Algeria records 3.9% GDP growth in 2015

Algeria government has announced that the country ‘s economy grew by 3.9 percent in 2015, up from a 3.8 percent the previous year.

The growth was boosted by higher output in agricultural sector, the government said.

Last year the country’s growth was slightly higher than the 3.8 percent government forecast and the 3.7 percent International Monetary Fund (IMF) expectations, Reuters reports.

Algeria GDP growth at 3.9% in 2015: govt – ALGIERS – Algeria’s economy grew by 3.9 percent in 2015, up from 3… https://t.co/GyJlqkVJnZ

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The country relies heavily on oil and gas, which makes up 60 percent of the state budget and 95 percent of total exports.

Algeria has been trying to diversify the economy through incentives to develop the non-petroleum sector after the fall in crude oil prices but efforts are still in their infancy.

According to the National Statistics data released recently, Hydrocarbon sector grew 0.4 percent last year after a 0.6 percent decline in 2014.

Growth in the non-oil sector stood at 5.5 percent in 2015 slightly lower than the 5.6 percent the previous year.

However, agriculture output grew by 7.6 percent, up from 2.5 percent in 2014, the figures showed. The country’s grain output in 2015 reached 4 million tonnes, a 14.3 percent rise from 2014.