Algeria Cooperation for “green” growth and decent jobs

Algeria is the largest country by territory on the African continent. Three quarters of the people live in cities, most of which are located on, or near, the Mediterranean coast in the northern part of the country. The much larger southern part of Algeria is covered by the Sahara, with 80 per cent of the country just sparsely populated.

Nearly half of the people are below the age of 25. According to estimates, Algeria's population will grow from its current level of 44 million to about 55 million by 2050. One of the major challenges facing Algeria is to provide enough jobs and opportunities for the young generation.

Algeria's political and economic stability plays a key role for the security situation in the entire region. Following long protests, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who had been in power for many years, resigned in April 2019. After his resignation, Algeria reformed its constitution and held parliamentary and presidential elections. However, the democracy movement continues to be active, and there are growing tensions because of the low level of socio-economic development.

Economic development and climate change

Algeria's economy and national budget depend heavily on oil and gas exports. Declining income from the sale of these resources, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, have exacerbated the country's economic problems in the past few years. Economic diversification is therefore a declared goal of the government.

Algeria is severely affected by the impact of climate change. Simultaneously, it is an important partner for climate change mitigation, as it has great potential for renewable energy generation. The government is working to expand renewable energy generation.

On the current United Nations Human Development Index (HDI), Algeria is ranked 93rd out of the 193 countries assessed, ahead of its neighbours Tunisia (101), Morocco (120), Mauritania (164), Mali (188) and Niger (189) and similar to Libya (92).

German development cooperation with Algeria

Germany has supported development in Algeria since the 1970s. The country greatly values Germany's Technical Cooperation programmes. As part of the BMZ 2030 reform process, Algeria became a partner country for German development cooperation. There are plans for the two countries to enter into Financial Cooperation.

In late 2021, government negotiations on development cooperation were held between Germany and Algeria for the first time since 2005. The German government committed a total of 49.3 million euros for cooperation in 2021 and 2022. Cooperation focuses on the following core areas:

Sustainable economic development, training and employment
Climate and energy, just transition

The two sides also agreed to work together in one initiative area, namely One Health. Activities in this field focus on addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other things, the two sides are working together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to improve hospital capacity and quality control for medical and pharmaceutical products in the context of the response to the pandemic.

Plant for the production of dressing materials in Algeria

The Algerian economy needs to be diversified in order to reduce the country's dependency on oil and natural gas exports. Jobs need to be created for the young, fast-growing population. And vocational training and higher education need to be tailored more closely to the needs of the labour market. Germany is supporting its partner country in addressing these challenges.

Economic development, population growth and climate change are putting increasing pressure on Algeria's natural resources. This applies particularly to the northern part of the country, where more than two thirds of the population occupy just one fifth of the country's total area. By regional standards, Algeria's environmental legislation is very advanced. Germany is assisting its partner country to help it implement its environmental and climate policies effectively