Algeria's low-to medium-size economy is heavily dependent on natural gas and hydrocarbons, which account for about 95 percent of export earnings, 52 percent of budget revenues, and 25 percent of GDP. The industrial sector is the largest contributor to the economy, accounting for 51 percent of GDP and employing 13.6 percent of the labor force. The sector is dominated by oil-related industries. Other light industries can also be found, but their contribution to GDP is modest. The services sector is the second largest economic sector, accounting for 37 percent of GDP and employing 13.5
Communications | |||||||||
Country | Newspapers | Radios | TV Sets a | Cable subscribers a | Mobile Phones a | Fax Machines a | Personal Computers a | Internet Hosts b | Internet Users b |
1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1999 | 1999 | |
Algeria | 38 | 241 | 105 | 0.0 | 1 | 0.2 | 4.2 | 0.01 | 20 |
United States | 215 | 2,146 | 847 | 244.3 | 256 | 78.4 | 458.6 | 1,508.77 | 74,100 |
Nigeria | 24 | 223 | 66 | N/A | 0 | N/A | 5.7 | 0.00 | 100 |
Libya | 14 | 233 | 126 | 0.0 | 3 | N/A | N/A | 0.00 | 7 |
a Data are from International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunication Development Report 1999and are per 1,000 people. | |||||||||
b Data are from the Internet Software Consortium ( http://www.isc.org ) and are per 10,000 people. | |||||||||
SOURCE : World Bank. World Development Indicators 2000. |
percent of the labor force. The agricultural sector contributes 11-12 percent of GDP annually and employs some 22 percent of the labor force. The sector, however, has been vulnerable to adverse weather conditions, and production has fluctuated accordingly.
Two of the greatest obstacles to growth in all of Algeria's economy are inefficiency in the state-controlled public sector and the state's central role in the economy. Recognizing these obstacles, Algeria has targeted certain sectors, mainly state-owned enterprises, for privatization. Years of inefficient state control over the economy have
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