Algeria

NEARLY ONE-fourth of the population lives below the poverty line in the North African nation of Algeria, which is ranked as lower-middle-income by the World Bank. Approximately six percent of Algerian children are malnourished. While efforts to alleviate poverty have been successful to some extent, progress has been tempered by terrorist attacks and by earthquakes, droughts, and floods. Resources are unequally divided, with the lowest 20 percent of the population receiving only seven percent of the total per capita income. Between 1988 and 2000, the poorest 20 percent of the Algerian population consumed only 7.5 percent of all goods, while the richest 20 percent consumed 43.2 percent. According to the United Nations Human Development Report, Algeria ranks 108 out of 177 nations in quality of life.

Algeria's resources have been drained by the political infighting that resulted in over 100,000 deaths in the 1990s. While the government has become more stable, the Algerian government must deal with high unemployment (25.4 percent), housing shortages, tenuous access to electricity and water, continued political unrest, and corruption. Efforts are under way to diversify the Algerian economy, which has been historically dependent on petroleum products. Hydrocarbons provide some 60 percent of Algerian budget revenues, almost on-third of the Gross Domestic Product, and more than 95 percent of all export earnings.

The median age of Algerians is 24.36 years, and life expectancy is 73 years. Almost one-third of the population of 32,531,853 is under the age of 14 and only 4.7 percent are over the age of 65. The health of Algerians is affected by diseases such as bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever, which are spread through infected food and water. Algeria has been more effective in checking the spread of HIV/AIDS than some other African nations, and fewer than 500 Algerians have died from this disease. Algeria has an 89 percent success rate for curing individuals diagnosed with tuberculosis.

The Algerian government has made significant progress in improving the lives of its children. In 1960, the mortality rate for children under 5 was 243 per 1,000 live births. After the introduction of new programs and policies, that number decreased to 140 deaths per 1,000 live births. Infant mortality is now reported at 31 deaths per 1,000 live births. Algerian male infants have a higher chance (34.83) of survival than Algerian females (26.98).

Immunization rates in Algeria are relatively high, and 84 percent of children ages 12 to 23 months are immunized for measles and 87 percent are immunized for DPT3. Immunization rates for Algerian infants increased significantly between 1990 and 2000. Immunizations for DPT rose from 58 to 86 percent; polio immunizations increased from 72 to 86 percent; and measles vaccinations rose from 53 to 81 percent. Professional medical staff now attend 92 percent of all Algerian births.

In order to improve reproductive health, the National Solidarity Fund underwrites medical costs for poor women, supplementing free services already provided by government-operated clinics. The dissemination of birth control has resulted in a low fertility rate of 2.8 per female. Approximately 57 percent of Algerian women ages 15 to 49 use some method of contraception.

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