🇩🇿 Algeria

Algeria is Africa's largest country by land area — 2.38 million square kilometers, mostly Sahara Desert. With 46 million people and a GDP around $190 billion, it's a mid-tier economy almost entirely dependent on hydrocarbons. Oil and gas account for roughly 95% of export earnings and 60% of government revenue. The country fought a brutal independence war against France that ended in 1962, and that history still shapes its foreign policy. Algiers is a Mediterranean city with French colonial architecture crumbling alongside Soviet-era housing blocks. The country has Africa's third-largest military budget.

Sonatrach, the state oil company, is the backbone of everything — it's the largest company in Africa by revenue. Italy, France, and Spain are the main buyers of Algerian gas, and Europe's pivot away from Russian energy has boosted demand. Non-hydrocarbon GDP growth has been sluggish at around 2-3%. The government subsidizes fuel, food, and housing heavily, spending roughly 8% of GDP on subsidies alone.

Algeria has the world's longest continuous sand dune system — the Grand Erg Oriental stretches over 600 km. The country also has a surprisingly robust space program and launched its seventh satellite in 2023. Algerian crude oil is among the lightest and sweetest in OPEC, making it highly prized by refiners.

Algeria's sitting on a short-term windfall from European gas demand, but the clock is ticking. Without economic diversification, the post-hydrocarbon reckoning will be painful.