Algeria - Macro-Economic Variables

ALGERIA

Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria), is a country in the Maghreb. In terms of land area, it is the largest country on the Mediterranean Sea, the largest in the Arab world and second-largest on the African continent after Sudan, and the 11th-largest country in the world. It will become the largest African country once the secession of Southern Sudan from Sudan takes place on 9 July 2011.

Algeria is bordered in the northeast by Tunisia, in the east by Libya, in the west by Morocco, in the southwest by Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Mali, in the southeast by Niger, and in the north by the Mediterranean Sea. Its size is almost 2,400,000 square kilometres (926,645 sq mi), and it has an estimated population of 35.7 million (2010). The capital of Algeria is Algiers. Algeria is a member of the Arab League, United Nations, African Union, and OPEC. It is also a founding member of the Arab Maghreb Union.

The fossil fuels energy sector is the backbone of Algeria's economy, accounting for roughly 60% of budget revenues, 30% of GDP, and over 95% of export earnings. The country ranks 14th in petroleum reserves, containing 11.8 billion barrels (1.88×109 m3) of proven oil reserves with estimates suggesting that the actual amount is even more. The U.S. Energy Information Administrationreported that in 2005, Algeria had 160 trillion cubic feet (4.5×1012 m3) of proven natural gas reserves, the eighth largest in the world. Average annual non-hydrocarbon GDP growth averaged 6 percent in 2003–2007, with total GDP growing at an average of 4.5 percent during the same period due to less buoyant oil production in 2006–07. External debt has been virtually eliminated, and the government has accumulated large savings in the oil stabilization fund (FRR). Inflation, the lowest in the region, has remained stable at 4 percent on average for 2003–07.

Algeria's financial and...