The growth of Algeria's non-oil economy in 2009 reached 9.3% against 6.1% in 2008. Meanwhile, the country's foreign exchange reserves amounted to US$147.2 billion at the end of the year, according to data delivered by Algeria's Finance Minister Karim Djoudi.
The Minister participated in a meeting devoted to the performance of the local finance sector last year and chaired by the president Abdelaziz Bouteflika. During the meeting, the minister said, this economic growth has been driven by the strong performance of agricultural production and the continuing strong growth levels of both building and public works and services. He added that the level of inflation was 5.75%.
Regarding foreign trade, imports decreased by 1% while exports dipped by over 40% due to falling oil prices.
