Algeria ponders marriage crisis

By Mohamed Areski Himeur
BBC, Algiers

Authorities in Algeria are worried about the declining number of the country's population interested in marriage.

Official statistics show that a huge number of young Algerians are staying single.

The capital city, Algiers, has the highest number of single men and women with a total of about 800,000 in a population of 2.8 million.

Other large cities like Setif in the East and Oran in the west have nearly half a million unmarried people.

'Ocean of singles'

The results of a survey commissioned last year by the government show that a half of all Algerians over the age of 15 are single.

According to the survey, Algerians tend to wait a bit longer than in other countries before getting married.

On average, Algerian men marry at 33, and women at 30.

So why is it that so many people are finding it difficult to get married, in a country where marriage and family are the traditional pillars of the society?

The study cites two reasons: a chronic shortage of accommodation and a massive unemployment rate.

The jobless now account for 30% of the population.

Thousands of workers have been laid off in the process of transition from socialism to market economy.

Escape

The crisis is so bad that a majority of young Algerians have only one thing in mind - to escape from their country by any means, even if it means risking their lives with illegal networks.

Malik, a 29-year-old unemployed man, says that there is no more hope in Algeria.

"A young Algerian who stays here will never be able to build a family. Because he will not be able to get a flat and a job," says Malik, who lives in a two-bedroom flat with 12 other members of his family.

With accommodation prices constantly rising, up to $393,714 in Algiers for a two-bedroom flat, low-income workers simply cannot afford a decent home.

Hurdle

The housing crisis combined with unemployment is likely to lead to an increase in the number of unmarried people in the years to come.

Another hurdle encountered by people who want to tie the knot is the cost of weddings.

To overcome the problem, some Islamic charities have been organising collective weddings, allowing dozens of couples to be married the same day, at the same place, in a common ceremony.

One of those charities has also been campaigning for years for the creation of a special fund to assist young couples in financing their weddings.

According to this charity, 9 million Algerian women are not married, and three million of these are over 30.