Algeria

Algeria is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. The capital and most populous city is Algiers, located in the far north of the country on the Mediterranean coast. With an area of 2,381,741 square kilometres (919,595 sq mi), Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world, and the largest in Africa. With an estimated population of over 44 million, it is the eighth-most populous country in Africa. The country is a semi-presidential republic consisting of 48 provinces and 1,541 communes (counties). Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been President since 1999. Berbers are the indigenous inhabitants of Algeria. Algeria is a founding member of the African Union and a member of the Arab League, the Union for the Mediterranean and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. Algeria has the largest economy in Africa and the 17th largest in the world. It ranks as an upper-middle income country by the World Bank. It has the 16th highest Human Development Index in Africa. Algeria has the largest army in Africa and the ninth largest in the world. The Algerian Air Force is the largest in Africa and the Arab world.