Algeria is a country located in Northern Africa along the Mediterranean coast. It is geographically the largest country in North Africa and has a population of approximately 42 million. Until the 1980s, Algeria enjoyed relative wealth after gaining independence from France in 1962 as its economy was buoyed by the booming price of oil. Poverty in Algeria became an acute problem following the collapse of its economic growth around the mid eighties. Since the 1980s, a fall in oil prices in international markets resulted in Algeria experiencing an economic downturn, contributing to rising unemployment and poverty. A lack of democracy, political conflict and government spending have also caused poverty.