If you think your country is having problems, these nations being summarized so far are in worse shape. Now on to yet another one.
In the 1880’s there were two (Barbary) wars with the USA. These Barbary Pirates were a real pain, for unlike the present Somali Pirates, this earlier version supposedly captured and enslaved more than a million Europeans, and the French, Spanish and English lost a thousand ships. Of course, this went on through three centuries.
From this adventurous beginning came the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, which after a century of French rule, gained independence in 1962. It has been in a constant civil war since then, with 100,000 deaths.
Located between Morocco and Tunisia in Northern Africa, it is more than three times the size of Texas, being the largest Mediterranean country and second largest in Africa (Sudan is #1 in size). The population is 34 million, of which 99% are Sunni Muslim. The capital is Algiers and president is Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Algeria has reasonably large oil and natural gas reserves, and produces 2 million barrels/day of crude and 86 billion cubic meters of natural gas/year. It has strong military alliances with Russia and China. While trade with the U.S. is four times more than with France, the latter suffers in the social exchange from immigration, as more than a million Algerians, almost all Muslims, live there.
The country has 142 airports. GDP/capita is $7,000. The exchange rate is 63 dinars to the U.S. Dollar, and has been dropping of late.
Seventy percent of lawyers are women and this gender also dominates in medicine. Sixty percent of university students are female.
From this adventurous beginning came the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, which after a century of French rule, gained independence in 1962. It has been in a constant civil war since then, with 100,000 deaths.
Located between Morocco and Tunisia in Northern Africa, it is more than three times the size of Texas, being the largest Mediterranean country and second largest in Africa (Sudan is #1 in size). The population is 34 million, of which 99% are Sunni Muslim. The capital is Algiers and president is Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Algeria has reasonably large oil and natural gas reserves, and produces 2 million barrels/day of crude and 86 billion cubic meters of natural gas/year. It has strong military alliances with Russia and China. While trade with the U.S. is four times more than with France, the latter suffers in the social exchange from immigration, as more than a million Algerians, almost all Muslims, live there.
The country has 142 airports. GDP/capita is $7,000. The exchange rate is 63 dinars to the U.S. Dollar, and has been dropping of late.
Seventy percent of lawyers are women and this gender also dominates in medicine. Sixty percent of university students are female.
Thus, from Barbary Pirates to a society soon to be led by women. The future looks interesting, indeed.
-
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 214 to 8427, buoyed by promising housing news. World markets mostly rose, save for, again, Sweden. Gold increased $17/toz to $904. Oil is surging (see price rise on right). These indicators seem to validate the contention that the world economy is stabilizing.-
No comments:
Post a Comment