Algeria is situated along the North African coast, bordered by Tunisia, Libya, Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Morocco. It is the largest of the three countries (including Morocco and Tunisia) which form the region of western North Africa known traditionally as Al Maghrib (" the West"). It is also the second largest country in Africa and the tenth largest country in the world in terms of land area, equal in size to Western Europe. The Sahara is one of the most striking features of the country. Relatively uninhabited, the area is drawing increasing numbers of winter tourists. Local cooking often includes roast meat and cous-cous with a vegetable sauce. Main towns offer reasonable entertainment facilities, including discotheques, folk dancing and traditional music.

After a century of rule by France, Algeria became independent in 1962. The surprising first round success of the fundamentalist FIS (Islamic Salvation Front) party in December 1991 balloting caused the army to intervene, crack down on the FIS, and postpone the subsequent elections. The FIS response has resulted in a continuous low-grade civil conflict with the secular state apparatus, which nonetheless has allowed elections featuring pro-government and moderate religious-based parties. FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded itself in January 2000 and many armed militants surrendered under an amnesty program designed to promote national reconciliation. Nevertheless, residual fighting continues. Other concerns include large-scale unemployment and the need to diversify the petroleum-based economy.

The name Algeria derives from the Arabic Jaza'ir which is the plural for the word meaning "island" or "peninsula".The name Jaza'ir comes from the ancient regional descriptive, Barr al Jaza'ir (Lands of the Islands), indicating the three countries of the Magreb region. The total area of Algeria is 2,381,741sq km, sharing its western border with Morocco, its southern border with Niger, Mali and Mauritania and its eastern border with Libya and Tunisia. Its 1,200 km of northern coastline runs along the Mediterranean Sea.

The great majority of the population are Sunni Muslims of Arab-Berber descent; Europeans, who before independence accounted for 10% of the total, now are only 1% of the population. Arabic is the official language, but French is widely spoken, and a sizable minority speaks a Berber language.
Along the coastal strip are the main towns and beach resorts. The Sahara Desert covers 85% of the country. There are two mountain ranges: the dramatic Hoggar massif, rising to almost 3000m (9800ft), and the Tassili N'Ajjer or 'Plateau of Chasms'.

The capital city Algiers, has been a port since Roman times and many impressive ruins can still be seen, such as those at Djemila and Tipaza. Along the coast lie some fine resorts; Zeralda is a beach resort with a holiday village and a replica nomad village. Tipaza has exceptional Roman ruins.