Ethnic groups in Algeria

Ethnic groups of Algeria
Ethnic groups percent
Arabs
 
 85%
Berbers
 
 15%

Ethnic groups in Algeria include Arabs and Berbers, who represent 99% of the population, of which 75–85% are Arab and 15–25% are Berber. Algeria also has a small European minority, representing less than 1% of the population.[1] The minority European population is predominantly of French, Spanish, and Italian descent.[2]

Arabs

Main articles: Arabs and Arab migrations to the Maghreb

The majority of the population of Algeria is ethnically Arab, constituting between 75%[3][4][5][6] and 85%[7][8][9][10][11] of the total.[1] The Arabs of Algeria are primarily descended from the Arabian conquerors and migrants who arrived in the region between the 7th and 17th centuries during the Arab migrations to the Maghreb.[12][13] These migrations and conquests resulted in the Arabization of many of the Berber tribes native to the region; they adopted Islam and their languages were supplanted by Arabic.[14] Intermingling between Arabs and Berbers has also contributed to the formation of the Algerian Arab identity.

The Arab population of Algeria is concentrated mainly in the northern and coastal regions of the country, where they make up a majority of the population. They are predominantly Sunni Muslim, with a Shia Muslim minority. Their language is the Algerian dialect of Arabic, which is subject to regional variation.[1]

Arabic cultural and linguistic identity, was suppressed during the French colonization of Algeria, and the years since independence have seen a movement to reclaim and reassert it.[15]

Berbers

Main article: Berbers

The Berber minority makes up between 15%[16] and 24%[7][8][17][4][5][6] of the population. Berbers are divided into many subgroups with a variety of languages. The largest Berber group in Algeria is the Kabyle people, who are concentrated in the Kabylia region. Resident in what is now Algeria for thousands of years, Berbers were originally a tribal people, organized into clans and confederations, and were known for their fierce resistance to foreign invaders. Christianized in Late Antiquity during the Christianization of the Roman Empire, Berbers became Arabized and Islamized after the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb under the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphate.

Estimates of the number of Tamazight (Berber or Amazigh languages) in Algeria range widely, from 17% to 45–55% of the population when bi/trilingual speakers are taken into account.[13]

Due to the growth of Arabic as the predominant language of culture and religion, the imposition of French during colonization, and assimilationist laws that forbade its usage, Tamazight in Algeria experienced a decline.[13]

Other ethnic groups

Europeans

Main article: Pied-Noir

A small percentage of Algerians are of French, Spanish, or Italian heritage.[18] Under French rule, Europeans owned sizable farms and companies.[18] They enjoyed significant economic privilege relative to Algeria's native population, despite being a minority.[18] The majority of Europeans are Christians or Jews, while most of the population overall is Muslim.[18]

Jewish

Further information: History of the Jews in Algeria

Algeria was the home of a significant Jewish community, most of which fled after Algeria's independence.[19] The number of Jewish people in Algeria is estimated to be only around 200 by 2020.[19] Jewish people have lived in Algeria from the early centuries of the Common Era.[19] Following the expulsion of Jews from Spain in the fourteenth century, a large number relocated to Algeria, greatly expanding the Jewish population there.[20] Under French rule, Jewish people were given French nationality. After Algerian independence, around 130,000 Jews left for France.[20] It is also estimated that around 25,681 Jews moved from Algeria to Israel since the latter's founding in 1948.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Central Intelligence Agency (2 June 2020). The CIA World Factbook 2020-2021. Skyhorse. p. 158. ISBN 978-1-5107-5826-1.
  2. ^ UNESCO (2009). "Diversité et interculturalité en Algérie" (PDF). UNESCO. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2013.
  3. ^ "Algeria – Drainage". Britannica. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-25. More than three-fourths of the country is ethnically Arab
  4. ^ a b DK (2016-08-01). Reference World Atlas: Everything You Need to Know About Our Planet Today. Dorling Kindersley Limited. p. 201. ISBN 978-0-241-28679-1. Ethnic groups: Arab 75%, Berber 24%, European and Jewish 1%
  5. ^ a b Seddon, David (2013-01-11). A Political and Economic Dictionary of the Middle East. Routledge. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-135-35561-6. The population was estimated at 32,277,942 in July 2002, of which 75% were Arabs, 24% Berbers, and 1% others (mostly Europeans).
  6. ^ a b DK (2005-01-27). FT World Desk Reference 2005. Dorling Kindersley Limited. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-4053-6726-4. Arab 75%, Berber 24%, European and Jewish 1%. The population is predominantly Arab, under 30 years of age and urban; some 24% are Berber. More than 85% speak Arabic and 99% are Sunni Muslim.
  7. ^ a b "Algeria - History Background". education.stateuniversity.com. Retrieved 2024-08-18. The combined Arab-Berber people comprise more than 99 percent of the population (Arabs approximately 80 percent; Berbers 20 percent), with Europeans less than one percent.
  8. ^ a b Laaredj-Campbell, Anne (2015-12-10). Changing Female Literacy Practices in Algeria: Empirical Study on Cultural Construction of Gender and Empowerment. Springer. ISBN 978-3-658-11633-0. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2023. Ethnically the population is made up of about 80% Arabic and 20% Berber.
  9. ^ Bouherar, Salim; Ghafsi, Abderrezzaq (2022-01-03). Algerian Languages in Education: Conflicts and Reconciliation. Springer Nature. ISBN 978-3-030-89324-8. In Algeria, on the other hand, Berberists supported by France ask to expand the use of Tamazight even on Arabs who represent 80% of Algerian population.
  10. ^ Naylor, Phillip C. (2015-05-07). Historical Dictionary of Algeria. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-8108-7919-5. Most Algerians, approximately 85 percent of the population, today claim an Arab background.
  11. ^ "Algeria Ethnic Groups". study.com. Retrieved 2024-08-18. Partly due to the strong association between Islam and Arab identity, there is a fair amount of social pressure in Algeria to identify with Arab ancestry. In fact, roughly 85% of the nation identifies much more strongly with their Arab heritage than their Berber heritage.
  12. ^ Morrow, James (2014-10-21). Algeria. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-63355-981-3.
  13. ^ a b c "Algeria - World Directory of Minorities & Indigenous Peoples". Minority Rights Group. 2015-06-19. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  14. ^ Abu-Haidar, F. (2000). Arabisation in Algeria. International Journal of Francophone Studies, 3(3).
  15. ^ Mehri, Abdelhamid (1972-01-01). "La langue arabe reprend sa place". Le Monde diplomatique (in French). Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  16. ^ "Algeria". The World Factbook (2013 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  17. ^ Tschudin, Alain; Moffat, Craig; Buchanan-Clarke, Stephen; Russell, Susan; Coutts, Lloyd (2019-06-18). Extremisms in Africa Volume 2. Jonathan Ball Publishers. ISBN 978-0-6399928-3-9. The majority of Algerians are Arab, but around 20% are Berbers.
  18. ^ a b c d "Ethnic Groups In Algeria". WorldAtlas. 2019-07-18. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  19. ^ a b c d "Jews of Algeria". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  20. ^ a b Congress, World Jewish. "World Jewish Congress". World Jewish Congress. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
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