Algeria's economy has been affected by its politics, and the country has been a source of migrations and refugees to Europe, as the continent struggles to deal with the influx of people seeking a better life and the challenges of promoting democracy in the region.

On March 21, nine Algerian migrants died when the boat taking them to Italy capsized in the Mediterranean Sea. The tragedy highlights the cost of migration, which is not limited to lives lost. The highly publicized reports of migrant deaths have increasingly shaped a vision of migration as a symptom of a broader social tragedy.