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Poverty in Algeria
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Poverty in Algeria
Algeria is a country located in Africa along the Mediterranean coast. It is geographically the largest country in North Africa and has a population of approximately 47 million. Until the 1980s, Algeria enjoyed relative wealth after gaining independence from France in 1962 as its economy was buoyed by the booming price of oil. Poverty in Algeria became an acute problem following the collapse of its economic growth around the mid eighties. Since the 1980s, a fall in oil prices in international markets resulted in Algeria experiencing an economic downturn, contributing to rising unemployment and poverty. A lack of democracy, political conflict and government spending have also caused poverty.
According to The World Bank, Algeria's economy is predominantly reliant on the export of hydrocarbons, which constitutes about 30% of the country's GDP and 60% of budget revenues. Algeria has the tenth-largest natural gas reserve in the world and is the sixth-largest natural gas exporter. Natural gas and oil combined account for 95% of Algeria's export earnings. Algeria's large natural gas and oil reserves have enabled it to maintain relative macroeconomic stability.
Algeria has struggled to forge non-hydrocarbon industries. Fluctuations in the price of oil have had a significant impact on the welfare on Algeria's population as the government has had to increase tax revenue. Since 2013, Algeria's foreign exchange reserves have dropped by more than 40%. This is mainly due to repeated project delays and difficulty in attracting investment. The fall in gas and oil revenues resulted in the Algerian government adopting corrective measures in the 2016 federal budget to reduce spending and offset the fall of oil prices. The 2016 budget involved a 4% increase in tax revenues and a 9% cut in expenditures. The Algerian government has refrained from directly reducing subsidies on healthcare, education and government-funded housing programs.
According to the National Statistics Office, Algeria has experienced significant reductions in poverty levels, falling to 5.5% in 2011 from 14.1% in 1995. Although the percentage of the population surviving on less than $2 per day stabilized at 14.1% in 1995 after decreasing from 81% in 1988, it has since fallen to 5% in 2011. The income share held by the poorest 20% of Algerians has increased from 6.5% in 1990 to 9.4% in 2010.
According to the Central Intelligence Agency, the population below the poverty line in Algeria as of 2011 is estimated to be 5.5%, and rates of extreme poverty sit at 0.5%. However, 10% of Algeria's population is perceived to be susceptible to falling back into poverty if conditions conspire against them. Around 75% of Algerians living in poverty live in urban areas and complete informal work. Regional differences have resulted in twice the number of individuals living in poverty inhabiting Algeria's Sahara, and three times the nation's average living on grassland.
According to the Global Hunger Index, of 119 qualifying countries, Algeria was placed 39th, with a score of 9.4, meaning that the nation suffers from a relatively low hunger level. This score has consistently improved over the past two decades. In 2000, Algeria recorded a score of 15.6 (moderate hunger level) and received a 10.6 (moderate hunger level) in 2010. In addition, the proportion of undernourished people has decreased from 10.7% in 2000 to 4.7% in 2018. However, the prevalence of undernourished children under 5 years of age has increased from 3.1% to 4.1% in 2018 and the occurrence of underweight children below 5 has decreased to 2.6% (2009). Further, the life expectancy at birth for Algeria as of 2016 is 76.078.
High unemployment is the leading cause of poverty in Algeria. Analysis by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa reveals significant disparities in Algeria based on gender and age. The unemployment rate as of 2015 was estimated to be 11.2%; however, those within the age group 16-24 stood at almost 30%. In addition to this, unemployment affects almost twice the number of women as it does men, with unemployment estimated at 16.6% for women. According to The World Bank, persistent youth unemployment has a great impact on the development in household living conditions, leaving many youths unable to earn a decent wage and adequate standard of living.
The labour force in 2001 was projected to be around 9 million or 29% of the whole population. The World Bank figures indicate that more than one third of the Algerian population subsist in poverty with 70% living in rural and remote regions. The persistent inability of Algerians to secure employment coupled with the predicted stagnation of their economy raises concerns of a possible increase in the number of households in precarious situations and the overall poverty rate. Approximately 10% of the overall population, equivalent to nearly 4 million Algerians, were seen as susceptible to sinking into poverty if circumstances continued to conspire against them. Migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa squat in informal settlements, for example in Tamanrasset.
