From a giant desert engulfing four-fifths of the country to the world’s smallest fox, these are the most interesting facts about Algeria.
Fast facts
Official name: People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
Capital city: Algiers
Population: 44.7 million
Area: 2,381,740 sq km
Major languages: Arabic, Berber, French
Major religions: Islam
Time zone: UTC+1 (Central European Time)
Interesting facts about Algeria
1. Algeria is the largest country in Africa and the 10th largest in the world by total surface area.
2. Due to the country’s size, the Algerian population is thinly spread, with the majority of inhabitants (91%) residing along the Mediterranean coastline. This region occupies a mere 12% of the nation’s overall land area.
3. The Sahara desert makes up more than four-fifths of the country’s area. The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world.
4. From the 16th century, Algeria was an autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire until France seized Algiers in 1830.
5. Algeria finally gained full independence in 1962 after the brutal Algerian War of Independence, fought from 1954 to 1962.
6. The number of fatalities differs: French historians estimate that around 400,000 Algerians were killed, while the Algerian government claims more than one million died.
7. Algeria’s flag is made up of a green and white background with a central red star and crescent. The crescent and star are both Islamic symbols.
See how Algeria’s flag compares to other African flags.
8. Famous Algerian people include two Nobel Prize winners. Albert Camus won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957 and Claude Cohen-Tannoudji won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997.
9. Algeria’s national animal is the fennec fox. The fennec is the world’s smallest fox but has large ears measuring up to 6 inches (15.24 cm).
10. The US army used to import camels from Algeria until the 1870s. The army sent a sailing ship called the USS Supply to bring camels to the USA from the modern-day countries of Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey.
11. Algeria actually enjoys a surprisingly varied climate despite being largely covered by the Sahara Desert. In some areas, the country receives almost no rain (less than 25.4 mm per year), while in others it sees up to 760 mm per year – more than London. Likewise, temperatures can range from -6°C to over 40°C.
12. Algeria is home to seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The most famous of which is Timgad, a Roman city dating to around AD 100.
13. Algeria has even seen snowfall in recent years. In 2018, snow fell on the Sahara Desert for the third time in 40 years covering dunes in a layer of snow up to 40 cm deep.
14. In 2019, Algeria became the second African country to be officially recognized as malaria-free, following Mauritius in 1973.
15. Known as ‘Combat taa lkbech’ in the local Algerian Arabic dialect, sheep fighting is an illegal sport in Algeria where sheep are trained to battle each other to death.
16. Algeria has won the Africa Cup of Nations football championship twice. First in 1990 and then again in 2019. They were also runners-up once in 1980.
17. The Djamaa El Djazair mosque in Algeria has the world’s tallest minaret. The mosque with its 265m-high minaret was completed in 2019.
18. Ancient stone tools discovered in Algeria suggest that our understanding of how our human ancestors lived around 2.6 million years ago may be wrong. The 2018 discovery suggests that the first humans either expanded more rapidly from East African than previously thought or humans emerged simultaneously across Africa.
19. The critically endangered Saharan cheetah can be found in Algeria. Estimates suggest a mere 37 of them remain in the wild, with Algeria hosting the largest surviving population.
20. The country’s capital city, Algiers, is known as ‘Alger la Blanche’ (Algiers the White) because of its whitewashed buildings.
21. Following widespread cheating in school exams in 2016, the Algerian government took extraordinary step in 2018 to block the Internet. Mobile and fixed internet connections were cut for more than two hours across the country as children sat their tests.
22. Algerians frequently invite visitors and friends to drink tea with them. In a cafe, having just one cup with a host is acceptable, but in someone’s house, three cups is considered customary.
23. Algeria is the world’s fourth largest gas exporter. The country’s shipping of petroleum, natural gas and ammonia accounts for over 95% of its total exports.
24. Around 99% of Algerians are Muslim – predominantly Sunni.
Explore more from Africa
We strive to verify all facts using authoritative and primary sources where possible. However, if you find an error or have any questions, please contact us.
Caitriona Maria is an education writer and owner of The Facts Institute. With seven years of teaching experience and a background in educational content, she specialises in creating clear reference resources about countries, geography and global topics.