Algeria
General presentation
Official name: People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
Type of government: Presidential
Area: 2,381,741 km², 85% of which is desert
Capital: Algiers (4.4 million inhabitants for Greater Algiers)
Main cities: Oran, Constantine, Annaba, Tlemcen, Setif
Official languages: Arabic, Tamazight
National holiday: November 1 (beginning of the war of independence)
Population: 44 million (ONS, January 2020)
Density: 15.88 inhabitants/km²; 56% of the population on 3% of the territory
Population growth: 1.99%
Literacy: 81.4%
Source: Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
Economic situation
Algeria is the fourth largest economy on the African continent, with a GDP of USD 169 billion in 2019 (about USD 4,000 per capita).
Since 2014, the Algerian economy has had to cope with the fall in hydrocarbon prices. In this context, macroeconomic indicators have deteriorated: in 2015, the budget deficit reached 15% of GDP with growth at 3.7%. This situation has highlighted the need to diversify the Algerian economy, whose revenues come mainly from hydrocarbon exports (94.5% of exports). In 2019, the budget deficit reached 9% of GDP, with growth at 0.7%.
Despite this deterioration of its public finances, Algeria has a policy of not resorting to external debt and has preferred, since 2018, to resort to unconventional policies (monetary creation). The Covid-19 pandemic, accompanied by a further decline in hydrocarbon prices since February 2020, has darkened Algeria’s economic outlook. Macroeconomic indicators have been revised in the complementary finance law (LFC) 2020, adopted on June 2 by the Parliament. Based on a barrel of oil at 30 dollars, it forecasts an increase in the budget deficit to 10.5% of GDP (20% according to the IMF), a widening of the trade balance to 18.8 billion dollars and negative growth at 2.63% (-5.2% according to the IMF).
Updated: 09.07.21
Bilateral Relations
Bilateral investment treaties
Work in process
Double taxation agreements
Work in process
Free trade agreements
Work in process
Leading sector for Swiss companies
Work in process
Indicators
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 E | 2019 E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (in billions of USD) | 160.13 | 167.56 | 188.34 | 200.17 |
| GDP per capita (USD) | 3.928 | 4.034 | 4.450 | 4.646 |
| Growth rate | 3.2% | 1.4% | 2.5% | 2.7% |
| Unemployment rate | 10.5% | 11.7% | ||
| Inflation rate | 6.4% | 5.6% | 6.5% | 6.7% |
| Public debt (% of GDP) | 20.4% | 27.5% | 32.9 | 38.8 |
| Budget balance (% of GDP) | -26.47% | -22.10% | -16.92% | -15.87% |
| Current account balance (% of GDP) | -16.5% | -13,2% | -9% | -7.9% |
(Sources FMI, Banque Mondiale)
Main customers
2018: Italia14.9%,Spain 12.3%, France 11.2%, USA 9.4%, United Kingdom (6.7%) Turkey 5.6%, Netherlands 5.5%
Main suppliers
2018 : China 17%, France 10.4%, Italia 7.9%, Spain 7.6%, Germany 6.9%, Turkey 5.%, Argentina 4.1% , USA 3.5%
(Sources douanes algériennes)
Swiss exports to
Work in process
Exports of …. to Switzerland
Work in process
Swiss direct investment in
Work in process
The business climate
Work in process