Algiers

Algeria COUNTRY

7,896,923 CITY POPULATION

City Council GOVERNMENT TYPE

Introduction

Algiers, French Alger, Arabic Al-Jazāʾir, capital, largest city and chief seaport of Algeria. It is the political, economic, and cultural centre of the country. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145 and in 2011 was estimated to be around 3,500,000. Algiers is located on the Mediterranean Sea and in the north-central portion of Algeria. Algiers is situated on the west side of a bay of the Mediterranean Sea. The modern part of the city is built on the level ground by the seashore; the old part, the ancient city of the deys, climbs the steep hill behind the modern town and is crowned by the casbah or citadel, 122 metres above the sea. Algiers is built on the slopes of the Sahel Hills, which parallel the Mediterranean Sea coast, and it extends for some 10 miles along the Bay of Algiers. The city faces east and north and forms a large amphitheatre of dazzling white buildings that dominate the harbour and the bay.

Data and Facts

Population of 5,000,000
Also known "Algiers the White" for its whitewashed buildings
After the Punic Wars, the Romans took over the town and called it Icosium
Algiers became a member of Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War
Algiers on average receives roughly 600 millimetres (24 in) of rain per year

Administration

The city (and province) of Algiers is composed of 13 administrative districts, sub-divided into 57 communes.

Presidents of Conseil Populaire de la Ville d'Alger:

Bachir Mentouri, 1967-1975

Mustapha Medjaoui, circa 1977

Khelifa Belaid, 1980-1985

Smaïl Tifaoui, circa 1995

Economy

Algeria’s economy is dominated by its export trade in petroleum and natural gas, commodities that, despite fluctuations in world prices, annually contribute roughly one-third of the country’s gross domestic product . Until 1962 the economy was based largely on agriculture and complemented France’s economy. Since then the extraction and production of hydrocarbons have been the most important activity and have facilitated rapid industrialization. The Algerian government instituted a centrally planned economy within a state socialist system in the first two decades after independence, nationalizing major industries and implementing multiyear economic plans. However, since the early 1980s the focus has shifted toward privatization, and Algeria’s socialist direction has been modified somewhat. Standards of living have risen to those of an intermediately developed country, but food production has fallen well below the level of self-sufficiency.

Algiers is an important economic, commercial and financial center, with in particular a stock exchange with a capitalisation of 60 million euros. The city has the highest cost of living of any city in North Africa, as well as the 50th highest worldwide, as of March 2007, having gained one position compared to the previous year.

Mohamed Ben Ali El Abbar, president of the Council of Administration of the Emirate Group EMAAR, presented five «megaprojects» to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, during a ceremony which took place Saturday, July 15, within the Palace of the People of Algiers. A shopping centre and three high-rise office buildings rising with the top of the commercial zone will accompany the project.

The second project will not relate to the bay of Algiers and aims to revitalize the sea front. The development of the 44 km seafront will include marinas, channels, luxury hotels, offices, apartments of great standing, luxury stores and leisure amenities. A crescent-shaped peninsula will be set up on the open sea. The project of the bay of Algiers will also comprise six small islands, of which four of round form, connected to each other by bridges and marinas and will include tourist and residential complexes.

The third project will relate to restructuring an area of Algiers, qualified by the originators of the project of “city of wellness”. El Abbar indicated to the journalists that the complex would be “agreeable for all those which will want to combine tourism and well-being or tourism and relaxation”. The complex will include a university, a research center and a medical centre. This 90 hectares site will include shopping centres, residential zones with high standard apartments and a golf course surrounded by villas and hotels. Two other residential zones, including 1.800 apartments and 40 high standard villas, will be built on the surrounding hills.

The fifth project is that of the tourist complex Colonel Abbès, which will be located 25 km west from Algiers. This complex will include several retail zones, meeting places, and residential zones composed of apartments and villas with views of the sea. Currently there is another project under construction, by the name of Algiers Medina. The first step of the project is nearly complete.

Business Environment

Extensive deposits of sulfur-free light crude oil were discovered in the Algerian Sahara in the mid-1950s. Production began in 1958, concentrated in three main fields: Hassi Messaoud, in the northeastern part of the Sahara; Zarzaïtine-Edjeleh, along the Libyan border; and El-Borma, on the Tunisian border.

