📜 A long story
Algeria, 1800 → today
Algeria grew from 2.5 million in 1800 to 46.2 million; a newborn can expect 47.5 more years of life than in 1923, and output per person is 20× its 1820 level, adjusted for inflation.
Told with long-run reconstructions, not the yearly series used elsewhere on the site: each chapter names its source. Scroll to move through the years.
☺ Chapter 1 · Population
How many people live there?
1800
In 1800, about 2.5 million people lived in Algeria.
1900
4.72 million people.
1.9× the 1800 level
1950
9.02 million people.
1.9× the 1900 level
Reached twice the 1800 level in 1904.
2023
46.2 million people, the latest year in this series.
5.1× the 1950 level
Reached 5 times the 1800 level in 1966.
Reached 10 times the 1800 level in 1990.
Long-run series: before 1950, reconstructions by HYDE and Gapminder, filled in between benchmark years by those sources. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
✚ Chapter 2 · Life expectancy
How long do people live?
1923
In 1923, a newborn in Algeria could expect to live 28.8 years, on average.
1950
42.7 years.
+14 years since 1923
Passed 40 years in 1950 (no data between 1943 and 1950, so it may have happened earlier).
2023
76.3 years, the latest year in this series.
+34 years since 1950
Passed 50 years in 1978.
Passed 60 years in 1983.
Passed 70 years in 1999.
Long-run series: before 1950, historical estimates (Riley, Clio Infra, Human Mortality Database), only for years they cover. Dashed stretches are years without data.
◎ Chapter 3 · GDP per person (PPP)
How much is produced per person?
1820
In 1820, Algeria produced about Int$685 per person, in 2011 prices.
1950
Int$2,180.
3.2× the 1820 level
Reached twice the 1820 level in 1913 (no data between 1870 and 1913, so it may have happened earlier).
2022
Int$13,500, the latest year in this series.
6.2× the 1950 level
Reached 5 times the 1820 level in 1970.
Reached 10 times the 1820 level in 2001.
Reached 20 times the 1820 level in 2014.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 32% between 1960 and 1962 (Int$3,330 → Int$2,280).
Long-run series (Maddison Project) in 2011 international dollars: adjusted for inflation, so not the same unit as today’s PPP figure. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates. Dashed stretches are years without data.
❦ Chapter 4 · CO₂ per person
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
1916
In 1916, fossil fuels and industry in Algeria emitted about 0.00064 t of CO₂ per person.
1950
0.4 t.
654× the 1916 level
Reached twice the 1916 level in 1918.
Reached 5 times the 1916 level in 1920.
Reached 10 times the 1916 level in 1926.
Reached 20 times the 1916 level in 1930.
Reached 50 times the 1916 level in 1941.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 78% between 1934 and 1938 (0.02 t → 0.0044 t).
2024
4.2 t, the latest year in this series.
10× the 1950 level
Long-run series: fossil CO₂ emitted within each country’s borders (Global Carbon Budget); early estimates are less certain. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
☕ Chapter 5 · Years of schooling
How long do people go to school?
1870
In 1870, people aged 15–64 in Algeria had spent 0.1 years in school, on average.
1900
0.4 years.
+0.29 years since 1870
1950
0.8 years.
+0.44 years since 1900
2015
7.6 years, the latest year in this series.
+6.7 years since 1950
Passed 2 years in 1975.
Passed 4 years in 1985.
Passed 6 years in 2000.
Long-run series (Lee & Lee, Barro & Lee) for people aged 15–64, every 5 years until 2015: a different age group than today’s figure (25 and older).