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Invest in Algeria
A short guide for companies expanding into Algeria: the economy at a glance, the rules and steps to set up, and who can help, each with its source.
1. Algeria at a glance
Population
47.4 million
Algeria's population was 47,435,312 people in 2025.
Source: World Bank WDI, Algeria population, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
GDP
US$287 billion
GDP was US$287.03 billion in current dollars in 2025.
Source: World Bank WDI, Algeria GDP, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
GDP per person
US$6,051
GDP per person was US$6,051.00 in current dollars in 2025.
Source: World Bank WDI, Algeria GDP per person, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
Real GDP growth
3.8%
Real GDP growth was 3.8 percent in 2025.
Source: World Bank WDI, Algeria real GDP growth, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
Inflation
8.3%
Consumer prices in Algiers were 8.27 percent higher in August 2026 than in August 2025, says the statistics office.
Source: ONS, consumer price index, August 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of August 2026
Foreign direct investment inflows
US$1.53 billion
Inward foreign direct investment was US$1,529.7 million in 2025, in UNCTAD data.
Source: UNCTADstat, Algeria foreign direct investment inflows (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
The currency is the Algerian dinar.
Source: Bank of Algeria, dinar exchange rates page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 30, 2026
2. Before you set up
The investment agency, any one-stop route, the sectors reserved for nationals and the zones, as the guide found them.
The investment promotion agency is the Agence algérienne de promotion de l’investissement (AAPI), the new name Law 22-18 gave the earlier national investment development agency.
Source: Algeria Official Journal no. 50, 28 July 2022 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of July 28, 2022
AAPI runs one-stop shops for large and foreign projects and for local investors, until the national investment one-stop shop created by Decree 26-326 is set up.
Source: Algeria Official Journal no. 72, 13 October 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 13, 2026
Activities in energy and mines, pharmaceuticals and transport that Executive Decree 21-145 lists as strategic stay subject to 51 percent resident national ownership.
Source: Algeria Official Journal no. 30, 22 April 2021 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of April 22, 2021
One commercial free zone, at Tindouf, created by Executive Decree 24-169 of 28 May 2024; no official list of zones was found.
Source: Algeria Official Journal no. 36, 28 May 2024 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of May 28, 2024
3. Steps to set up
The main steps, in order, each with the body responsible and its official page.
Setting up in Algeria
- Register the company in the commercial register.Centre National du Registre du CommerceOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Algeria Official Journal no. 60, 18 September 2022 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of September 18, 2022
- Get a tax identification number, which investment benefits depend on.Direction Générale des ImpôtsOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Algeria Official Journal no. 60, 18 September 2022 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of September 18, 2022
- Register a foreign-owned investment, or one of two billion dinars or more, at AAPI’s national one-stop shop before starting work; ask which body now takes files.Agence algérienne de promotion de l’investissementOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Algeria Official Journal no. 60, 18 September 2022 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of September 18, 2022
- Ask for the list of eligible goods and services, and for the VAT exemption authorization, issued within 72 hours of a proforma invoice.Agence algérienne de promotion de l’investissementVAT exemption authorization within 72 hoursOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Algeria Official Journal no. 60, 18 September 2022 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of September 18, 2022
Show 3 more set-up steps
- If the activity is on the strategic list, expect 51 percent resident national ownership and prior authorization for share sales to foreigners.Ministry responsible for the activityOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Algeria Official Journal no. 78, 23 November 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 23, 2025
- Apply through the investor digital platform for state economic land, granted as a concession that can convert to a sale.Agence algérienne de promotion de l’investissementOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Algeria Official Journal no. 31, 28 April 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of April 28, 2026
- Bring capital in through a bank in a freely convertible currency and sell it to the Bank of Algeria to qualify for the transfer guarantee.Banque d’AlgérieOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Algeria Official Journal no. 50, 28 July 2022 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of July 28, 2022
4. Organizations that help investors
Start with AAPI and DGD. Each card links to the organization’s own site.
Each card says what it can help with:Get adviceFind financeMeet requirementsResearch markets
Investment and business setup
- Get advice
Investment promotion agency
AAPI
Agence algérienne de promotion de l’investissement
Registers investments, runs the one-stop shops and the investor digital platform, and handles economic land requests, until the new national investment one-stop shop takes over.
Visit AAPI (opens in a new tab)Source: Algeria Official Journal no. 31, 28 April 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of April 28, 2026
- Meet requirements
Commercial register
CNRC
Centre National du Registre du Commerce
Keeps the commercial register, and its staff at the investment one-stop shops can issue register documents; traders must start updating their entry within one month of a change.
