Algerian President Says State Will Preserve Social Character, Protect Purchasing Power

ALGIERS, April 30, 2026 – The Algerian President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, affirmed on Thursday that the State continues to bear the cost of social transfers, to support widely consumed goods and to combat speculation, unjustified price fluctuations and artificial shortages, in order to preserve its social character.

In a message addressed to Algerian workers on the occasion of International Workers’ Day, President Tebboune stated that “the State continues to bear the cost of social transfers and to support widely consumed goods,” calling on the Government “to exercise vigilance, firmness and to mobilize legal and regulatory mechanisms to combat speculation, unjustified price fluctuations and artificial shortages, which weigh on families, and this in order to preserve the social character of the State.”

The Algerian President indicated that this social approach is part of an overall vision aimed at “strengthening purchasing power” and “improving living standards,” recalling the important decisions taken in this regard since 2022, notably salary increases as part of a series of successive raises, the unemployment allowance, the stay-at-home mother allowance, the allowance for persons with specific needs, the university grant, the extension of maternity leave, the increase in the National Minimum Guaranteed Wage (SNMG) and retirement pensions, as well as tax exemptions for low incomes.

He also recalled that Algeria is among the countries offering the best social protection.

Tebboune further specified that this orientation comes alongside an economic dynamic driven by national competencies, stressing that Algerian workers celebrate their international day “as our country has achieved, thanks to their commitment and efforts, major progress on the path toward an emerging economy.”

“The institutional framework we have established makes workers the main driver of economic activity, through investment in human capital and national competencies, which are charting this new path,” he continued, adding that these same competencies have “supervised with commitment and determination and carried out with professionalism major structuring projects in several vital sectors such as energy, mining, water, agriculture, start-ups and entrepreneurship.”

President Tebboune also reaffirmed the State’s commitment to “rigorously protect the rights of workers and retirees” and to “preserve their dignity,” while recalling “the obligation incumbent upon officials, at all levels, to ensure the well-being of the Algerian family, in a way that guarantees for its daughters and sons an environment conducive to sustainable development, in an open and productive country that values effort and considers work as the very essence of citizenship.”