ALGERIA AT A GLANCE.docVIP

ALGERIA AT A GLANCE 　　【Abstract】Algeria has always been known for the fertility of its soil. The agriculture sector contributed to around 8.3% to the GDP and employs around 13.4% of the labor force. An area of more than 30，000 sq km is used to produce cereal grains. A large variety of vegetables and fruits especially citrus fruits， are exported. Algeria also exports figs， dates， esparto grass， and cork. Algeria is the largest oat market in Africa. While there has been progress towards gender equality， such as a 30% quota for women’s participation in political parties； Algeria is still lagging behind other middle income countries in terms of women’s economic and political empowerment. Algeria’s United Nations Human Development Index （HDI） continues to improve and its HDI places it above the regional average. 　　【Key words】Algeria；Challenges；Export；FDI；The World bank 　　0.Introduction 　　The Algerian government continues to face challenges of unemployment which is as high as 10%，corruption，bureaucratic resistance and poor standards in public service. 　　In a global ranking， Algeria occupies 7th place for natural gas reserves and 16th for oil①. In terms of global output it already features 6th and 13th， respectively. The government has announced plans to boost oil production from 1.3 million barrels per day now to 2 million bpd in 2010 and to increase gas production to 85 billion cubic meters per year. However， this could further reinforce the already dominant position of the energy sector in the Algerian economy. In 2007， the energy sector accounted for 97% of Algeria’s goods exports， 81% of fiscal revenues and 46% of total economic output. Since this blessing may rapidly turn into a curse if energy prices plummet， one of the government’s main objectives at present is to foster diversification of the economy. High hopes are being pinned on the transport， tourism， construction and IT sectors. 　　1.Algeria economy-overview 　　In recent year that saw many countries