The People

The Algerians are chiefly Berbers, together with some Arab ancestry and, in the far south, Negroid ancestry. Since Arabs were the conquering invaders whose religion and language the natives adopted, it became customary for the Algerians to consider themselves Arabs. A sense of Berber identity has been preserved by some groups, however, such as the Kabyles in the mountainous section of the north.

Among the desert Berbers are the Tuareg, known as “blue men” because they wear blue garments. The men usually wear veils; the women, unlike the women of many other Muslim groups, go unveiled. The Tuareg have the only written Berber dialect.

The population of Algeria in 1987 was 23,038,942. An important population trend has been migration from rural to urban areas. More than half the people now live in cities.

Language and Education. Arabic is the official language, but French, which had been the official language during the colonial era, is used in government, except in certain courts. Both Arabic and French are used by the government-owned broadcasting system. Arabic is the language of about 80 per cent of the people; various Berber dialects are spoken by the rest.

Under French rule classical Arabic, used in the Muslim religion and Islamic literature, was taught in the Muslim religious schools. It was held in high esteem, since it reflected a past era of conquest and achievement, but less than 3 per cent of the population could read classical Arabic when independence came in 1962.

During the late 1880's, the French established a public school system based on that of France. French was the language of instruction, and the curriculum emphasized European literature, history, philosophy, and geography. Schooling was free and compulsory for the colonists' children; although Muslim children could attend the French schools, few did. After World War II, the French introduced plans to provide better educational opportunities for more of the Muslim population. At the time of independence, however, less than 30 per cent of Muslim school-age children were enrolled in school, and at the University of Algiers only about 10 per cent of the students were Muslims.

When the country gained independence, a campaign was launched to provide schooling for all children and to teach adult illiterates to read and write. Available teachers were either French or French-educated Algerians; the language of instruction was French. The system has gradually become bilingual. The primary grades are taught in Arabic. In the higher grades, subjects are taught in either Arabic or French, depending on their content.

There is no tuition at any level. Where facilities are available, nine years of schooling is compulsory. Primary education begins at age six and lasts six years. Secondary school also lasts six years. The literacy rate is about 60 per cent.

The leading institutions of higher learning are the University of Algiers (founded in 1879) and the University of Oran (1965). There are also various small colleges, polytechnic schools, and conservatories.

Religion and Culture. Islam is the state religion under the constitution, and most Algerians, at least nominally, are Muslims of the Sunnite branch of Islam. There are small minorities of Jews and Christians (mostly Roman Catholics) in the country.

The National Library is in Algiers, as are museums of prehistory and ethnography, fine arts, antiquities and Islamic art, and African art. Constantine and Oran have libraries and museums.