The name Algeria is derived from the name of the city of Algiers (French Alger), from the Arabic word al-jazā’ir, which translates as the islands, referring to the four islands which lay off the city's coast until becoming part of the mainland in 1525. Al-jazā’ir is itself a truncated form of the city's older name jazā’ir banī mazghannā, "the jazeera of

(the tribe) Bani Mazghanna", used by early medieval geographers such as al-Idrisi and Yaqut al-Hamawi.

Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia

Area: total: 2,381,740 sq km
land: 2,381,740 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas

Climate: arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc

Population: 33,333,216 (July 2007 est.)

Religions: Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%

Government type: republic

Capital: Algiers

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