Algeria plans 127% increase in military budget to $22.7 billion

The 2023 finance bill drawn up by the Algerian government provides for a 127% increase in the country’s military budget, to 22.7 billion dollars, the specialized portal Menadefense reported on Monday (October 17th).

This budget will be adopted without debate by Parliament at the end of next November, in accordance with a presidential decree published last September and which excludes from parliamentary debate issues related to defense and diplomacy.

Since 2004, the Algerian military budget has averaged $10 billion per year.

The breakdown of the military budget appearing in the 2023 finance bill shows that 8.8 billion dollars should be devoted to “general administration” while 8.5 billion would be allocated to “national defence”, which suggests , according to experts, the signing of large arms contracts next year. Finally, a part estimated at more than 5 billion dollars should be allocated to a separate chapter entitled “Logistics and multifaceted support”, which could lead to budgeting aimed at financing operations outside Algeria’s borders, according to Menadefense. .

According to data released last April by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Algeria ranked first in Africa and 26th globally in military spending in 2021. These expenditures reached 9.1 billion dollars during the past year, or 5.6% of the country’s GDP.