City Africa
Oran
Oran is a big port city in Algeria, by the Mediterranean Sea. A mountain stands right next to it.
Oran is a port city on the Mediterranean Sea in northwestern Algeria, and Universalis calls it the country's second city. It sits on a plateau above a wide bay, at the foot of Mount Aïdour. The 2008 census counted 803,329 people in the urban area.
Oran (Arabic Wahrān), Mediterranean port of northwestern Algeria and the second city of the country (Universalis), occupies the plateau above a wide bay at the foot of Mount Aïdour (Murdjajo), 429 m. Its urban agglomeration had 803,329 inhabitants at the census of 14 April 2008 (City Population, from Algeria's statistics office); Universalis says the wider urban agglomeration passed one million at the same census.
Photo: YACINE K, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Oran
Oran is a big city in Algeria, by the sea.
It has a busy port, and a mountain stands right beside it.
Oran is a port city on the Mediterranean Sea, in the northwest of Algeria. Universalis calls it Algeria's second city, and says it acts as a regional capital for the whole west of the country.
The 2008 census counted 803,329 people in Oran's urban area. Larousse gives an estimate of 775,666 for 2010. Universalis counts a larger area around the city and says it passed one million people at the 2008 census.
Universalis: Oran (Arabic Wahrān), second city of Algeria; Mediterranean port of the northwest that serves the whole of western Algeria as its regional capital; urban agglomeration over one million (2008 census). City Population (Office National des Statistiques), urban agglomeration of Oran: 491,901 (1977), 603,578 (1987), 735,166 (1998), 803,329 (14 April 2008). Larousse: 775,666 inhabitants (2010 estimate); chief town of a wilaya (province). The two 2008 figures describe different areas; the panel uses City Population's urban agglomeration.
- Country
- Algeria; a Mediterranean port in the northwest (Universalis)
- People in the urban area (census 2008)
- 803,329
- People in Oran (estimate, 2010)
- 775,666 (Larousse)
- Rank
- Algeria's second city (Universalis)
A mountain, a port and the seafront
This photo was taken from the top of a mountain. Look at all the buildings packed together!
Oran also has a seafront for walks by the sea.
Universalis says Mount Aïdour, also called the Murdjajo, rises to 429 meters on the west side of the city and separates it from the next bay. The photo's description says it was taken from its top: pale buildings packed tightly together in warm, low sunlight, with flat land and a stretch of water far away.
The tram company suggests the seafront for a walk in the sea air, and a public garden for a quiet break. Wikidata places the port about 1.4 kilometers north of Oran's point and the Museum of Modern Art of Oran about 1.8 kilometers west-northwest.
Universalis: the city lies at the back of a wide bay open to the north, bounded on the west by Mount Aïdour (also called Murdjajo), 429 m, which separates it from the bay of Mers el-Kébir. Commons: 'Vue d'ORAN depuis le sommet du Murdjajo, Algérie' (view of Oran from the summit of the Murdjajo), by YACINE K on Flickr, dated 27 January 2015 there. SETRAM (Oran network page): seafront (Gare SNTF stop) and Jardin Public (Mdina El Djadida stop). Wikidata, from Oran's point (Q131818): Oran Port (Q23846115) 1.38 km N; Museum of Modern Art of Oran (Q84794333, 2017) 1.77 km WNW; Aïdour (Q687029, 429.3 m) 2.87 km WNW (Wikidata gives it two points; the other is 4.52 km W). Larousse also lists a municipal museum.
- Mount Aïdour (Murdjajo)
- 429 m, west of the city (Universalis)
- Seafront
- a walk with sea air, near the tram's Gare SNTF stop (SETRAM)
- Museum of Modern Art of Oran
- about 1.8 km west-northwest of Oran's point on Wikidata
A trading port for more than a thousand years
Long, long ago, people from Spain built a trading port here.
Traders carried goods between Oran and Spain.
Universalis says the site was used as a fishing port since ancient times. Larousse says the city was founded by Muslims from al-Andalus, in Spain, about 903, and Universalis says it is thought to have begun in the early 10th century. For centuries it was a trading port between North Africa and Muslim Spain.
Over the following centuries the city passed between Spanish, Ottoman and French rule, and Algeria became independent in 1962. After that, Universalis says, Oran grew into a large industrial center.
