EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3.51 Since the end of the so-called “dark decade” of the 1990s, poverty in Algeria has been on a downward trend. According to the Sixth National Human Development Report of 2006, presented by the CNES on 15 February 2007, the human poverty index went from 25.23 per cent in 1995 to 16.6 per cent in 2005, representing an average annual decline of 4 per cent. Decreased poverty was also recorded in the decline of malnutrition, the number of underweight children falling by 12.3 per cent annually and, to a lesser extent, in the 6.2 per cent drop in mortality among the under 40-year-olds, and a decrease in illiteracy. 3.52 In Algeria, poverty is largely a rural phenomenon. Pockets of poverty can still be found in the cities, however, which affect the displaced and vulnerable persons such as widows, orphans and victims of earthquakes. 3.53 Regional disparities are levelling off even more following new programmes that specifically target the disadvantaged regions. In this way, less-developed wilayas in the south have benefited from particular programmes funded from a 2 and 3 per cent levy on oil tax revenue. Development of the rural areas, which is aimed at progressively ending socio-economic inequalities, is being helped by the boom in agriculture, a sector that has been able to consolidate its contribution over the past few years thanks to reforms. The Policy of Rural Development launched in 2006 and the National Sustainable Development Strategy launched in 2005 will be the ideal framework for supporting intervention in the rural areas to allow full participation in reinforcing social cohesion and in strengthening the balanced development of the territories. 3.54 The land situation in Algeria is complex and needs to be clarified if the Policy of Rural Development is to succeed. Currently, there is an array of diverse legislation governing state land and an absence of legislation on private land. 3.55 In the 1990s, health structures were mostly located in the larger cities and public access to health care, particularly in rural areas, was relatively limited. After independence, the government‟s health policy was aimed specifically at improving the access of citizens to health care through the introduction of free medical care in 1974, on the one hand, and the provision of more health facilities countrywide, especially in rural areas, on the other hand. 3.56 Algeria has made spectacular progress in education in terms of numbers, infrastructure and services since independence in 1962. Education is free for all Algerian children and is compulsory from the ages of 6 to 16. The country has 60 universities in 41 wilayas. By the end of the decade, Algeria expects to have 1.4 million university students. The objective of the government is to guarantee quality education, build up the skills of graduates, improve general performance in the educational system, and adapt envisaged training to economic and social development needs. 3.57 The principle of equality between the sexes is entrenched in the Constitution. This equality also applies in the civil, penal, administrative and commercial domains. In both civil and criminal law, there is no discrimination between 18