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Poverty in Algeria
Algeria is a country located in Africa along the Mediterranean coast. It is geographically the largest country in North Africa and has a population of approximately 47 million. Until the 1980s, Algeria enjoyed relative wealth after gaining independence from France in 1962 as its economy was buoyed by the booming price of oil. Poverty in Algeria became an acute problem following the collapse of its economic growth around the mid eighties. Since the 1980s, a fall in oil prices in international markets resulted in Algeria experiencing an economic downturn, contributing to rising unemployment and poverty. A lack of democracy, political conflict and government spending have also caused poverty.
According to The World Bank, Algeria's economy is predominantly reliant on the export of hydrocarbons, which constitutes about 30% of the country's GDP and 60% of budget revenues. Algeria has the tenth-largest natural gas reserve in the world and is the sixth-largest natural gas exporter. Natural gas and oil combined account for 95% of Algeria's export earnings. Algeria's large natural gas and oil reserves have enabled it to maintain relative macroeconomic stability.
Algeria has struggled to forge non-hydrocarbon industries. Fluctuations in the price of oil have had a significant impact on the welfare on Algeria's population as the government has had to increase tax revenue. Since 2013, Algeria's foreign exchange reserves have dropped by more than 40%. This is mainly due to repeated project delays and difficulty in attracting investment. The fall in gas and oil revenues resulted in the Algerian government adopting corrective measures in the 2016 federal budget to reduce spending and offset the fall of oil prices. The 2016 budget involved a 4% increase in tax revenues and a 9% cut in expenditures. The Algerian government has refrained from directly reducing subsidies on healthcare, education and government-funded housing programs.
According to the National Statistics Office, Algeria has experienced significant reductions in poverty levels, falling to 5.5% in 2011 from 14.1% in 1995. Although the percentage of the population surviving on less than $2 per day stabilized at 14.1% in 1995 after decreasing from 81% in 1988, it has since fallen to 5% in 2011. The income share held by the poorest 20% of Algerians has increased from 6.5% in 1990 to 9.4% in 2010.
According to the Central Intelligence Agency, the population below the poverty line in Algeria as of 2011 is estimated to be 5.5%, and rates of extreme poverty sit at 0.5%. However, 10% of Algeria's population is perceived to be susceptible to falling back into poverty if conditions conspire against them. Around 75% of Algerians living in poverty live in urban areas and complete informal work. Regional differences have resulted in twice the number of individuals living in poverty inhabiting Algeria's Sahara, and three times the nation's average living on grassland.
According to the Global Hunger Index, of 119 qualifying countries, Algeria was placed 39th, with a score of 9.4, meaning that the nation suffers from a relatively low hunger level. This score has consistently improved over the past two decades. In 2000, Algeria recorded a score of 15.6 (moderate hunger level) and received a 10.6 (moderate hunger level) in 2010. In addition, the proportion of undernourished people has decreased from 10.7% in 2000 to 4.7% in 2018. However, the prevalence of undernourished children under 5 years of age has increased from 3.1% to 4.1% in 2018 and the occurrence of underweight children below 5 has decreased to 2.6% (2009). Further, the life expectancy at birth for Algeria as of 2016 is 76.078.
High unemployment is the leading cause of poverty in Algeria. Analysis by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa reveals significant disparities in Algeria based on gender and age. The unemployment rate as of 2015 was estimated to be 11.2%; however, those within the age group 16-24 stood at almost 30%. In addition to this, unemployment affects almost twice the number of women as it does men, with unemployment estimated at 16.6% for women. According to The World Bank, persistent youth unemployment has a great impact on the development in household living conditions, leaving many youths unable to earn a decent wage and adequate standard of living.
The labour force in 2001 was projected to be around 9 million or 29% of the whole population. The World Bank figures indicate that more than one third of the Algerian population subsist in poverty with 70% living in rural and remote regions. The persistent inability of Algerians to secure employment coupled with the predicted stagnation of their economy raises concerns of a possible increase in the number of households in precarious situations and the overall poverty rate. Approximately 10% of the overall population, equivalent to nearly 4 million Algerians, were seen as susceptible to sinking into poverty if circumstances continued to conspire against them. Migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa squat in informal settlements, for example in Tamanrasset.
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