ver), OAU, OIC, OPEC, OSCE
(partner), UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU,
WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Osmane BENCHERIF
chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald E. NEUMANN
embassy: 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers
mailing address: B. P. Box 549, Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers
telephone: [213] (2) 69-11-86, 69-18-54, 69-38-75, 69-12-55
FAX: [213] (2) 69-39-79

Flag: two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) 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)

Economy
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Economic 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 economic stabilization and to introduce market mechanisms
into the economy. Despite substantial progress toward economic
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. Following
a Paris Club debt rescheduling in 1995 and a robust harvest, the
economy experienced a strong recovery and key economic improvements.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $108.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,800 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 12%
industry: 50%
services: 38%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 28% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 6.2 million (1992 est.)
by occupation: government 29.5%, agriculture 22%, construction and
public w