Show 1 more organization
Official gazette
Journal officiel
Journal officiel de la République algérienne démocratique et populaire
Publishes Algeria’s laws, decrees and Bank of Algeria regulations, including the investment law and the strategic activities list.
Customs and tax
- Meet requirements
National customs authority
DGD
Direction Générale des Douanes
Clears export declarations, issues AfCFTA and European Union origin certificates, and publishes exporter guides and customs procedures.
Visit DGD (opens in a new tab)Source: Algerian customs, AfCFTA page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 30, 2026
- Meet requirements
Central bank
Banque d’Algérie
Sets the foreign exchange rules for export proceeds, including the 120-day return limit, and runs the interbank market that sets the dinar rate.
Visit Banque d’Algérie (opens in a new tab)Source: Algeria Official Journal no. 58, 12 August 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of August 12, 2026
Show 1 more organization
- Meet requirements
National tax authority
DGI
Direction Générale des Impôts
Opens a company's tax file and issues its tax identification number, including through its staff at AAPI's one-stop shops.
Visit DGI (opens in a new tab)Source: Algeria Official Journal no. 31, 28 April 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of April 28, 2026
Chambers and industry associations
- Get advice
National chamber of commerce
CACI
Chambre Algérienne de Commerce et d'Industrie
Issues Arab free trade area certificates of origin, and certificates for trade with Jordan, which customs then stamps at export.
Visit CACI (opens in a new tab)Source: Algerian customs, Arab free trade area (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 30, 2026
5. Worth knowing
Prices
The statistics office reports Algiers consumer prices 8.27 percent higher in August 2026 than a year earlier, after a 1.42 percent average in 2025.
What to do: Review recent price moves before you fix long-term dinar prices in contracts.
Sources: ONS, consumer price index, August 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab); Bank of Algeria, annual-average inflation series, Algiers (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 30, 2026
Reserved sectors
Executive Decree 21-145 lists strategic activities in energy and mines, pharmaceuticals and transport that stay subject to 51 percent resident national ownership.
What to do: Check your activity against the decree’s list before you set the ownership structure.
Sources: Algeria Official Journal no. 30, 22 April 2021 (in French) (opens in a new tab); Algeria Official Journal no. 78, 23 November 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 30, 2026
Investment one-stop shop
Presidential Decree 26-326, published on 13 October 2026, makes a new national investment one-stop shop the exclusive investor contact; AAPI continues until the shop is set up.
What to do: Ask AAPI which body handles your file before you register.
Source: Algeria Official Journal no. 72, 13 October 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 30, 2026
Share transfers
Executive Decree 25-304 requires prior authorization when shares in a strategic-sector company pass to a foreign person or a foreign-owned company.
What to do: Allow time for the authorization before any purchase or sale of shares.
Source: Algeria Official Journal no. 78, 23 November 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 30, 2026
Show 2 more
Import restrictions
The European Commission says Algeria’s import licensing, cap on foreign ownership of importers and re-registration rules breach the association agreement; it asked for an arbitration panel on 16 July 2025.
What to do: Confirm the current import rules, including review of each import request by a standing committee under Decree 26-327, before you set up an import business.
Sources: European Commission news, arbitration request, 16 July 2025 (opens in a new tab); Algeria Official Journal no. 72, 13 October 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 30, 2026
Free zones
Executive Decree 24-169 created the Tindouf commercial free zone, 200 hectares, and no other free-zone creation decree was found.
What to do: Ask the minister responsible for trade, the conceding authority under Decree 24-168, whether the zone is operating before you choose a site.
Source: Algeria Official Journal no. 36, 28 May 2024 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 30, 2026
6. How Promote:Global helps
- Compare Algeria with other countriesSet Algeria beside other countries on investment momentum, fundamentals and trade access, before site, tax and legal work.
- Find advisors and service firmsAsk an advisory firm a scoped, paid question, or browse firms that list their own services, from legal work to logistics.
- Organize your next stepsKeep each product and market in a project, with a roadmap of steps you work through.
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Promote:Algeria is an independent guide by Promote:Global, not an official government portal. The organizations named here are independent public and membership bodies, not Promote:Global partners, and every link goes to their own site.
Facts read from public sources, with an editorial cut-off of October 30, 2026. Nothing here is investment, legal, tax or sanctions advice. Check current status with the organization before you rely on it.