Algeria is one of a handful of countries that have achieved 20% poverty reduction in the past two decades. The Algerian government took significant steps to improve the wellbeing of its people by implementing social policies in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The country’s oil boom has enabled the authorities to clear Algeria’s external debt, invest in infrastructure projects, and improve the country’s Human Development Indicators.

For example, Algeria has significantly improved its human capital development: its position on the World Bank Human Capital Index that measures five key indicators in health and education is 93rd out of 157 countries. The population in Algeria is relatively young even if the amount of old people is increasing. The median age is 28.1 years up about 3 years from 10 years ago. There are 45.5% of people under 24, 42.2% of 25 to 55 and 12.3% of over 55. Women represent 49.4% and men 50.6% of the population with 71.3% of Algerians live in urban areas.

Number of partners: From 2 to 20 partners.

Capital : 100 000 DZD divided in shares minimum fully subscribed and paid up.

Infrastructure

ETUSA (urban and suburban bus transportation for Algiers) operates bus service in Algiers and the surrounding suburbs. 54 lines are currently operating, with service from 5:30 a.m. to 12:45 a.m.

SNTF (national railroad company) operates commuter-rail lines connecting the capital to the surrounding suburbs.

Algiers Metro, opened November 1, 2011.

Algiers tramway, opened on May 8, 2011.

Houari Boumediene Airport is located 20 km (12 mi) from the city. The airport serves domestics, many European cities, West Africa, the Middle East, Asia and North America. On July 5, 2006, a new international air terminal was opened for service. The terminal is managed by Aéroports de Paris.

4 urban beltways:

El Madania – Belouizdad

Notre Dame d’Afrique – Bologhine

Memorial des Martyres/Riad el Feth – Jardin d’essais

Palais de la culture – Oued Kniss

Commercial services, industrial, construction, and public works continue to drive non-hydrocarbon growth. Exports of goods and services contracted in real terms by 6.4 percent in Q1-2019, driven by a decline in hydrocarbon exports due to rising domestic demand and stagnant production. At the same time, the import of goods and services has increased by 4.1 percent despite the slowdown in the economy which has resulted in a wider trade and account deficit. Inflation remained stable at 4.3 percent in 2018 and has declined at 4.3 percent in 2018 and has declined to 4.1 percent in end-March 2019.

The unemployment rate reached 11.7 percent as of October 2018 and is higher among the youth , women and university graduates as a result of the skills mismatch in the labor market. There are no recent poverty estimates for the country, but official numbers from 2010/2011 show that 5.5 percent of the population was considered poor, with large regional variations and higher concentration in the Sahara and the Steppe regions.

Technology

Since independence, Algeria has made major technological advances, especially in the steel and petrochemical industries. However, Algeria still has a severe shortage of skilled workers and is heavily dependent on foreign technologies. Scientific training is principally conducted at the Hovari Boumedienne University of Sciences and Technology, founded at Algiers in 1974; the Oran University of Sciences and Technology, founded in 1975; the universities of Annaba (founded in 1975), Blida (founded in 1981), Boumerdes (founded in 1981), Constantine (founded in 1969), Oran Es-senia (founded in 1965), and Tlemcen (founded in 1974); and the Ferhat Abbas-Setif University of Setif (founded in 1978). In 1987–97, science and engineering students accounted for 58% of college and university enrollments. The government's National Bureau of Scientific Research operates 18 research centers in biology; anthropology; oceanography and Fisheries; astronomy, astrophysics, and geophysics; renewable energy; arid zones; technology transfer; and other fields.

Social Wellness and Human Resources

Algeria is considered to have achieved universal primary education with a 97% Primary Net Enrollment Rate in 2015 (with gender parity) and equally elevated higher education enrollment rates. Going forward, the government needs to improve the quality of education, as Algeria ranked 71 out of 72 economies for the performance of its 15-year-olds in science, mathematics, and reading in the 2015 PISA assessments.

Although these still largely positive results of shared prosperity have contributed to Algeria’s overall socio economic stability, the costs of underlying social programs and subsidies are no longer affordable amid persistently moderate oil prices. The restrained upside in worldwide oil prices have necessitated changes in resource-rich country economic models, and triggered a domino effect of reforms in MENA oil exporting countries to adapt. Similar to its neighbors, Algeria’s hydrocarbon revenues have halved in the recent years, contributing to a rapid decrease in its currency reserves, which albeit still remain at a very high level.