People's Democratic Republic of Algeria

State · 1963–2026 CE · at its largest around 1976 CE

Independent Algeria emerged from a brutal war against France that killed hundreds of thousands and inspired anti-colonial movements worldwide. Oil and gas wealth, raï music, a Berber cultural revival and the trauma of the 1990s civil war shape it today.

On its lands while it lasted

Habib Bourguiba (1903 CE – 2000 CE): Tunisian nationalist leader who led the country to independence from France in 1956 and was its first president until 1987.
Algerian Civil War (1991–2002 CE): After the army cancelled elections that an Islamist party was poised to win, conflict between the government and Islamist armed groups killed tens of thousands of people.
Arab Spring (2010–2012 CE): A wave of protests and uprisings that spread from Tunisia across the Arab world, toppling rulers in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen and leading to civil wars in Syria and Libya.
Tunisian Revolution (2010–2011 CE): Protests sparked by the self-immolation of street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi in Sidi Bouzid forced President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country.