Algeria, officially the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa.  It is bounded to the east by Tunisia and Libya; to the south by Niger, Mali, and Mauritania; to the west by Morocco and Western Sahara; and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. It largest land area country in Africa and the 10th largest in the world, that may be divided into two distinct geographic regions. The northernmost, generally known as the Tell, is subject to the moderating influences of the Mediterranean and consists largely of the Atlas Mountains, which separate the coastal plains from the second region in the south. This southern region, almost entirely desert, forms the majority of the country’s territory and is situated in the western portion of the Sahara, which stretches across North Africa.

The capital is Algiers, a crowded bustling seaside metropolis whose historic core, or medina, is ringed by tall skyscrapers and apartment blocks. Algeria’s second city is Oran, a port on the Mediterranean Sea near the border with Morocco. Less hectic than Algiers, Oran has emerged as an important center of music, art, and education.

More than three-fourths of the country is ethnically Arab, though most Algerians are descendants of ancient Amazigh groups who mixed with various invading peoples from the Arab Middle East, southern Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa.  In 1990, Arabic became the official national language of Algeria.  Most Algerians, both Arab and Amazigh, are Sunni Muslims of the Mālikī rite. A source of unity and cultural identity, Islam provides valuable links with the wider Islamic world as well.

Source: Algeria – Languages | Britannica