Country Profile
From The Report: Algeria 2016
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Algeria is Africa’s largest country. Its population – which is currently just under 40m – is rising at an annual rate of 1.9%. Like many other countries in North Africa, the population is young, with two-thirds under the age of 30. Hydrocarbons have long been the economy’s primary driver. The country is the world’s sixth-largest gas exporter, and has the 10th-largest natural gas reserves. However, as a result of the recent drop in hydrocarbons prices, GDP growth softened to 3.9% in 2015, while the fiscal deficit doubled in the same year. The government made moves to trim spending in 2016, but ring-fenced a number of capital projects to ensure productive investments continue. Algeria has maintained an impressive degree of stability, with the government focusing on helping to stave off further unrest in the region and working to strengthen the country’s baseline economic indicators. This chapter contains interviews with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika; Greg Hands, UK Minister of State for International Trade; and Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Desert rose: The Saharan country is continuing to plough its own furrow
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Amid the constant change that has recently characterised North Africa, Algeria has charted a path of relative stability. This is largely due to vast oil and gas resources that have made it Africa’s fourth-largest economy. Hydrocarbons represent 31% of GDP and more than 60% of government revenue. They have also made Algeria a top exporter of energy to the US, Europe and a rising number of developing countries. Geography & Climate Algeria is Africa’s largest country. It borders the Mediterranean…

Interview

The virtues of good sense: President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, on the country’s near- to medium-term economic focus
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Interview:President Abdelaziz Bouteflika In recent years, what has been the government’s philosophy regarding economic development? ABDELAZIZ BOUTEFLIKA: Building an emerging market economy is a key policy area that I have pushed for and that Algerians have supported. In the early 2000s Algeria focused on developmental delays caused by a decade of terrorism. This challenge was met with great success, and my country has made significant progress on all indicators of human development, as…

Overview

A stable platform: The country has remained on track despite regional turbulence
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Algeria occupies a unique place in North Africa and in the last 15 years has exhibited remarkable continuity in an ever-changing and sometimes volatile region. Over the past four years, the Maghreb region – which encompasses Mauritania, Morocco and Western Sahara, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya – has undergone significant changes, ranging from modest constitutional amendments in Morocco to revolution in Tunisia and civil war in Libya. Throughout all of this, however, Algeria has maintained an impressive…

Analysis

Regional ties: The country is pushing for closer regional cooperation
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For decades, Algeria has been decidedly non-interventionist, a stance that has helped it develop relationships with countries around the world, from Cuba to Angola to China. From the 1960s until the mid-1980s, its foreign policy was founded on the principles of national sovereignty and freedom from external influence. As a result, Algeria became a proponent of increased cooperation between countries in the global South and a vocal member of the Non-Aligned Movement in the 1960s, supporting…

Interview

Encouraging investment: Greg Hands, UK Minister of State for International Trade, on expanding trade links and new opportunities
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Interview:Greg Hands Which sectors and industries have strong potential for increasing bilateral investment? GREG HANDS: Whenever we look at opportunities in Algeria, there are possibilities across the board. Hydrocarbons is obviously an area where UK companies will always want to get involved. There are two trade missions from the UK coming to Algeria each year focused solely on oil and gas, and when you think of the wealth of UK expertise in the sector and the size of the sector in Algeria,…

Interview

A resilient future: Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank (AfDB), on the need for diversification
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Interview:Akinwumi Adesina How can the vulnerability of African markets to global shocks be reduced? AKINWUMI ADESINA: Several commodity exporters in Africa, including South Africa, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and oil exporters such as Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of Congo have been severely hit by the dip in commodity prices and the slowdown in China’s economy. These events have led to significant revenue shortfalls in these…