Algeria is situated along the North African coast, bordered to the east by Tunisia and Libya , to the southeast by Niger , to the southwest by Mali , and to the west by Mauritania and Morocco . It is Africa 's second-largest country, with 1200km (750 miles) of coastline. Along the coastal strip are the main towns, fertile land, beach resorts and 90 per cent of the population. Further south lies the area of the Hauts Plateaux , mountains of up to 2000m (6600ft) covered in cedar, pine and cypress forests with broad arable plains dividing the plateaux. The remaining 85 per cent of the country is the Sahara Desert in its various forms, sustaining only 500,000 people, many of whom are nomadic tribes with goat and camel herds. The oil and minerals boom has created new industrial centres like Hassi Messaoud, which have grown up within previously barely inhabited regions of the northern Sahara . The plains of gravel and sand in the deep south are interrupted by two mountain ranges: the dramatic Hoggar massif, rising to almost 3000m (9800ft), and the Tassili N'Ajjer or ‘Plateau of Chasms'. Both have long been important centres of Tuareg culture.

The official languages are Arabic and Berber (Tamazight), but French is still used for most official and business transactions. Berber (Amazigh) is spoken in the northern mountainous regions of the Kabylias and the Aures and also in the south. In general, English is spoken only in major business or tourist centres.

Religion - 99 per cent of the population adhere to Islam.

Area - 2,381,741 sq km (919,595 sq miles).

Population - 31 million (2002).

Capital - Algiers (El Djezaïr).

Algerian culture has been strongly influenced by Islam, the main religion. The works of the Sanusi family in pre-colonial times, and of Emir Abdelkader and Sheikh Ben Badis in colonial times, are widely noted.

Northern Algeria is in the temperate zone and enjoys a mild, Mediterranean climate. It lies within approximately the same latitudes as southern California and has somewhat similar climatic conditions. Its broken topography, however, provides sharp local contrasts in both prevailing temperatures and incidence of rainfall. Year-to-year variations in climatic conditions are also common.

Temperatures in summer average between 21 and 24 °C and in winter drop to 10 to 12 °C. Winters are not cold, but the humidity is high and houses are seldom adequately heated. In eastern Algeria, the average temperatures are somewhat lower, and on the steppes of the High Plateaus winter temperatures hover only a few degrees above freezing. A prominent feature of the climate in this region is the sirocco, a dusty, choking south wind blowing off the desert, sometimes at gale force.