Universalis: a site used since Antiquity as a fishing port, the city is said to have been created at the beginning of the 10th century by Andalusians as a trading port, taking the name Wahrān; trade between neighboring Muslim Spain and Tlemcen (capital of the Zayyanid kingdom from the 13th to the mid-16th century) was its main activity. Larousse: founded by Andalusian Muslims (about 903), a center of exchange between the Maghreb and Muslim Spain until the fall of Granada (end of the 15th century). From 1509 the city was held in turn by Spain, the Ottoman regency of Algiers (1708-1732 and from 1792) and France (from 1831); Algeria became independent in 1962 (Universalis, Larousse).
- Founded
- about 903, by Muslims from al-Andalus (Larousse); early 10th century (Universalis)
- Trade
- between the Maghreb and Muslim Spain, until the end of the 15th century (Larousse)
- Independence of Algeria
- 1962 (Universalis)
A tram, a port and an airport
People ride a tram through Oran.
Big ships come to the port, and planes fly from the airport.
Oran's tram has run since 1 May 2013. The tram company says it has 32 stations on 19 kilometers of rails, from Sidi Maarouf to Es Senia, and more than 600 people work for it.
Larousse says the suburb of Es Senia has the airport; on Wikidata it is about 8 kilometers south-southeast of Oran's point. Universalis says oil and gas from the Algerian south are shipped from a large port complex at Arzew-Bethioua, in a nearby bay about 40 kilometers away.
SETRAM (Oran network page): first section of the tram line in service since 1 May 2013, serving Sidi Maarouf, Hai Sabbah and the Plateau Saint Michel to Es Senia; 32 stations, 19 km of track, 600+ employees; timetable termini Senia université and Sidi Maarouf. Larousse: Es Senia, commune and suburb of Oran (96,928 inhabitants, 2008 census), airport. Wikidata: the airport (Q637028) 8.00 km SSE of Oran's point. Universalis: the Arzew-Bethioua port complex, built in a neighboring bay 40 km from the city, makes Oran one of Algeria's two great petrochemical ports (with Skikda), with about half of the country's hydrocarbon exports.
- Tram
- running since 1 May 2013; 32 stations and 19 km of rails (SETRAM)
- Airport
- in Es Senia, a suburb of Oran (Larousse); about 8 km south-southeast of Oran's point (Wikidata)
- Oil and gas port
- Arzew-Bethioua, in a nearby bay about 40 km from the city (Universalis)
Mild winters and dry, hot summers
Winter in Oran is mild, with some rainy days.
Summer is hot and dry, with hardly any rain.
The World Meteorological Organization's averages for Oran, for 1976 to 2005, show January days of about 17 °C and nights of about 5 °C. August is the hottest month, with days of about 32 °C and nights of about 20 °C.
Most rain falls from autumn to spring, about 327 millimeters a year in all. November is the wettest month, with 55.5 millimeters, and July the driest, with 1.8 millimeters.
WMO World Weather Information Service, Oran (Algeria's National Meteorological Office; period 1976-2005 as given in the data; rain days at least 0.1 mm): mean daily maximum 16.6 °C (Jan) to 31.6 °C (Aug); mean daily minimum 5.1 °C (Jan) to 20.1 °C (Aug). Rainfall 1.8 mm (Jul) to 55.5 mm (Nov); sum 326.8 mm; 1.3 (Jul) to 8.8 (Dec) rain days, about 71 a year.
- January, average daily high and low (WMO, Oran, 1976–2005)
- 16.6 °C and 5.1 °C
- August, average daily high and low (same table)
- 31.6 °C and 20.1 °C
- Rain in a year (twelve months added up)
- about 327 mm
Industry, services and sport
Oran is a city of trade and services, with a busy port.
In 2022, Oran hosted a big sports event, the Mediterranean Games!
Larousse says Oran is mainly a city of services, with some industry since 1962. Universalis lists factories around the city for food, textiles, wood and paper, building materials and car assembly, and a large steel works at Bethioua, opened in 2013, which employed nearly 4,000 people in 2022.
In the summer of 2022, Wikidata records, Oran hosted the 19th Mediterranean Games, from 25 June to 6 July.
Larousse: a city run largely on administration and trade (port), still mainly tertiary despite some industrialization since independence, stimulated by the nearby Arzew petrochemical industry. Universalis: refining and gas-liquefaction plants plus nitrogen fertilizer, methanol and synthetic resin units in the industrial zone; a large steel complex at Bethioua since 2013, employing nearly 4,000 people in 2022; two other industrial zones and about twenty activity zones (agri-food, textiles, wood and paper, building materials, car assembly). Wikidata: 2022 Mediterranean Games (Q17492911, the 19th edition), location Oran, 25 June to 6 July 2022.
