Algerians

Algerians (Arabic: الجزائريون, romanized: al-Jaza'iriyun) are the citizens and nationals of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria. The majority of the country's population is composed of Arabs who make up 85% of the population, and there is a Berber minority of 15%.[14] The term also applies more broadly to any people who are of Algerian nationality, sharing a common culture and identity, as well as those who natively speak Algerian Arabic or other languages of Algeria.[14]

This article is about citizens and nationals of Algeria. For other uses, see Algerian (disambiguation).
For information on the population of Algeria, see Demographics of Algeria.
Algerians
الجزائريون
Total population
+50 million worldwide
Regions with significant populations
 Algeria43,900,000[1]
 France5,000,000[2][3][4]
 Canada120,000[5]
 Belgium75,000[5]
 Spain70,511 (2022)[6]
 Germany60,000[7]
 United States60,000[8]
 United Kingdom30,000[8]
 Italy17,998 (2022)[9]
 Netherlands~10,000[10]
Languages
Algerian Arabic (majority), Berber (minority)
Religion
Predominantly Islam (Sunni)
Minority: Ibadi Islam, Christianity, Judaism,[11][12][13]

In addition to the approximately 44 million residents of Algeria, there is a large Algerian diaspora as part of the wider Arab diaspora. Considerable Algerian populations can be found in France, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom; with smaller notable concentrations in other Arab states as well as the United States, and Canada.

Ethnic groups
Main articles: Ethnic groups in Algeria, Arabs, and Berbers

Ethnic groups in Algeria[15]

  Arabs (73.6%)
  Berbers (23.2%)
  Arabized Berbers (3%)
  Others (0.2%)

Arabs make up 73.6% to 85%[16] of the population of Algeria, Berbers make up 15%[16] to 23.2%, Arabized Berbers make up 3%, and others make up 0.2%.[15] Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Turks as well as other ethnic groups have contributed to the culture and languages of the Algerian population.[17] Descendants of Andalusi refugees are also present in the population of Algiers and other cities.[18] Moreover, Spanish was spoken by these Aragonese and Castillian Morisco descendants deep into the 18th century, and even Catalan was spoken at the same time by Catalan Morisco descendants in the small town of Grish El-Oued.[19]

Algerian women in traditional clothes

The Arab population of Algeria is a result of the inflow of sedentary and nomadic Arab tribes from Arabia since the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb in the 7th century with a major wave in the 11th century.[20] The Berbers are divided into many groups with varying languages. The largest of these are the Kabyles, who live in the Kabylia region east of Algiers, the Chaoui of North-East Algeria, the Tuaregs in the southern desert and the Shenwa people of North Algeria.[21]

During the colonial period, there was a large (15% in 1960)[22] European population who became known as Pied-Noirs. They were primarily of French, Spanish and Italian origin. Almost all of this population left during the war of independence or immediately after its end.[23]

Languages

Modern Standard Arabic and Berber are the official languages of Algeria.[24] The vast majority of Algerians speak Algerian Arabic as their native language, although other Arabic dialects are spoken such as Algerian Saharan Arabic, Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, Egyptian Arabic and Iraqi Arabic.[25] Colloquial Algerian Arabic has some Berber loanwords which represent 8% to 9% of its vocabulary.[26]

A minority of Algerians speak one of the various Berber languages. The largest Berber language is Kabyle with 3 million speakers.[25] It has significant Arabic, French, Latin, Greek, Phoenician and Punic substratum, and Arabic loanwords represent 35%[27] to 46%[28] of the total Kabyle vocabulary.

References
  1. "World Population Prospects". Population Division - United Nations. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  2. "Répartition des étrangers par nationalité". INSEE. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  3. "Être né en France d'un parent immigré". INSEE. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  4. Fiches thématiques - Population immigrée - Immigrés - Insee Références - Édition 2012, Insee 2012
  5. Statistics Canada. "Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity Highlight Tables". Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  6. "Población por comunidades y provincias, país de nacimiento, edad (grupos quinquenales) y sexo". Istituto Nacional de estadística. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  7. "Ausländische Bevölkerung und Schutzsuchende nach Regionen und Herkunftsländern". Statistics Germany. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  8. "Où vivent les Algériens de la diaspora?". thecasbahpost.com (in French). Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  9. "Algerini in Italia al 2022". Tuttitalia Cittadini stranieri al 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  10. "CBS StatLine - Bevolking; generatie, geslacht, leeftijd en herkomstgroepering, 1 januari". statline.cbs.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  11. Kabylia: Christian Churches Closed by Algerian Authorities, Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, 28 May 2019, Since 2000, thousands of Algerian Muslims have put their faith in Christ. Algerian officials estimate the number of Christians at 50,000, but others say it could be twice that number.
  12. "Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada". Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. 30 June 2015. Archived from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2023. there is an estimated 20,000 to 100,000 evangelical Christians in Algeria, who practice their faith in mainly unregistered churches in the Kabyle region
  13. Johnstone, Patrick; Miller, Duane Alexander (2015). "Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census". Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion. 11: 8. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  14. "Algeria - The World Factbook". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  15. "Algeria | Flag, Capital, Population, Map, & Language | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  16. "Algeria", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2023-03-22, retrieved 2023-03-25
  17. UNESCO (2009). "Diversité et interculturalité en Algérie" (PDF). UNESCO. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2013.
  18. Ruedy, John Douglas (2005). Modern Algeria – The Origins and Development of a Nation. Indiana University Press. p. 22. ISBN 9780253217820.
  19. De Epalza, Mikel (2011). El español hablado en Túnez por los moriscos (siglos XVII-XVIII). Universitat de València. pp. 32–38–39–444. ISBN 9788437084152.
  20. Stearns, Peter N.; Leonard Langer, William (2001). The Encyclopedia of World History: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern, Chronologically Arranged (6 ed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 129–131. ISBN 978-0-395-65237-4.
  21. Marion Mill Preminger (1961). The sands of Tamanrasset: the story of Charles de Foucauld. Hawthorn Books.
  22. Cook, Bernard A. (2001). Europe since 1945: an encyclopedia. New York: Garland. p. 398. ISBN 978-0-8153-4057-7.
  23. De Azevedo, Raimond Cagiano (1994). Migration and Development Co-Operation. Council of Europe. p. 25. ISBN 9789287126115.
  24. "Constitution of Algeria" – via Wikisource.
  25. Leclerc, Jacques (5 April 2009). "Algérie: Situation géographique et démolinguistique". L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde (in French). Université Laval. Archived from the original on 24 January 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  26. Wexler, Paul (2012-02-01). The Non-Jewish Origins of the Sephardic Jews. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-2393-7.
  27. Baldauf, Richard B.; Kaplan, Robert B. (2007-01-01). Language Planning and Policy in Africa. Multilingual Matters. ISBN 978-1-84769-011-1.
  28. Kossmann, Maarten (2013-07-18). The Arabic Influence on Northern Berber. BRILL. p. 98. ISBN 978-90-04-25309-4.
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