherit evidence shows that ancestral hominins inhabited the Mediterranean fringe in northern Africa much earlier than previously thought. The evidence strongly argues for early dispersal of stone tool manufacture and use from East Africa, or a possible multiple-origin scenario of stone technology in both East and North Africa.

Geography

Since the 2011 breakup of Sudan, and the creation of South Sudan, Algeria has been the largest country in Africa. It is also the largest country of the Mediterranean basin. Its southern part includes a significant portion of the Sahara. To the north, the Tell Atlas forms with the Saharan Atlas, further south, two parallel sets of reliefs in approaching eastbound, and between which are inserted vast plains and highlands. Both Atlas tend to merge in eastern Algeria. The vast mountain ranges of Aures and Nememcha occupy the entire northeastern Algeria and are delineated by the Tunisian border. The highest point is Mount Tahat (3,003 metres or 9,852 feet).

Algeria lies mostly between latitudes 19° and 37°N (a small area is north of 37°N and south of 19°N), and longitudes 9°W and 12°E.

Economy

Algeria's currency is the dinar (DZD). The economy remains dominated by the state, a legacy of the country's socialist post-independence development model. In June 2024 The World Bank's 2024 report marks a turning point for Algeria, which joins the select club of upper-middle-income countries. This economic rise, the result of an ambitious development strategy, places the country in the same category as emerging powers such as China, Brazil and Turkey In recent years, the Algerian government has halted the privatisation of state-owned industries and imposed restrictions on imports and foreign involvement in its economy. These restrictions are just starting to be lifted off recently although questions about Algeria's slowly-diversifying economy remain.

Demographics

At the outset of the 20th century, Algeria's population was approximately 4 million. in 2024, Algeria has a population of an estimated 47.4 million.

About 90% of Algerians live in the northern, coastal area; the inhabitants of the Sahara desert are mainly concentrated in oases, although some 1.5 million remain nomadic or partly nomadic. 28.1% of Algerians are under the age of 15.

Between 90,000 and 165,000 Sahrawis from Western Sahara live in the Sahrawi refugee camps, in the western Algerian Sahara desert.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Algeria (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Algeria: Key Facts

Key facts about Algeria
Currency	Algerian dinar
Official languages	Arabic, Standard Algerian Berber
Head of state	Abdelmadjid Tebboune
Head of government	Sifi Ghrieb
Form of government	semi-presidential system, people's republic
Calling code	+213
Internet domain	.dz
Highest point	Mount Tahat
Lowest point	Chott Melrhir
Established	3 July 1962

Facts from Wikidata Q262 (CC0).

History of Algeria: Empires and States

The atlas records 35 polities whose mapped territory included part of Algeria, from Carthage in 500 BCE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.

Polities that held Algeria, in chronological order
Polity	Period here	Extent
Carthage	500–198 BCE	A large part
Roman Republic	212–32 BCE	A large part
Kingdom of Numidia	197–47 BCE	A large part
Mauretania	91 BCE – 42 CE	A large part
The Roman Empire	31 BCE – 442 CE	A large part
Western Roman Empire	395–442 CE	A small part
Vandal Kingdom	439–533 CE	A small part
Eastern Roman Empire	534–632 CE	A small part
The Byzantine Empire	534–704 CE	A small part
The Umayyad Caliphate	682–749 CE	Most
Fihrids	750–756 CE	A small part
Kharijites	757–762 CE	A small part
The Abbasid Caliphate	763–799 CE	A small part
Rustamid dynasty	778–910 CE	A large part
Idrisids	793–979 CE	A small part
Aghlabid Dynasty	800–910 CE	A small part
Fatimid Caliphate	911–1017 CE	A large part
Caliphate of Córdoba	980–1014 CE	A small part
Hammadid Dynasty	1018–1151 CE	A large part
Almoravid Dynasty	1072–1138 CE	A small part
Almohad Caliphate	1139–1235 CE	A large part
Hafsid Dynasty	1236–1555 CE	A small part
Zayyanid dynasty	1236–1555 CE	A large part
Marinid Sultanate	1344–1362 CE	A large part
The Ottoman Empire	1556–1705 CE	A large part
Regency of Algiers	1706–1845 CE	A large part
French Algeria	1834–1847 CE	A large part
Bourbon Kingdom of France	1834–1848 CE	A large part
French Africa	1848–1957 CE	Most
The French Colonial Empire	1848–1957 CE	Most
Second French Empire	1853–1870 CE	A large part
French Third Republic	1871–1939 CE	Most
French Fourth Republic	1945–1957 CE	Most
French Fifth Republic	1958–2023 CE	Most
People's Democratic Republic of Algeria	1963–2024 CE	Most

Historical Maps of Algeria

Algeria on the world map in each year one of these states held it:

Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.

