Zelfana () is a town and commune, coextensive with Zelfana District, in

Ghardaïa Province Ghardaïa () is an Algerian province located in the north of the Algerian desert. Its administrative center is the city of Ghardaia, located south of the capital Algiers. Its total area is estimated at , from north to south, and from east to ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 10,161, up from 7,241 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 3.5%.

Climate

Zelfana has a hot

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BWh''), with very hot summers and mild winters, and very little precipitation throughout the year.

Transportation

Zelfana is connected by a short road to the N48 highway, which connects it to

Ouargla Ouargla (Berber: Wargrən, ) is the capital city of Ouargla Province in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria. It has a flourishing petroleum industry and hosts one of Algeria's universities, the University of Ouargla. The commune of Ouargla had ...

to the east, and the Trans-Sahara Highway or N1 to the west, near Noumerat Airport. The N1 connects to

Ghardaïa Ghardaïa (, ) is the capital city of Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. The commune of Ghardaïa has a population of 93,423 according to the 2008 census, up from 87,599 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 0.7%. It is located in northern-central A ...

to the north and to El Goléa and

In Salah Ain Salah, officially Aïn Salah (), is an oasis town in central Algeria and the capital of In Salah Province and In Salah District. It was once an important trade link in the trans-Saharan caravan route. As of the 2008 census, it had a popula ...

to the south.

Education

5.5% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 15.4% has completed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 78.8%, and is 85.6% among males and 71.9% among females.

Localities

The commune of Zelfana is composed of five localities: *Centre de Zelfana *Village socialiste agricole et Centre Pétrolier de Oued Noumer *El Hesseï *Gouifla *La Palmeraie

References

Neighbouring towns and cities

{{Ghardaïa Province Communes of Ghardaïa Province