Countries

Algeria

Algeria is the largest country in Africa by area, reaching from a Mediterranean coastline deep into the Sahara, which covers most of its land. Its capital, Algiers, faces the sea, and the country became independent from France in 1962.

Prehistoric rock paintings of human figures in red ochre on a sandstone overhang at Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria

Tassili n'Ajjer, in the Sahara

Photo: IssamBarhoumi, CC BY-SA 4.0

Adopted at independence in 1962, after the National Liberation Front flew it during the war. Green is often read as Islam, white as peace, and the red of the crescent and star as sacrifice.

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