Visiting Algeria

Algeria (Arabic: الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; Algerian Arabic: الدزاير, al-dzayir; Berber: ⴷⵣⴰⵢⴻⵔ, dzayer; French: Algérie) is the largest country in Africa. Overlooked by many travellers, the country is bursting with beauty waiting to be discovered. From the bustling markets of Algiers to the pristine beaches of its Mediterranean coast, from the jaw-droppingly beautiful mountains of the north to the mesmerising deep reaches of the Sahara desert to the south, there is something for almost everyone to explore. Enjoy traditional cuisine, explore the ancient ruins, take in the breathtaking views, and then breathe in a world where few travellers tread. Algeria, and in particular Algerian hospitality, will leave a lasting impression on your heart and mind.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Algeria (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Largest Cities in Algeria

51 cities recorded. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.

Largest Cities in Algeria
#	Name	Population	Region	Role
1	Algiers	3.35 million	Alger	National capital
2	Oran	798,000	Oran	Populated place
3	Constantine	605,179	Constantine	Admin-1 capital
4	Blida	511,348	Blida	Admin-1 capital
5	Annaba	503,524	Annaba	Admin-1 capital
6	Chlef	449,167	Chlef	Populated place
7	Arak	423,251	Tamanghasset	Populated place
8	Béjaïa	384,937	Béjaïa	Admin-1 capital
9	Batna	280,798	Batna	Admin-1 capital
10	Sétif	274,744	SZtif	Admin-1 capital
11	Tlimcen	229,777	Tlemcen	Admin-1 capital
12	Skikda	225,181	Skikda	Admin-1 capital
13	Sidi bel Abbes	208,604	Sidi Bel Abbès	Admin-1 capital
14	Biskra	202,103	Biskra	Admin-1 capital
15	Mostaganem	188,354	Mostaganem	Admin-1 capital
16	Tiarat	184,195	Tiaret	Admin-1 capital
17	El Oued	177,497	Biskra	Populated place
18	Ouargla	176,271	Ouargla	Admin-1 capital
19	Tébessa	171,742	TZbessa	Admin-1 capital
20	Djelfa	170,901	Djelfa	Admin-1 capital
21	M'sila	150,000	M'Sila	Admin-1 capital
22	Jijel	148,000	Jijel	Admin-1 capital
23	Médéa	147,707	Médéa	Admin-1 capital
24	Tizi-Ouzou	144,000	Tizi Ouzou	Admin-1 capital
25	Béchar	143,382	Béchar	Admin-1 capital

The other 26 (population, region, role)

Saïda · 142,213 · Saïda · Admin-1 capital
Bordj Bou Arréridj · 140,000 · Bordj Bou Arreridj · Admin-1 capital
Souk Ahras · 134,947 · Souk Ahras · Populated place
Touggourt · 133,954 · Ouargla · Populated place
Ghardaia · 125,480 · Ghardaaa · Populated place
Guelma · 123,590 · Guelma · Admin-1 capital
Laghouat · 113,872 · Laghouat · Admin-1 capital
Bouïra · 110,144 · Bouira · Admin-1 capital
Mascara · 108,230 · Mascara · Admin-1 capital
Oum el Bouaghi · 100,821 · Oum el Bouaghi · Admin-1 capital
Tamanrasset · 76,000 · Tamanghasset · Populated place
El Bayadh · 67,413 · El Bayadh · Populated place
Sefra · 63,420 · Naâma · Populated place
Adrar · 56,910 · Adrar · Admin-1 capital
Timimoun · 49,237 · Adrar · Populated place
I-n-Salah · 49,223 · Tamanghasset · Populated place
Reggane · 32,974 · Adrar · Populated place
El Goléa · 32,049 · Ghardaaa · Populated place
Tindouf · 18,270 · Tindouf · Populated place
Hassi Messaoud · 18,124 · Ouargla · Populated place
Abadla · 14,364 · BZchar · Populated place
Illizi · 7,957 · Illizi · Populated place
Béni Ounif · 5,628 · BZchar · Populated place
In Amguel · 3,030 · Tamanghasset · Populated place
Djanet · 666 · Illizi · Populated place
I-n-Amenas · 216 · Illizi · Populated place

Highest Mountains in Algeria

4 mountains recorded. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries.

