and white with a
red five-pointed star within a red crescent; the crescent, star, and
color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state religion)

@Algeria:Economy

Overview: The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the economy,
accounting for roughly 57% of government revenues, 25% of GDP, and
almost all export earnings; Algeria has the fifth largest reserves of
natural gas in the world and ranks fourteenth for oil. Algiers'
efforts to reform one of the most centrally planned economies in the
Arab world began after the 1986 collapse of world oil prices plunged
the country into a severe recession. In 1989, the government launched
a comprehensive, IMF-supported program to achieve macroeconomic
stabilization and to introduce market mechanisms into the economy.
Despite substantial progress toward macroeconomic adjustment, in 1992
the reform drive stalled as Algiers became embroiled in political
turmoil. In September 1993, a new government was formed, and one
priority was the resumption and acceleration of the structural
adjustment process. Buffeted by the slump in world oil prices and
burdened with a heavy foreign debt, Algiers concluded a one-year
standby arrangement with the IMF in April 1994.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $97.1 billion (1994
est.)

National product real growth rate: 0.2% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $3,480 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 30% (1994 est.)

Unemployment rate: 30% (1994 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $14.3 billion
expenditures: $17.9 billion (1995 est.)

Exports: $9.1 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: petroleum and natural gas 97%
partners: Italy 21%, France 16%, US 14%, Germany 13%, Spain 9%

Imports: $9.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: capital goods 39.7%, food and beverages 21.7%, consumer
goods 11.8% (1990)
partners: France 29%, Italy 14%, Spain 9%, US 9%, Germany 7%

External debt: $26 billion (1994)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for 35% of GDP
(including hydrocarbons)

Electricity:
capacity: 5,370,000 kW
production: 18.3 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 587 kWh (1993)

Industries: petroleum, light industries, natural gas, mining,
electrical, petrochemical, food processing

Agriculture: accounts for 12% of GDP (1993) and employs 22% of labor
force; products- wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits,
sheep, cattle; net im