- Work
- mostly services, with some industry (Larousse)
- Steel works at Bethioua
- since 2013; nearly 4,000 workers in 2022 (Universalis)
- 2022 Mediterranean Games
- held in Oran, 25 June to 6 July 2022 (Wikidata)
Oran on the map
Find Algeria on the globe, in the north of Africa. Oran is on the coast, near the west.
Oran lies at about 35.7° north and 0.6° west, on the Mediterranean coast of northwestern Algeria. Universalis says the city sits on a plateau above a wide bay open to the north, at the foot of Mount Aïdour, and has spread over the years onto the coastal plains to the east.
On Wikidata, a point for Mount Aïdour lies about 2.9 kilometers west-northwest of Oran's point.
Oran lies at about 35.70° N, 0.63° W (Wikidata point of Oran, Q131818; the Natural Earth/sheet point is 1.94 km NNE of it). Universalis: at the back of a wide bay open to the north, bounded on the west by Mount Aïdour (Murdjajo, 429 m); the city occupies the plateau overlooking the bay and has spread toward the coastal plains of the east. Wikidata: Aïdour (Q687029) 2.87 km WNW of the city point (one of its two points; the other 4.52 km W); the airport 8.00 km SSE.
- Latitude
- about 35.7° north
- Longitude
- about 0.6° west
- Setting
- a plateau above a wide bay open to the north (Universalis)
Amazing facts
-
You can see all of Oran from the top of a mountain!
This page's photo, its description says, was taken from the top of Mount Aïdour, which Universalis says rises to 429 meters right beside the city.
Universalis: Mount Aïdour (Murdjajo), 429 m, bounds the city on the west. The hero photo's Commons title (translated): view of Oran from the summit of the Murdjajo.
-
Oran's tram has 32 stops!
Oran's tram, running since 1 May 2013, has 32 stations along 19 kilometers of rails, says the tram company SETRAM.
SETRAM: Oran tram in service since 1 May 2013; 32 stations, 19 km of track, more than 600 employees.
-
In July it hardly ever rains in Oran!
In the WMO averages for 1976 to 2005, July brings only 1.8 millimeters of rain to Oran, while November brings 55.5.
WMO, Oran, 1976–2005: July 1.8 mm on 1.3 rain days; November 55.5 mm on 8.4 rain days.
Words to know
- port
- a place on the coast where ships load and unload
- plateau
- a wide, flat area of high ground
- bay
- a part of the sea that curves into the land
- tram
- an electric train that runs on rails along city streets
- al-Andalus
- the old Arabic name for the Muslim-ruled parts of Spain and Portugal
- census
- an official count of all the people living in a place
Discovery challenge
-
Oran is a city in which country?
Oran is the second city of which North African country?
Universalis calls Oran the second city of which country?
- Algeria
- Brazil
- Japan
Show the answer
Algeria
Algeria!
Algeria.
Algeria.
-
What stands right beside Oran?
What rises to 429 meters on the west side of Oran?
Which feature, also called the Murdjajo, bounds Oran on the west?
- A mountain
- A glacier
- A desert dune
Show the answer
A mountain
A mountain!
A mountain: Mount Aïdour.
Mount Aïdour, 429 m.
-
How do many people ride across Oran?
What started running in Oran on 1 May 2013?
Which transport, with 32 stations on 19 km of track, has served Oran since 2013?
- A tram
- A cable car
- A canal boat
Show the answer
A tram
A tram!
The tram.
The tram, run by SETRAM.
-
When does Oran get the least rain?
In the 1976–2005 averages, which is Oran's driest month?
Which month has the lowest mean rainfall in the WMO 1976–2005 normals for Oran?
- July
- November
- January
Show the answer
July
July, in summer!
July, with 1.8 millimeters.
July, 1.8 mm.
Nearby places
-
Watch
City
Granada
Granada is a city in Andalusia, in southern Spain, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, where two rivers, the Darro and the Genil, meet. Above the city stands the Alhambra palace and fortress. On 1 January 2025, 235,294 people lived in Granada.
-
Watch
Landmark
Alhambra
The Alhambra is a palace and fortress above the city of Granada, in Spain. The Nasrid rulers built most of it between 1238 and 1358. It is famous for its courtyards, fountains, carved plaster and tiles, and the gardens of the Generalife next door.
-
Watch
City
Algiers
Algiers is the capital of Algeria, in North Africa, around a half-moon-shaped bay of the Mediterranean Sea. Its old town, the Kasbah, is a maze of narrow lanes and houses climbing a hill above the port, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 2008 census counted about 2.4 million people in the city.
-
Watch
City
Valencia
Valencia is Spain's third-biggest city, with 841,558 people at the start of 2025. The Romans founded it in 138 BC on a small river island. Farming and trade were long the base of its economy, and its port shipped oranges and rice. A park 7 km long now fills the old bed of the Turia river.
-
Watch
City
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a small territory at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, next to Spain, covering just 6.8 square kilometers around the tall limestone Rock of Gibraltar. Spain ceded it to Great Britain in 1713, and its Statistics Office gives a population of 37,936. Its caves were home to Neanderthals for more than 100,000 years.
-
Watch
City
Fez
Fez is a city in northern Morocco, on the fertile Saïss plain between two mountain ranges. Its old town, the medina, is closed to cars and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981. The 2024 census counted 1,182,963 people in the city.
-
Watch
Landmark
Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba
The Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, in southern Spain, began as a mosque built in 786–788. Rulers made it bigger three times over the next two centuries, and since 1236 it has been the city's cathedral, with a tall cathedral hall built inside it from 1523. Its many rows of columns hold up striped arches, and it is part of a World Heritage Site.
-
Watch
Landmark
Volubilis
Volubilis is the ruin of an ancient town at the foot of the Zerhoun hills in Morocco. People lived here for about a thousand years, and in Roman times it was a town at the edge of the Roman Empire, rich from olive oil. Its arches, streets and houses are still standing.
Explore next
-
Watch
Country
Algeria
Algeria is a country in North Africa and the largest country on the whole continent. More than four-fifths of it is the Sahara Desert, so most of its 47 million people (2025) live in the greener north, along the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Algiers.
-
Watch
City
Algiers
Algiers is the capital of Algeria, in North Africa, around a half-moon-shaped bay of the Mediterranean Sea. Its old town, the Kasbah, is a maze of narrow lanes and houses climbing a hill above the port, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 2008 census counted about 2.4 million people in the city.
-
Watch
City
Casablanca
Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco, on the Atlantic coast of North Africa. Long ago it was called Anfa. Rebuilt around 1780, it grew from about 20,500 people in 1900 into a great port and Morocco's business center, with 3,218,036 people at the 2024 census.
-
Watch
City
Abidjan
Abidjan is the largest city of Côte d'Ivoire, with 5,616,633 people at the 2021 census. Spread around the Ébrié Lagoon, it grew from a colonial port: a canal finished in 1950 opened the lagoon to ships, and its Plateau district is a cluster of office towers, banks and government buildings.
-
Watch
City
Abuja
Abuja is the capital of Nigeria, in the middle of the country. It was planned from the start: in 1976 the government decided to build a new capital on the savanna, and in 1991 it moved there from Lagos. Planners set aside land for parks and green spaces, and the huge Aso Rock rises at the city's edge.
-
Watch
City
Accra
Accra is the capital of Ghana, on the coast of West Africa. It began as a small village of the Ga people beside the Korle Lagoon. Three old forts built by European traders still stand by the sea. More than 5.4 million people lived in the Greater Accra Region at the 2021 census.
-
Watch
City
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital of Ethiopia, high in the hills of East Africa at about 2,355 meters. It was founded in the 1880s, and its name means 'new flower' in Amharic. Electric light-rail trains cross the city, and its National Museum shows a copy of Lucy, a famous fossil 3.2 million years old.
-
Watch
City
Alexandria
Alexandria is Egypt's second-largest city, a port on the Mediterranean Sea west of the Nile delta. Alexander the Great founded it in 331 BC; a fort now stands on the ruins of its ancient lighthouse, and a new library on the site of its ancient one. About 5.36 million people lived there in 2023.
For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Oran on the Mediterranean coast of northwestern Algeria.
- Describe how a mountain and a bay shape where a city grows.
- Explain how a port connects a city with other countries.
- Read a climate table with dry summers and wetter winters.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why do you think traders long ago chose a sheltered bay for a port?
- What changes when a city builds a tram line?
- Why might summer in Oran be so dry while winter is wetter?
Try at home or in class
- Rain chart: draw Oran's monthly rainfall as bars and color the dry summer months.
- Tram line: draw a line with 32 stops and name a few of your own.
- Mountain view: build a hill from a pillow and line up small boxes below it as a city, then draw what you see from the top.
Key vocabulary: port, plateau, bay, tram, al-Andalus, census
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Oran , Encyclopædia Universalis
- Oran , Larousse encyclopédie
- Es-Senia , Larousse encyclopédie
- Algeria: Provinces & Major Cities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Office National des Statistiques
- Tramway d'Oran , SETRAM (Société d'Exploitation des Tramways)
- Oran: climatological information (1976–2005) , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- File:Vue d'Oran depuis le sommet du Murdjajo, Algérie.jpg (YACINE K) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.