Doing business in Algeria

Facts and Statistics
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
Capital: Algiers
Population: 32,531,853 people
Ethnic make-up: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1% note: almost all Algerians are Berber in origin, not Arab; the minority who identify themselves as Berber live mostly in the mountainous region of Kabylie east of Algiers; the Berbers are also Muslim but identify with their Berber rather than Arab cultural heritage; Berbers have long agitated, sometimes violently, for autonomy; the government is unlikely to grant autonomy but has offered to begin sponsoring teaching Berber language in schools
Religion: Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%
Language in Algeria
According to the census of 1966, Arabic is the language of 81% of Algeria's population; in addition to this, non-native speakers learn Arabic at school. In Algeria, as elsewhere, spoken Arabic differs very substantially from written Arabic; Algerian Arabic has a much-simplified vowel system, a substantially changed vocabulary with many new words and many words from Berber, Turkish, and French, and, like all Arabic dialects, has dropped the case endings of the written language.
Algerian Culture and Society
Islam
Islam is practiced by the majority of Algerians and to a certain extent still governs their personal, political, economic and legal lives. Among certain obligations for Muslims are to pray five times a day - at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening. The exact time is listed in the local newspaper each day. Friday is the Muslim holy day. Everything is closed. Many companies also close on Thursday, making the weekend Thursday and Friday.

The Family
The family is the most important unit of the Algerian social system and defines social relations. The individual is always subordinate to the family or group.

Social Etiquette and Customs in Algeria
Meeting & Greeting