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Ethnic groups inAlgeria includeArabs andBerbers, who represent 99% of the population, of which 75–85% are Arab and about 15–25% are Berber. Algeria also has a minority population of Europeans that represents less than 1% of the population.[1] The minority European population is predominantly ofFrench,Spanish, andItalian descent.[2]
The majority of the population of Algeria is ethnicallyArab, constituting between 75%[3][4][5][6] and 80%[7][8][9] to 85%[10][11] of the population.[12] 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 theArab migrations to the Maghreb.[13][14] As a result of the migrations, these Arab tribes have contributed to the Arabization of many indigenous Berber tribes that were native to the region, resulting in their adoption of Islam as a religion, and the replacement of their local languages with the more socially and culturally dominant Arabic.[15] In addition to these two aforementioned processes, the 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 predominantlySunni Muslim although there is also a minority ofShia Muslims along with others, and their language is theAlgerian dialect of Arabic, although there are many regional variations of the dialect.[12]
Throughout the years there has been a growing movement among Algerians to reclaim their Arabic cultural and linguistic identity, which has been suppressed under theFrench colonization of Algeria.[16]
TheBerber minority who make up between 15%[17] and 20%[18][19][20] to 24%[21][22][23] of the population are divided into many groups with varying languages. The largest Berber group in Algeria is theKabyle people, who are concentrated in theKabylia region of the country. The Berbers of Algeria have a long and complex history, dating back to ancient times. They were originally a tribal people, organized into clans and confederations, and they were known for their fierce resistance to foreign invaders. They have interacted withPhoenicians andRomans for centuries. Christianized inLate Antiquity during theChristianization of the Roman Empire, the Berbers became Arabized and Islamized after theMuslim conquest of the Maghreb under theRashidun andUmayyad Caliphate.
From western Egypt to the Canary Islands (a region calledTamazgha by Amazigh), Amazigh languages were first spoken. Estimates ofTamazight speakers in Algeria range widely, from 17% to 45–55% of the population when bi/trilingual speakers are taken into account.[14]
Due to the growth of Arabic as the official language of culture and religion, the rise of French as a prestige language during colonization, and assimilationist laws that forbade the use of this language, Tamazight in Algeria experienced a decline.[14]
Previous Roman-Berber cities gradually began to become Arabo-Berber cities where an Arabo-Islamic culture was involved.Arabization was considered as a low phenomenon, mostly due to cultural and economical exchanges between the new Maghreb and the old Mashreq of theArab world until the 12th century with the immigration of the Bedouin tribeBanu Hilal expanded their cultural influence towards the inland areas. Within the few centuries later, the linguisticalArabization of the Maghreb became much more important and dominant.
Berbers have played an important role in the struggle for Algerian independence, and they continue to be an important political and cultural force in the country while keeping their identity and distinct language, customs, and traditions.[14]
A small percentage of Algerians are of French, Spanish, orItalian heritage.[24] They represent the faction that persisted following Algeria's 1962 declaration of independence from France. While Algeria was ruled by France, these European immigrants had sizable farms and companies.[24] They had greater economic benefits than Algeria's native population, despite being a minority.[24] The majority of Europeans are Christians or Jews, as opposed to most Algerians, who are Muslims.[24]
Algeria was the home of a significantJewish community, most of which fled after Algeria's independence.[25] The number of Jewish people in Algeria is estimated to be only around 200 by 2020.[25] Jewish people have lived in Algeria from the early centuries of the Common Era.[25] Following the expulsion of Jews from Spain in the fourteenth century, a large number of them relocated to Algeria, greatly expanding the Jewish population there.[26] Under the French rule, Jewish people were given French nationalities and their situations were very good until the Algerian independence when around 130,000 Jews fled to France.[26] It is also estimated that around 25,681 Jews left for Israel since 1948.[25]
More than three-fourths of the country is ethnically Arab
Ethnic groups: Arab 75%, Berber 24%, European and Jewish 1%
The population was estimated at 32,277,942 in July 2002, of which 75% were Arabs, 24% Berbers, and 1% others (mostly Europeans).
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.
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.
Ethnically the population is made up of about 80% Arabic and 20% Berber.
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.
Most Algerians, approximately 85 percent of the population, today claim an Arab background.
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.
Ethnically the population is made up of about 80% Arabic and 20% Berber.
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.
The majority of Algerians are Arab, but around 20% are Berbers.
Ethnic groups: Arab 75%, Berber 24%, European and Jewish 1%
The population was estimated at 32,277,942 in July 2002, of which 75% were Arabs, 24% Berbers, and 1% others (mostly Europeans).
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.
