Provinces

Algeria is currently divided into 48 wilayas (provinces), 553 dairas (counties) and 1,541 baladiyahs (municipalities). The capital and the largest city of each Algerian wilaya, daira, and baladiyah always has the same name as the wilaya, the daira, or the baladiyah it is located in. The same holds for the largest daira of the wilaya or the largest baladiyah of the daira.

According to the Algerian constitution, a wilaya is a territorial collectivity enjoying some economic freedom. The APW, or 'L'Assemblée Populaire Wilayale' (the Popular 'Wilayale' Parliament) is the political entity governing a province. The 'Wali' (Prefect) directs each province. This person is chosen by the Algerian President to handle the APW's decisions.

The APW has also a president, who is elected by the members of the APW.

The administrative divisions have changed several times since independence. When introducing new wilayas, the numbers of old provinces are kept, hence the non-alphabetical order. With their official numbers, currently (since 1983) they are: