Touggourt (;
Berber: , lit.
the gateway or
the gate) is a city and
commune, former sultanate and capital of
Touggourt District, in
Ouargla Province,
Algeria, built next to an
oasis in the
Sahara. As of the 2008 census, the commune had a population of 39,409 people, up from 32,940 in 1998, and an annual growth rate of 1.8%. However, Touggourt's urban area includes the communes of
Nezla,
Tebesbest and
Zaouia El Abidia, for a total population of 146,108.