Africa Economy

Low oil prices have forced the Algerian government to encourage diversification outside of its traditional revenue-generators of oil and gas, which in turn has helped facilitate an increase in geographic diversification as well. Regions outside of the traditional economic centres of Algiers, the capital city, and Oran, the main port for...

The largest economy in the Maghreb, Algeria is also the region’s wealthiest country in terms of purchasing power parity-adjusted per capita. Hydrocarbons are the mainstay of economic activity; however, amid slowing production and exports, as well as the sharp drop in oil prices since mid-2014, the government is taking a range of measures to...

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.

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...

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...

LANGUAGE: Modern Standard Arabic is used in schools, government offices and the media. In practice, Darja, the local Algerian dialect of Arabic, is more commonly used and varies from one region to another. French is very commonly used in business, though this is less true outside of Algeria’s main...