Algeria after Live Aid

Algeria, the largest African country by area, is in northern Africa, on on the Mediterranean Sea. It as been battered by violence over the past half-century, not only in the fight for independence, but due to a brutal internal conflict that followed scrapped elections in 1992. The Sahara desert covers more than four-fifths of the land; with an arid climate and very high temperatures, less than 4% of Algerian land is arable.

The country supplies large amounts of natural gas to Europe and energy exports are the backbone of the economy.

Since independence, the Algerian state has greatly emphasized the importance of education and has made strong gains in socio-economic indicators such as access to schooling and gender equality, making Algeria on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Despite being one of the richest countries in Africa, Algeria still faces energy and housing shortages, unreliable water supply and nutrition problems, predominantly under-nutrition for the younger population. SOS Children has one Village in the country alongside several Social Centres throughout the country that provide much needed medical support for children.

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Time Line

• 1962 The country gains independence from France. More than a million Algerians are killed.

• 1965 Col Houari Boumedienne overthrows the current president Ahmed Ben Bella, and pledges to end corruption.

• 1980 A massive earthquake hits El Asnam in Algeria, reaching 7.7 on the Richter Scale. Approximately 5,000 die; SOS Children makes offer to build a Children's Village to aid those affected by the catastrophe.

• 1986 Rising inflation and unemployment, exacerbated by the collapse of oil and gas prices lead to a wave of strikes and violent demonstrations

• 1988 Serious rioting against economic conditions.

• 1990 After an agreement is made with the Algerian government, SOS Children relocates the village constructed in the aftermath of the 1980 earthquake, to Draria, 8 miles south of Algiers.
  

• 1992 The general election won by an Islamist party was annulled, which heralded a bloody civil war in which more than 150,000 people died.

• 1995 Liamine Zeroual wins a five-year term as president of the republic with a comfortable majority.

• 2000 Attacks on civilians and security forces continue, and are thought to be the work of small groups still opposed to the civil concord. Violence is estimated to have claimed over 100,000 lives in Algeria since 1992.

• 2001 Several hundred people are killed as floods hit Algiers.

• 2003 More than 2,000 people are killed and thousands are injured by a powerful earthquake in the north.

• 2006 Algeria is to pay back all of its $8bn debt to the Paris Club group of rich creditor nations, in a move seen as reflecting its economic recovery.

• 2010 97 deaths per 100,000 live births are recorded as the 2011 maternal death rate. This is good for Africa.
  

• 2011 Africa's second metro opens in Algiers.

• 2012 Real GDP growth is estimated to be 2.5% (up from 2.4% in 2011). The African Development Bank thinks that this could rise even higher if natural resources like hydra-carbons are capitalised on.  

• 2013 The infant mortality rate is recorded as being 22.57 deaths per 1,000 live births. A large number of foreign hostages are killed as Islamist mount a siege at a gas complex.