Algeria’s economy contracted 3.9% in the first quarter this year after a 1.3% growth in the same period in 2019, weakened by the coronavirus lockdown and a bad performance by the vital oil and gas sector, the government said on Saturday.
The OPEC member and gas-exporting country’s energy sector contracted 13.4% in the first three months of 2020, nearly double the 7.1% contraction a year earlier, according to the National Statistics Bureau. Oil and gas account for 60% of the state budget and 93% of total export revenue as the non-energy sector is still underdeveloped despite government attempts to carry out reforms.