Algeria Environment - 2024

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

air pollution in major cities; soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban

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

Land use

agricultural land: 17.4% (2018 est.)

arable land: 3.2% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.4% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 13.8% (2018 est.)

forest: 0.8% (2018 est.)

other: 81.8% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 75.3% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 1.99% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0.1% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 22.68 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 150.01 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 49.94 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 12,378,740 tons (2016 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 990,299 tons (2013 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 8% (2013 est.)

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Niger (2,261,741 sq km)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Lake Chad (2,497,738 sq km)

Major aquifers

Lullemeden-Irhazer Aquifer System, Murzuk-Djado Basin, North Western Sahara Aquifer, Taoudeni-Tanezrouft Basin

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 3.6 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 190 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 6.67 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

11.67 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Algeria on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Algeria 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Algeria 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.