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

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Idriss JAZAIRY
chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: (202) 265-2800
FAX: (202) 667-2174

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Cameron R. HUME
embassy: 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers
mailing address: B. P. Box 549, Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers
telephone: (2) 69-11-86, 69-12-55, 69-18-54, 69-38-75
FAX: (2) 69-39-79

Flag description: 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)

@Algeria:Economy

Economy - overview: The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the
economy, accounting for roughly 52% of budget revenues, 25% of GDP,
and over 95% of export earnings. Algeria has the fifth-largest
reserves of natural gas in the world and is the second largest gas
exporter; it ranks fourteenth for oil reserves. Algiers' efforts to
reform one of the most centrally planned economies in the Arab world
stalled in 1992 as the country became embroiled in political turmoil.
Burdened with a heavy foreign debt, Algiers concluded a one-year
standby arrangement with the IMF in April 1994 and the following year
signed onto a three-year extended fund facility which ended 30 April
1998. Some progress on economic reform, Paris Club debt reschedulings
in 1995 and 1996, and oil and gas sector expansion contributed to a
recovery in growth since 1995. Still, the economy remains heavily
dependent on volatile oil and gas revenues. The government has
continued efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and
domestic investment outside the energy sector, but has had little
success in reducing high unemployment and improving living standards.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $147.6 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3.9% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,700 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 12%
industry: 51%
services: 37% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line: 23% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 26.8% (1995)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.2% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 9.1 million (2