Economy of Algeria

The economy of Algeria has undergone sufficient changes over the past few decades as a result of calculative economic reforms which paved way for rapid phase of economic growth. Algeria entered the twentieth century as a French colony heavily dependent on agriculture. An analysis of the historical facts indicate that after the French conquest of Algeria in the year 1830, the French rulers developed big agricultural lands, built factories and established large business houses. Till the achievement of Algeria's independence in the year 1962, majority of the country's economic activities were controlled by the French rulers, who by that time developed a strong economic trade ties with many of the European countries and the neighboring nations of Africa. But after the gained country gained freedom from the French rulers, Algeria's economy was revived and efforts were made to develop centrally planned schemes, while at the same time making efforts to privatize the economy thereby attracting foreign investment. However, the past statistics indicate that the country's foreign debt rose to US$30 billion in the year 1999. Thus, in order to do away with this prevalent economic crisis, the government of Algeria launched a series of economic reform measures. The espousal of the economic reforms program accelerated growth and was successful in bringing about economic growth.

Agriculture and Natural Resources of Algeria---

The subsequent rise in the demand for food grains has virtually stimulated the need for agricultural productivity. The increased intake of producer goods has also added to the agricultural prices and boosted the productivity. Over the past few decades there has been spectacular growth rate of agriculturally produced goods, in fact to meet these growing demands the number of tractors has been doubled along with the use of fertilizers. Some of the major agricultural products of Algeria are--- wheat, barley, oats and fruits such as grapes, olives and citrus. Nearly, 3.17% of the land is cultivable. Algeria's economy is actually dominated by the hydrocarbon sector, which leads up to 23 percent of GDP and also serves as largest source of revenue for the country. Algeria's oil, which is a special type of a light variety oil product with low sulfur content, that has a good demand in international markets, was the vital natural resource on which the Algerian government depended heavily to sustain its economic growth. Other minerals which are widely found in Algeria are --- petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead and zinc.

Trade and Business in Algeria---

Algeria's high dependence on hydrocarbons accounts for nearly 95 percent of its export revenues. Another distinguishing feature of Algeria's foreign trade has been its historical ties with France with has to a great extended boosted its economy. The economic conditions in Algeria have drastically improved over the last few years as a result of good business development.

Thus, a comprehensive analysis of the economy of Algeria helps us to gauge the prevalent economic climate of the country.

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