Algeria is located in northern Africa and borders via the Mediterranean Sea with Italy, France and Spain, and by land with Mauritania, Western Sahara and Morocco to the west, Tunisia and Libya to the east and Mali and Niger to the south. With a population of 40.4 million people (2016), it extends in an area of 2.381,741 km2, which makes Algeria the largest country (by surface area) in Africa and the Arab world. Algiers is the capital and most populous city in Algeria.
A series of economic protests which started in February of 2011, prompted the Algerian government to increase significantly the social spending, in terms of public sector salaries and social benefits increases. Moreover, the declining oil prices since 2014, have weighted negatively on public spending, under the government’s efforts to preserve its promises. Since then, government has not managed to confront housing shortages, as well as the high youth unemployment.
In terms of socioeconomic data, according to the Human Development Index (HDI) - an indicator of the long-term progress of a country, in relation to a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living -, Algeria ranked 83rd worldwide in 2014, which puts the country at the high-human development countries list, surpassing steadily the average rate of Arab states.
This increase is understood to be mainly attributed to the increase of the access to education, as well as the steady growth of life expectancy and the GNI per capita.