A HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF ALGERIA

The history of Algeria goes back to pre-classical times. The Amazighan (Berbers) are the earliest inhabitants identified historically in Algeria. Today, the majority of Algerians are Arabic-speaking with about one-fifth of Algeria's population still speaking the different dialects of Tamazight (Berber) especially in Kabiliya, Aures (Shawiya), Ghardaya (Mouzabi) and Ahhagar (Touareg). The majority of Algerians, however, are “Arabized Berbers” and the distinction between Arabs and Berbers in Algeria is linguistic rather than ethnic (Richard, 1980).

Since the introduction of Islam to Algeria in the seventh century, several dynasties have been established. Almohads, for example, governed and unified Algeria with the whole of North Africa and Spain during the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries. After the decline of the Almohad dynasty, three states emerged in North Africa, one in today's Algeria, which existed until the early sixteenth century. The Ottoman administration of Algeria stretched from 1518 until the colonization of Algeria by the French army in 1830. The great revolution for independence lasted seven years, from 1954 to 1962.

The population of Algeria is 33 million inhabitants. The birth rate has increased from 1.46 percent in 1999 to 1.69 percent in 2005. Algiers is the capital of the country, with four million inhabitants (Office Nationale des Statistiques, 2005).

THE ECOLOGICAL FEATURES

Algeria is the largest country in Africa after Sudan, with a surface of 2381,741 km2 and a long Mediterranean coast of 1,200 km. Almost nine-tenths of its total area is desert.