Total aid: $361m (receipts)

Aid trend: Up 95% in 2002

As a major oil producer, Algeria receives relatively little aid. The collapse in the 1990s of the trade of eastern European manufactures in return for oil led Algeria to turn to the West for loans. The growing weight of Western economic involvement in turn fortified the regime against criticism of its hard-line methods against Islamic opponents. The EU and various Arab countries are now the largest donors, the bulk of funding going toward improving education facilities. After the 2003 earthquakes, aid for reconstruction became a priority.

From "The Financial Times World Desk Reference" © Dorling Kindersley 2004