The Concentration of Population in the Capitals of the Developing Countries : In the case of Algiers

Abstract

Among the developing countries, a marked increase in population is noted and many of them register over 3 percent annual increase. The concentrative increase in population of the capital is noted as an universal trend today. The flow of population to the capital is especially high in these countries with the rate of 2 times the annual papulation increase. Since Algeria was proclaimed independent from the Colonial rule of France, the concentration of its population in the capital, Algiers, has continued to date. At the time of independence the capital's its population was 10,620,OOO including 9,550,OOO Algerians and 1,070,OOO Europeans mainly composed of the French. In a period of 5 years before the independence, the population increase rate per year in average was 3% for the Algerians against 1% for the Europeans. Following the independence, the Europeans returned to France and other countries. During a period of 10 years after the independence up to 1971, the annual average in-crease in population was 3.1% without showing a notable change. Capital Algiers is known for its origin in the Arabian style walled town built in the north-western cape of Algiers Bay in the 16th century. During the colonial ages, France built a European style city keeping the Casbah as its nucleus on the environs of the Bay and hills. The city grew as the center of the colonial rule and a business and industrial center besides and important port city connecting with Marceille. In the early stage the European population outnumbered the others (Algerians-70, OOO Europ-eans-190,OOO in 1926) but since 1926 with the infiow of Algerians increased, this ratio was reversed. Then at the time of independence with the evacuation of Europeans, its population was 460.OOO which grew to 1,200,OOO in 1971 showing 6.9 percent increase per year in an average far surpassing the rate of increase compared with other cities. Such concentration of population in the city has caused a number of problems including the following : 1) shortage in housing, 2) increase in unemployment, 3) shortage in water supply, 4) shortage in schools and teachers, and 5) automolile traffic congestion. For these problems the government proposed 2 countermeasureses : (a) one is to check the inflow of population by building industrial towns in the perimeter areas and (b) the other is a proposal for the Area Development Plan. Thus, its object is to effect dispersion of population by making investments in all localities of the country. The causes for the concentration of population in Algiers are two the first was that even after the independence the center of national administration and economy were concentrated in the capital ; and the second was the fact that no agricultural land re formation was adopted and the rural areas had no capacity to sustain their population, The latter fact is evidenced by a large number of natives emigrating to foreign countries to work. In the situation mentioned above to avoid the concentration of population in the capital, the best remedy is to bring the effectuation of the policy mentioned above in item (b).