Demographics of Algeria

Demographic features of the population of Algeria include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects. All figures are from National Office of Statistics Algeria and the United Nations Demographic Yearbooks, unless otherwise indicated.

Ninety-one percent of the Algerian population lives along the Mediterranean coast on 12% of the country's total land mass. 75% of the population is urban, and urbanization continues, despite government efforts to discourage migration to the cities.

97% of the population follows Sunni Islam; the few non-Sunni Muslims are mainly Ibadis from the Mozabite valley at 1.3% (see Islam in Algeria).

Christianity in Algeria constitutes about 1% of the total population. While significantly greater during the French colonial years, a mostly foreign Roman Catholic community still exists, as do some Protestants. The Jewish community of Algeria, which once constituted 2% of the total population, has substantially decreased due to emigration, mostly to France and Israel.

Algeria's educational system has grown rapidly since 1962. In 2022, there were almost 11 million pupils and 2 million students. Education is free and compulsory to age 16. Modest numbers of Algerian students study abroad, primarily in France and French-speaking Canada. In 2000, the government launched a major review of the country's educational system.

Population size and structure

Age distribution

Vital statistics

Life expectancy

Ethnic groups

Arabs make up 73.6% of the population of Algeria, Berbers make up 23.2%, Arabized Berbers make up 3%, and others constitute 0.2%. Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks as well as other ethnic groups have contributed to the ethnic makeup and genetic structure of the Algerian population. Descendants of Andalusian refugees are also present in the population of Algiers and other cities. Moreover, Spanish was spoken by these Aragonese and Castillian Morisco descendants deep into the 18th century, and even Catalan was spoken at the same time by Catalan Morisco descendants in the small town of Grish El-Oued.

The Arab population of Algeria is a result of the inflow of sedentary and nomadic Arab tribes from Arabia since the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb in the 7th century with a major wave in the 11th century. The majority of Algerians identify with an Arab-based identity due to the 20th century Arab nationalism. The ethnic Berbers are divided into many groups with varying languages. The largest of these are the Kabyles, who live in the Kabylia region east of Algiers, the Chaoui of North-East Algeria, the Tuaregs in the southern desert and the Shenwa people of North Algeria.

During the colonial period, there was a large (15% in 1960) European population who became known as ''Pied-Noirs''. They were primarily of French, Spanish and Italian origin. Almost all of this population left during the war of independence or immediately after its end.

Genetics

Y-DNA frequencies in coastal Algeria

In a recent genetic study by Semino et al. (2004), the Haplogroup J1 associated with the diffusion of Arabs was found at 35% in Algeria,Semino et al. (2004)
Origin, Diffusion, and Differentiation of Y-Chromosome Haplogroups E and J
which is one of the most common haplogroups in Algeria, like the rest of the Maghreb, along with E1b1b.

Recent studies on the common J1 Y chromosome suggest it arrived over 10,000 years ago in North Africa, and M81/E3b2 is a Y chromosome specific to North African ancestry, dating to the Neolithic. A thorough study by Arredi et al. (2004) which analyzed populations from Algeria concludes that the North African pattern of Y-chromosomal variation (including both E3b2 and J haplogroups is largely of Neolithic origin, which suggests that the Neolithic transition in this part of the world was accompanied by demic diffusion of Afro-Asiatic–speaking pastoralists from the Middle East. This Neolithic origin was later confirmed by Myles et al. (2005) which suggest that "contemporary Berber populations possess the genetic signature of a past migration of pastoralists from the Middle East", although later papers have suggested that this date could have been as longas ten thousand years ago, with the transition from the Oranian to the Capsian culture in North Africa.

Languages

Arabic and Berber serve as both official languages and national languages in Algeria.

Algerian Arabic (Algerian Dziriya or Darja) is the language used by the majority of the population. Colloquial Algerian Arabic has many Berber and French loanwords.

Although French has no official status, Algeria is the second-largest Francophone country in the world in terms of speakers, and French is widely used in government, media (newspapers, radio, local television), and both the education system (from primary school onwards) and academia due to Algeria's colonial history. It can be regarded as the ''de facto'' co-official language of Algeria. In 2008, 11.2 million Algerians could read and write in French. An Abassa Institute study in April 2000 found that 60% of households could speak and understand French. In recent decades the government has reinforced the study of French and TV programs have reinforced use of the language.

Algeria emerged as a bilingual state after 1962. Colloquial Arabic is spoken by about 83% of the population and Berber by 27.4%.

Spoken and popular languages

* Arabic language: 83% (dialectal Algerian Arabic including all dialects: Eastern, Western, Algiers dialect, Saharan)
* French: 70% (as a 2nd or 3rd language, spoken by both low and highly educated people)
* Berber languages: 27.4% Chaouia, Kabyle, Tamahaq, Chenoua, Mozabite (Tumẓabt)
* English: 15% (as a 3rd language, spoken by highly educated people)
* Korandje language (Kwarandzyey): 0.01%

Official and recognized languages

* Modern Standard Arabic: official language of the state.
* Berber language (Tamazight): official language of the state.

Religion

Islam is the predominant religion with 99% of the population. There are about 150,000 Ibadis in the M'zab Valley in the region of Ghardaia.

There were an estimated 10,000 Christians in Algeria in 2008. In a 2009 study the UNO estimated there were 45,000 Catholics and 50,000–100,000 Protestants in Algeria. Deeb, Mary Jane.
Religious minorities
''Algeria (Country Study)''. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress; Helen Chapan Metz, ed. December 1993. ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.'' A 2015 study estimates 380,000 Muslims converted to Christianity in Algeria.Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census
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References

External links

(ONS.dz) Official Demographics Statistics of Algeria



Unexpected developments in Maghrebian fertility
*''and the U.S. Department of State website.''
* Laouisset, Djamel (2009). A Retrospective Study of the Algerian Iron and Steel Industry. New York City: Nova Publishers. .

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