Algeria

After more than a century of rule by France, Algerians fought through much of the 1950s to achieve independence in 1962. Algeria's primary political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), has dominated politics ever since. Many Algerians in the subsequent generation were not satisfied, however, and moved to counter the FLN's centrality in Algerian politics. The surprising first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the December 1991 balloting spurred the Algerian army to intervene and postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming power. The army began a crack down on the FIS that spurred FIS supporters to begin attacking government targets. The government later allowed elections featuring pro-government and moderate religious-based parties, but did not appease the activists who progressively widened their attacks. The fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense fighting between 1992-98 and which resulted in over 100,000 deaths - many attributed to indiscriminate massacres of villagers by extremists. The government gained the upper hand by the late-1990s and FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000. However, small numbers of armed militants persist in confronting government forces and conducting ambushes and occasional attacks on villages. The army placed Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA in the presidency in 1999 in a fraudulent election but claimed neutrality in his 2004 landslide reelection victory. Longstanding problems continue to face BOUTEFLIKA in his second term, including the ethnic minority Berbers' ongoing autonomy campaign, large-scale unemployment, a shortage of housing, unreliable electrical and water supplies, government inefficiencies and corruption, and the continuing - although significantly degraded - activities of extremist militants. Algeria must also diversify its petroleum-based economy, which has yielded a large cash reserve but which has not been used to redress Algeria's many social and infrastructure problems.

Country profile: Algeria

More than a million Algerians were killed in the fight for independence from France in 1962, and the country has recently emerged from a brutal internal conflict that followed scrapped elections in 1992.

The Sahara desert covers more than four-fifths of the land. Oil and gas reserves were discovered here in the 1950s, but most Algerians live along the northern coast. The country supplies large amounts of natural gas to Europe and energy exports are the backbone of the economy.

AT-A-GLANCE

• Politics: President Bouteflika led his country out of the civil war that broke out when Islamists were denied an election victory; Islamists are now increasingly participating in mainstream politics
• Economy: Algeria is a key oil and gas supplier
• International: Tension persists between Algeria and Morocco over the Western Sahara, where nomadic Saharans are seeking self-determination

Algeria was originally inhabited by Berbers until the Arabs conquered North Africa in the 7th century. Staying mainly in the mountainous regions, the Berbers resisted the spreading Arab influence, managing to preserve much of their language and culture. They make up some 30% of the population.

Part of the Turkish Ottoman empire from the 16th century, Algeria was conquered by the French in 1830 and was given the status of a "departement". The struggle for independence began in 1954 headed by the National Liberation Front, which came to power on independence in 1962.

In the 1990s Algerian politics was dominated by the struggle involving the military and Islamist militants. In 1992 a general election won by an Islamist party was annulled, heralding a bloody civil war in which more than 150,000 people were slaughtered.

An amnesty in 1999 led many rebels to lay down their arms. Violence has largely abated, although a state of emergency remains in place.

In 2001 the government agreed to a series of demands by the minority Berbers, including official recognition of their language, after months of unrest involving Berber youths demanding greater cultural and political recognition.

• Full name: The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
• Population: 32.9 million (UN, 2005)
• Capital: Algiers
• Area: 2.4 million sq km (919,595 sq miles)
• Major languages: Arabic, French, Berber
• Major religion: Islam
• Life expectancy: 70 years (men), 72 years (women) (UN)
• Monetary unit: 1 dinar = 100 centimes
• Main exports: Oil, gas
• GNI per capita: US $2,730 (World Bank, 2006)
• Internet domain: .dz
• International dialling code: +213

President: Abdelaziz Bouteflika

Abdelaziz Bouteflika secured a landslide election victory in April 2004. He promised to seek "true national reconciliation" during his second term. The military - traditionally a key player in Algerian politics - pledged neutrality during the poll.

On first taking office in 1999 he promised to restore national harmony and to end years of bloodshed.

He released thousands of Muslim militants and won backing for a civil concord in 1999 which offered an amnesty to armed militants.

Many of the rebels accepted and the violence declined. Voters backed a second amnesty for the remaining militants, laid out in the president's "charter for peace and reconciliation", in a 2005 referendum.

Algeria under President Bouteflika has won praise from the West for backing the US-led "war on terror". At home, many credit him with the return of security. But some campaigners say abuses by the security forces go on and rights group Amnesty International says allegations about the torture of detainees continue to be reported.

Mr Bouteflika says he wants to tackle Algeria's economic ills, including high unemployment and a dependency on energy exports.

A veteran of the war for independence from France, Mr Bouteflika was Algeria's foreign minister for 16 years until 1979. He went into self-imposed exile for several years in the 1980s to escape corruption charges that were later dropped.