ARMY Spending on national defense is expected to reach 3.186 billion dinars (more than 22 billion euros) in 2023, compared to 1.300 billion in 2022
A soldier at a military parade marking 60 years of Algerian independence, in Algiers on July 5, 2022. — Toufik Doudou/AP/SIPA
The army is once again the big winner of the budgetary arbitrations in Algeria. Algiers will allocate in 2023 more than 22 billion euros to defence, a budget that has more than doubled; compared to 2022, according to the adopted finance bill. Tuesday by the National People’s Congress.
Defense will thus remain the leading budget item ahead of finance, with over $21 billion. The expenditure devoted to national defense should reach some 3.186 billion dinars (more than 22 billion euros), according to the approved text. by the deputies of the lower house of Parliament. In 2022, the national defense budget was 1,300 billion dinars (more than 9 billion euros).
Strong tensions with Morocco
This unprecedented increase in the military budget comes in a context of strong tensions with Morocco, with which Algiers severed diplomatic relations in August 2021 due to deep disagreements over the disputed territory. Western Sahara and the security rapprochement between Rabat and Israel.
Funding for this budget has been made possible by the rise in the price of hydrocarbons, of which Algeria is a major exporter. “Rising oil prices are contributing to strengthen the recovery of the Algerian economy following the shock of the pandemic. Windfall revenue from hydrocarbons has mitigated pressures on public and external finances,” Monday a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which stayed from 6 to 21 November in Algeria.
the upper house of Parliament (Council of the Nation), forecasts expenditure of more than 96 billion euros and revenue of approximately 55 billion euros. For 2023, the government expects a growth rate of 4.1% and inflation of 5.1%. The budget has been developed on the basis of a reference price per barrel of oil at 60 dollars and a market price. to $70.