Sétif

Sétif (Arabic: سطيف, Latin: Sitifis) is one of the cities of eastern Algeria.

Geography

It is the capital of Sétif Province and it has a population of 288,461 inhabitants as of the 2008 census. Setif is located to the east of Algiers and is the second most important wilaya after the country's capital. It is 1,096 m (3,596 ft) above sea level, making it the second highest capital of a wilaya in Algeria. The streets are tree-lined with a fountain and theater, giving the town a French feel.

The city is one of the coldest regions in Algeria, located 300 kilometers east of Algiers, 65 km from Bordj Bou Arreridj and 132 km from Constantine in the Hautes Plaines region south of Kabylia, the city is located 1100 meters above sea level, the city is connected by rail as well as the main national highway. It is a university town located approximately 190 miles east of Algiers on the highway to Constantine.

History

Numidia

Sétif (département)

Sétif is a former French département in Algeria which existed between 1957 and 1962.

Considered as a French province, Algeria was departmentalised on 9 December 1848, and thereby was administratively structured in the same way as metropolitan France. Three civil zones (départements) replaced the three beyliks into which the Ottoman former rulers had divided the territory. The easternmost of the three original Algerian departments was called Constantine. For over a century the town of Sétif, was a sub-prefecture in the département of Constantine: this changed in 1957.

On 20 May 1957 the Sétif sub-prefecture was split off and became a separate département, directly to the west of the now diminished département of Constantine. This administrative reorganisation was undertaken in response to the rapid population increase experienced across the territory, especially during the preceding decade.

The new largely mountainous département of Sétif covered an area of 17,405 km²: a population of 1,001,461 was recorded. The department comprised eight sub-prefectures: these were Akbou, Bordj Bou Arréridj, Bougie, Kherrata, Lafayette, M'Sila, Sidi-Aïch and Saint Arnaud.

Sétif Province

Sétif Province (Arabic: ولاية سطيف‎) is a province (wilaya) in north-eastern Algeria. Its capital and largest city is Sétif, the next largest city is El Eulma. There is also the World Heritage Site of Djémila there.

Administrative divisions

The province is divided into 20 districts (daïras), which are further divided into 60 communes or municipalities.

Districts

Communes