North Africa

Algeria
The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria is Africa's largest nation with an area of 919,595 mi2. As of 2016, the
population estimate for the country was 40.4 million, making it the 33rd most populous nation in the world. The
capital city of Algeria is Algiers. 99% of the country's inhabitants are Arab-Berbers, and the official languages of
Algeria are Arabic and Berber. Algeria is an upper-middle income nation, and its economy mostly relies on energy
exports.
Algeria is a North African country with a Mediterranean coastline and a Saharan desert interior.
The official name of the country is the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria.
Algiers is the capital and largest city of Algeria. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea and in the north-central portion of
Algeria.
El Kala National Park is one of the national parks of Algeria, in the extreme north-east of the country. It is home
to several lakes and a unique ecosystem in the Mediterranean basin, it was created in 1983 and recognized as a
biosphere reserve by the UNESCO in 1990.

According to OPEC Algeria has the 16th largest oil reserves in the world and the second largest in Africa,
while it has the 9th largest reserves of natural gas.
Algeria has one of the largest militaries in Africa and the largest defence budget on the continent;
most of Algeria’s weapons are imported from Russia, with whom they are a close ally.
More than 90 percent of Algerians live along the Mediterranean coastlands on only 12 percent of the
country’s land.

Algeria has two Nobel Prize recipients Albert Camus (Literature 1957) and Claude Cohen-Tannoudji(Physics,
1997).
Camus played as goalkeeper in the football team for the University of Algiers, which may therefore be
the world’s only university to have had a Nobel Prize-winning goalkeeper in its team.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Algeria was 51 °C (123.8 °F) in August 2011.
The national animal of Algeria is the Fennec fox and their national football team is named after the
animal: “Les Fennecs”. Football is the most popular sport in Algeria.
Algerian cuisine is rich and diverse. The country was considered as the “granary of Rome”. It offers a
component of dishes and varied dishes, depending on the region and according to the seasons.

Morocco
The Kingdom of Morocco is also one of the Maghreb nations of North Africa. The country occupies an area of
274,460 square miles, and it is home to over 33.8 million people. The indigenous inhabitants of Morocco are the
Berbers and even today, 99% of the country's population are Arab-Berbers. The official religion of the state is
Sunni Islam, while the official languages are Berber and Arabic. Morocco's nominal GDP estimate for 2017 was
$109.82, making it the fifth largest economy in Africa.
Tunisia
The Republic of Tunisia is a Northwest African country bordering Libya, Algeria, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its
capital city is Tunis, and the official language of Algeria is Arabic. The state covers 63,170 mi2 of area, and as of
2016, its population estimate was 11,304,482. Two sub-ranges of the Atlas Mountains, Tell Atlas range and Aurés
Mountains, traverse the western portion of the country.
Libya
The State of Libya is Africa's fourth largest nation with a total area of approximately 700,000 mi2. Its
administrative capital is Tripoli, and it also doubles as the country's largest city with a population of over 1 million
people. The official language of Libya is Arabic while Islam is the state religion. Libya's economy depends
primarily on its oil sector, and according to OPEC, the country has the tenth largest measurable oil reserves
globally.
Egypt
The Arab Republic of Egypt occupies the Northeast portion of the African Continent and it is only separated from
southwest Asia by the Sinai Peninsula. The country has a total area of 390,121 square miles, and its population
estimate in 2017 was 97,113,900. Its largest city is its administrative capital, Cairo. The official language of Egypt
is Arabic while Egyptian Arabic is its national language. Ancient Egypt is famous for being a cradle for
civilization.
Territories of North Africa
Besides the five countries, several other territories are also considered to be part of North Africa. They
comprise of the Canary Islands, Pelagie Islands, and Moroccan claimed Spanish sovereign territories
like Ceuta and Melilla. Other territories include Western Sahara, and Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic,
which is a partially recognized state.