Ouled Khoudir

Ouled Khoudir (Arabic: أوﻻد ﺧﺪﻳﺮ) is a town and commune in Ouled Khoudir District, Béchar Province, in western Algeria. According to the 2008 census its population is 4,251,^[1] up from 3,893 in 1998,^[2] with an annual growth rate of 0.9%.^[1] The commune covers an area of 1,920 square kilometres (740 sq mi).^[3]

Ouled Khoudir أوﻻد ﺧﺪﻳﺮ
Commune and town
Location of Ouled Khoudir commune within Béchar Province
Ouled Khoudir Location of Ouled Khoudir within Algeria
Coordinates: 29°14′56″N 1°4′20″W
Country	Algeria
Province	Béchar Province
Area [1]
• Total	1,920 km2 (740 sq mi)
Elevation	380 m (1,250 ft)
Population  (2008)[1]
• Total	4,251
• Density	2.2/km2 (5.7/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)

Geography

Ouled Khoudir lies at 380 metres (1,250 ft) in the Saoura valley the on banks of Oued Saoura, a wadi that separates the Grand Erg Occidental, a large area of sand dunes in the Sahara desert to the east, from the rocky hills of the Ougarta Range to the west.

Climate

Ouled Khoudir has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh), with extremely hot summers and cool winters, and very little precipitation throughout the year.

Climate data for Ouled Khoudir
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	19.4 (66.9)	22.4 (72.3)	26.8 (80.2)	31.8 (89.2)	36.0 (96.8)	41.9 (107.4)	45.3 (113.5)	43.8 (110.8)	39.3 (102.7)	31.8 (89.2)	24.7 (76.5)	18.6 (65.5)	31.8 (89.3)
Daily mean °C (°F)	11.8 (53.2)	14.6 (58.3)	18.7 (65.7)	23.5 (74.3)	27.7 (81.9)	33.3 (91.9)	36.6 (97.9)	35.4 (95.7)	31.5 (88.7)	24.4 (75.9)	17.8 (64.0)	12.2 (54.0)	24.0 (75.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	4.2 (39.6)	6.8 (44.2)	10.7 (51.3)	15.3 (59.5)	19.5 (67.1)	24.8 (76.6)	28.0 (82.4)	27.1 (80.8)	23.7 (74.7)	17.1 (62.8)	10.9 (51.6)	5.8 (42.4)	16.2 (61.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	3 (0.1)	4 (0.2)	6 (0.2)	2 (0.1)	1 (0.0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	1 (0.0)	2 (0.1)	4 (0.2)	5 (0.2)	4 (0.2)	32 (1.3)
Source: climate-data.org[4]

Economy

Agriculture is the main industry in Ouled Khoudir. The commune has a total of 1,635 hectares (4,040 acres) of arable land, of which 394 hectares (970 acres) is irrigated.^[5] There are a total of 130,700 date palms planted in the commune.^[6] As of 2009 there were 1,935 sheep, 843 goats, 198 camels, and 12 cattle. There were also 1800 chickens in 1 building.^[7]

Transportation

Ouled Khoudir is located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the N6 highway, on a local road that leads northeast to the town. The town of Timoudi is 11 kilometres (7 mi) northwest of Ouled Khoudir.^[8] Ouled Khoudir is 385 kilometres (239 mi) from the provincial capital, Béchar.^[8]

Infrastructure and housing

95% of Ouled Khoudir's population is connected to drinking water,^[9] 95% is connected to the sewerage system,^[10] and 99% (including 1,071 buildings) have access to electricity.^[11] There are no fuel service stations in the town; the nearest is in Kerzaz.^[12]

Ouled Khoudir has a total of 991 houses, of which 493 are occupied, giving an occupation rate of 8.6 inhabitants per occupied building, the second highest in the province after the neighbouring town of Timoudi.^[13]

There is a total length of 29.2 kilometres (18.1 mi) of roads in the commune.^[14]

Education

There are 3 elementary schools, with 30 classrooms including 24 in use.^[15] There are a total of 964 school students.^[16]

4.8% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 16.2% has competed secondary education.^[17] The overall literacy rate is 74.0%, and is 85.4% among males and 62.9% among females.^[18]

Health

Ouled Khoudir has one polyclinic, 5 room care facilities, and a maternity ward. The nearest hospital is in Béni Abbès.^[19]

Religion

Ouled Khoudir has 5 operational mosques, with another 1 under construction.^[20]

Localities

The commune is composed of five localities:^[21]

• Ouled Khodir
• Ouled Rafaa
• El Ksar
• El Khabaïb
• Meslila

References

• Algeria portal

1. "Population: Béchar Wilaya" (PDF) (in French). Office National des Statistiques Algérie. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
2. "Algeria Communes". Statoids. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
3. "Population, Area and Density per Commune" (in French). Official Website of the Wilaya of Bechar. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
4. "Climate data for: Ouled Khoudir". climate-data.org. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
5. "Distribution of Agricultural Land" (in French). Official Website of the Wilaya of Bechar. Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
6. "Plant Productions" (in French). Official Website of the Wilaya of Bechar. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
7. "Animal Production" (in French). Official Website of the Wilaya of Bechar. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
8. "Presentation" (in French). Site Officiel de la Wilaya de Béchar. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
9. "Drinking Water" (in French). Official Website of the Wilaya of Bechar. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
10. "Sewerage Networks" (in French). Official Website of the Wilaya of Bechar. Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
11. "Electrification" (in French). Official Website of the Wilaya of Bechar. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
12. "Fuel Distribution" (in French). Official Website of the Wilaya of Bechar. Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
13. "Housing" (in French). Official Website of the Wilaya of Bechar. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
14. "Density Kilometres" (in French). Official Website of the Wilaya of Bechar. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
15. "School Infrastructure" (in French). Official Website of the Wilaya of Bechar. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
16. "Number of Pupils" (in French). Official Website of the Wilaya of Bechar. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
17. "Structure relative de la population résidente des ménages ordinaires et collectifs âgée de 6 ans et plus selon le niveau d'instruction et la commune de résidence" (PDF) (in French). Office National des Statistiques Algérie. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
18. "Taux d'analphabétisme et taux d'alphabétisation de la population âgée de 15 ans et plus, selon le sexe et la commune de résidence " (PDF) (in French). Office National des Statistiques Algérie. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
19. "Health Facilities by Commune" (in French). Official Website of the Wilaya of Bechar. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
20. "Mosques and Koranic Rooms" (in French). Official Website of the Wilaya of Bechar. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
21. "Décret n° 84-365, fixant la composition, la consistance et les limites territoriale des communes. Wilaya d'El Oued" (PDF) (in French). Journal officiel de la République Algérienne. 19 December 1984. p. 1490. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 July 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2013.

Neighbouring towns and cities