[al-jeer-ee-uh] 
| a republic in NW Africa: formerly comprised 13 departments of France; gained independence 1962. 29,830,370; 919,352 sq. mi. (2,381,122 sq. km). Capital: Algiers. |
Al·ge·ri·a (āl-jîr'ē-ə)  (click for larger image in new window) A country of northwest Africa bordering on the Mediterranean Sea. The region was settled c. 2000 B.C. by Berber-speaking people and later formed a part of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires. Arab invaders in the seventh and eighth centuries introduced Islam and the Arabic language and culture. A French territory from 1848, Algeria gained its independence in 1962 after more than seven years of fighting. Algiers is the capital and the largest city. Population: 33,300,000. Al·ge'ri·an adj. & n. |
Republic in northwest Africa, bordered to the north by the Mediterranean Sea, to the east by Tunisia and Libya, to the south by Niger and Mali, and to the west by Mauritania and Morocco. Its capital and largest city is Algiers.
Note: Colonized by France in the nineteenth century, Algeria was involved in a long and bloody battle for independence, gaining full autonomy in the early 1960s.
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