11 interesting facts about Algeria

In honor of Algeria's 2019 Africa Cup of Nations victory, we present to you, eleven outstanding facts about this North African country. 

1. Algeria became the largest country in Africa after South Sudan split from Sudan in 2011. Algeria is also the tenth largest country in the world.

2. Four-fifths of Algeria's land is the Sahara desert, leaving just a fifth for habitation.

snow in the Algeria Sahara desert

3. Algeria actively took part in the Barbary Slave Trade between the 16th and 18 centuries, which involved the capture and sale of Europeans as slaves in North Africa. According to Robert Davis, between 1 million and 1.25 million Europeans were captured by Barbary pirates and sold as slaves in North Africa and The Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 19th centuries.

4. Algeria produces some of the best dates in the world - the Deglet Nour dates, also named Royal Dates, or referred to as the "queen of all dates". The authentic Algerian Deglet Nour has a translucent light color, a soft honey-like taste and a soft touch. What's more, Algeria is the 10th largest producer of dates in the world.

5. The hottest reliably measured temperature on African soil, 51.3°C, was recorded in Ouargla, Algeria. Ouargla is the capital city of Ouargla Province in the Algerian Sahara Desert.

6. Algiers, the capital of Algeria, is known as the "white lady of North Africa" owing to its brilliant light, and exotic Parisian boulevards and its large white colonial buildings. Well-to-do Victorians spent their winters in Algiers for its moderate climate.

7. Algeria is home to seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These are: Al Qal’a of Beni Hammad, also known as Beni Hammad Fort; Djémila; Kasbah of Algiers - which translates to citadel of Algiers; the M’Zab Valley; Timgad; Tipasa; and Tassili n'Ajjer.

Beni Hammad Fort

8. In Algeria, visitors are traditionally offered milk and dates. Algerian mint tea, called Etzai, is the most popular gift in Algeria. It is considered rude to decline tea when offered.

9. The national animal of Algeria is the fennec fox, and their national football team "Les Fennecs", are named after their national animal.

The fennec is the smallest specie of canid (a lineage of carnivorans that includes domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes, foxes, jackals, dingoes, and many other extant and extinct dog-like mammals) in the world.

10. In Algeria, women contribute more to household income than men. In the same light, women in Algeria make up 60% of the student population. 70% of Algeria's lawyers and 60% of its judges are women.

11. Algeria's first participation at the Africa Cup of Nations dates back to 1968, in Ethiopia. Algeria has appeared in the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations 18 times. They won the cup when they were tournament hosts in 1990, and have won it a second time in 2019.