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  Algeria /
Economy
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Key figures
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GDP: US$235.5 billion
GDP/capita: US$7,000 (World rank: 124)
GDP/sector: Agriculture 17%, Industry 33%, Services 50% (2000 estimate)
Annual growth in GDP: 3.4%
Foreign debts: US$20.5 billion
Foreign debts/GDP: 37%
Foreign debts/capita: US$620
Trade balance: +30%
Export products: Petroleum, natural gas and petroleum products 97%.
Annual inflation rate: 1.1%
Official unemployment: 34%
Population below poverty line: 23% (1999 estimate)
All figures are 2002 estimates.
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International rankings
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Corruption: 92 of 180 countries
Investment friendly: 132 of 181 countries
Economic freedom: 107 of 179
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Value of Currency
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1997:
US$1=57,000 Dinars
1998:
US$1=58,000 Dinars
1999:
US$1=66,000 Dinars
2000:
US$1=75,000 Dinars
2001:
US$1=77,000 Dinars
2002:
US$1=78,000 Dinars
May 2003:
US$1=79.43 Dinars
Sep. 2008:
US$1=60 Dinars
Apr. 2009:
US$1=73 Dinars
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Algeria's economy is to a major degree determined by the present political situation. Before the civil strife began around 1992, Algeria had a fairly diversified economy, and the frames of this have probably survived the clashes that still take place.
Most important to Algeria's economy are oil and agriculture. But large parts of the revenues from oil do not reach the average Algerian, thanks to corruption and badly planned projects.
Agriculture has suffered from the same politics, and has been little advanced since the colonial period. Inefficiency and low production have made Algeria change from being a net exporter to being a net importer of food.
Other industries focus on the domestic market as well as on the export of semi-refined goods to Europe. This industry has suffered heavily from the political instability in the recent years.
Living standards among Algerians have dropped dramatically during the last 10-15 years, but this is more a cause of today's political situation than the result of it. Algeria has had a considerable middle class and upper class, but a growing portion of the population has lost the benefits of the society.
The welfare system, once working well in Algeria, has gradually weakened to such a level that in many areas only the voluntary Islamists have anything to offer the sick, the poor and the unemployed. Slums, real slums, so rare in the Muslim world, have become a real problem in many of the country's larger cities.
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By: Tore Kjeilen
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