III.

People

The population consists almost entirely of Berbers, Arabs, and people of mixed Arab and Berber ancestry. Until 1962 about 1 million European settlers, mainly French, and an indigenous population of 150,000 Jews lived in Algeria. More than 90 percent of this group, however, emigrated after Algeria became independent in 1962. Most of Algeria’s urban dwellers live along the coast. The rural population, lives in villages and on small farms. A few thousand Tuareg live in the south, in Algeria’s part of the Sahara, speaking a Berber language and maintaining their tribal traditions.

The population of Algeria (2007 estimate) is about 33,333,216. Approximately 90 percent of the population is concentrated in the coastal region. The population is young: About 27 percent of Algerians are under 15 years old. The population growth rate was 1.2 percent in 2001, down from rates as high as 3 percent in the 1980s. During the 1970s and 1980s Algeria’s birth rates ranked among the highest in the world. In recent decades many Algerians have emigrated from their homeland to other countries. Approximately 1 million Algerians live in France.

A.

Principal Cities

Algiers is the capital, chief seaport, and largest city. Other important cities are Oran, a port and a trading and industrial center; Annaba, a port and shipping center as well as an industrial center; Arzew and Skikda, both centers for petroleum refining; and Constantine, the hub of a livestock- and wheat-producing region.

In 1970 nearly 60 percent of the Algerian people lived in rural areas. The ratio of urban to rural dwellers had been nearly reversed by the year 2000. Today, 58 percent of Algeria’s population is urban. Urbanization has occurred both because of population growth, which has turned villages into towns and cities, and because rural Algerians have moved to cities in search of work.

B.

Language and Religion

Arabic is the official language of Algeria. The Berber population speaks Berber dialects, such as Kabyle, Chaouia, Chenoua, and Tamazight. French is still widely read and spoken by many Algerians. Islam is the official religion and is professed by the vast majority of the population; almost all are Sunni Muslims.

C.

Education

Primary education is free and compulsory for all children between the ages of 6 and 16. The Algerian educational system, long patterned after the French, was changed by a program of Arabization shortly after independence. The government introduced new teaching methods and began training Algerian teachers and bringing in Arabic-speaking teachers from other countries. At the time of independence in 1962, 10 percent of the population was literate. Today, 72 percent of the total population can read. This improvement is one of Algeria’s greatest achievements since independence. Improvement in the education of women has helped raise the age at marriage and lower the country’s once-high birth rate.

Algeria has ten universities, including two universities of science and technology, and a number of technical colleges. The University of Algiers (1879) has faculties of law, medicine, science, and liberal arts. Seven of the country’s universities and nearly all of its 20 or so specialized colleges have been founded since independence. The government also maintains vocational and teacher-training schools.

D.

Culture

Cultural life in Algeria is increasingly vital, especially in urban areas, where intellectuals attempt to combine Western, Islamic, and socialist ideas. French tradition long dominated the cultural life of the country. Since independence, culture has been a divisive issue. The government emphasis on Arab culture and language has alienated Algeria’s Berber minority, who cherish their own traditions and dialects. Even before independence, there was a growing movement among Algerian artists and intellectuals to revive national interest in Arab-Berber origins, a movement that has gained official support. In response to Berber demands, in 2001 the government recognized Tamazight as a national language. Berbers would like it made an official language.

Rai is a music style that developed in Algerian cities in the 1970s. It is popular among young people who seek to modernize the country’s traditional values. Berber music traditions have survived in the mountains and valleys of Algeria. Village generally have their own singers and songs. Soloist and chorus alternate in chanting rhythms to drum accompaniment.

D.1.

Libraries and Museums

Foremost among Algerian libraries is the National Library (1835) in Algiers, which has about 1 million volumes, including important works on African subjects. Collections are maintained by the University of Algiers, and by the Municipal Library in Constantine.

The Prehistory and Ethnographic Museum (1928), the National Museum of Antiquities (1897), and the National Museum of Fine Arts of Algiers (1930) are located in Algiers, the cultural capital as well as the political capital of Algeria. The Museum of Cirta (1853) in Constantine contains art and archaeological collections.

D.2.

Literature

Algerian writers have created important works both in Arabic and in French. Arabic writers were among the first to promote Algerian historical studies, while French-language Algerian writers were particularly prominent figures during the war of independence. Contemporary Algerian literature draws on the riches of the Arabic language as well as on the country’s double cultural heritage—French and Arab. Many of the writings echo the hopes and contradictions of a divided society.

Noted French-language Algerian writers of the 20th century include poet and novelist Mohammad Dib, novelist Mouloud Feraoun, novelist Mouloud Mammeri, poet Malek Haddad, novelist and filmmaker Assia Djebar, novelist Rachid Mimouni, and novelist and journalist Tahar Djaout. Ahmed Tewfiq al-Madani and Tahar Wattar are prominent Arabic prose writers. Abdelkader Alloula, Algeria’s most renowned playwright, directed theater productions in Arabic. Kateb Yacine and Rachid Boudjedra wrote novels in French and Arabic. French novelist Albert Camus and French poet Jean Sénac were both born and educated in Algeria.

Leading Berber intellectuals, such as the novelist Mouloud Mammeri, devoted themselves to the preservation of the oral poetry of Kabylia and the development of a written script for Tamazight. A movement for Berber cultural rights emerged in Algeria during the 1980s. However, this movement ran counter to the ideas of the Islamic fundamentalist movement, whose militants have assassinated Berber politicians and intellectuals.