Algeria’s economy is dominated by its export trade in petroleum and natural gas, commodities that, despite fluctuations in world prices, annually contribute roughly one-third of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Until 1962 the economy was based largely on agriculture and complemented France’s economy. Since then the extraction and production of hydrocarbons have been the most important activity and have facilitated rapid industrialization. The Algerian government instituted a centrally planned economy within a state socialist system in the first two decades after independence, nationalizing major industries and implementing multiyear economic plans. However, since the early 1980s the focus has shifted ...(100 of 17999 words)