Highest Mountains in Algeria
#	Name	Elevation	Feet	Region
1	Tahat	2,908 m	9,541 ft	Africa
2	Garet el Djenoun	2,327 m	7,635 ft	Africa
3	Djebel Chelia	2,326 m	7,631 ft	Africa
4	Lalla Khedidja	2,308 m	7,572 ft	Africa

Ports in Algeria

14 ports recorded. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on.

Ports in Algeria
#	Name	Channel Depth	Class	Sea	Max Vessel
1	Arzew el Djedid	42.1 m	Small	Western Mediterranean	medium vessels
2	Arzew	38.4 m	Small	Western Mediterranean	medium vessels
3	Ghazaouet	34.7 m	Very Small	Western Mediterranean	large vessels
4	Mostaganem	34.7 m	Very Small	Western Mediterranean	medium vessels
5	Annaba	31.1 m	Minor	Western Mediterranean	large vessels
6	Bejaia	27.4 m	Small	Western Mediterranean	medium vessels
7	Port Methanier	20.1 m	Small	Western Mediterranean	medium vessels
8	Alger	16.5 m	Major	Western Mediterranean	large vessels
9	Tenes	5.5 m	Very Small	Western Mediterranean	medium vessels
10	Collo	—	Very Small	Western Mediterranean	medium vessels

The other 4 (channel depth, class, sea, max vessel)

Djen-Djen · Very Small · Western Mediterranean · point_of_interest
Dellys · Very Small · Western Mediterranean · medium vessels
Beni Saf · Very Small · Western Mediterranean · large vessels
Jijel · Very Small · Western Mediterranean · medium vessels

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Algeria

7 World Heritage Sites recorded. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Algeria
#	Name	Inscribed	Type	Criteria
1	Qal'at Bani Hammad	1980	Cultural	(iii)
2	Djemila	1982	Cultural	(iii) (iv)
3	M'zab	1982	Cultural	(ii) (iii) (v)
4	Tassili n'Ajjer	1982	Mixed	(i) (iii) (vii) (viii)
5	Timgad	1982	Cultural	(ii) (iii) (iv)
6	Tipasa	1982	Cultural	(iii) (iv)
7	Casbah of Algiers	1992	Cultural	(ii) (v)

Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Algeria

17 mountain ranges, deserts and other landforms recorded. Ranked by mapped area. Covers mountain ranges, deserts, plateaus, named glaciers, plains, basins, peninsulas and capes. One that crosses a border is listed under every country it lies in, with the area of the whole feature.

See all 17 mountain ranges, deserts and other landforms →

Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Algeria
#	Name	Area	Type	Region
1	Africa	29.41M km²	Continent	Africa
2	Sahara	4.73M km²	Desert	Africa
3	Sahel	1.02M km²	Plain	Africa
4	Ténéré	348,246 km²	Desert	Africa
5	AHAGGAR Mountains	185,343 km²	Range/mtn	Africa
6	Tassili oua-n-Ahaggar	150,456 km²	Desert	Africa
7	Grand Erg Oriental	127,027 km²	Desert	Africa
8	Tassili-n-Ajjer	123,986 km²	Desert	Africa
9	Hamada de Tinrhert	120,350 km²	Desert	Africa
10	‘Erg Chech	111,855 km²	Desert	Africa

States and Provinces of Algeria

1 first-level divisions with their own map.

Tamanghasset map4 cities

Countries Bordering Algeria

Land and maritime neighbours.

More Maps in Africa

Algeria: Quick Answers

What is the capital of Algeria?: The capital of Algeria is Algiers.
What is the population of Algeria?: Algeria has a population of about 47.44 million, the #33 largest of 225 countries in YearMaps. Source: World Bank, 2025.
How big is Algeria?: Algeria covers 2.38M km², ranking #11 by area, with about 20 people per square kilometre.
Which continent is Algeria in?: Algeria is in Africa.
Which countries border Algeria?: Algeria shares a land or maritime border with Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Spain, Italy, Mali, Tunisia, Libya.
What is the largest city in Algeria?: Algiers is the largest city in Algeria, with a metropolitan population of about 3.35 million.
What is the highest mountain in Algeria?: The highest summit recorded for Algeria in YearMaps is Tahat at 2,908 m (9,541 ft). Summits on a border are counted for both countries.

Interactive Map of Algeria