Description

Algeria is the second largest country on the African continent and is bordered by Tunisia in the northeast, Libya in the east, Niger in the southeast, Mali and Mauritania in the southwest. Algeria is a member of the United Nations, African Union, Arab League, and Opec. This country has a very wide array of topography and climates throughout the country. In Northern Algeria there is a mild, Mediterranean climate similar to that of southern California but there are variations in climatic conditions from year-to-year. In Tell Atlas, the summer temperature is moderate, there is an abundance of rainfall and in the winter, the temperatures drop fairly low. Only a relatively small corner of the Maddie Sahara lie across the Tropic of Cancer and even in winter, midday desert temperatures can be very hot.
 
The President of the Republic is the head of state and is elected to a 5-year term, renewable once. The President is the head of the Council of Ministers, the High Security Council and appoints the Prime Minister who is also the head of government. The Prime Minister appoints the Council of Ministers. The Algerian parliament is bicameral, consisting of a lower and upper chamber, which is elected every 5 years. The lower chamber, the National People\'s Assembly (APN), consists of 380 members and the upper chamber, the Council Of Nation, 144 members. Algeria is a multi-party state, however all parties must be approved by the Ministry of the Interior. Today, more than 40 legal political parties are present in Algeria.
 
The country\'s recent history has strongly influenced modern literature and several famous novelist of the twentieth century were inhabitants of Algeria. Also, the father of deconstruction, Jacques Derrida, was born in El-Biar near Algiers. The people of this country enjoy a pop-flavored, opinionated take on folk music, best known abroad as rai. Most Algerians speak Algerian Arabic, nonetheless there are eighteen living languages within Algeria.

Our Study Abroad Programs