May 1, 2007 -- The sector of small and medium-sized enterprises and handicraft in Algeria recorded in 2006, a growth rate of 9.91% (9.53% in 2005).

This represents an overall number of 376,767 entities, against 342,788 for the previous year.

This steady evolution was translated into the creation of 94,851 jobs, that is a growth of 8.19%.

The good showing of this vital sector of activity is being confirmed through the 30,000 newly-declared economic entities, geared to beefing up the fabric of these enterprises.

Contrary to the private sector, the public sector is markedly losing ground due to several factors linked to the liberalisation of the country’s economy.

The number of public small and medium-sized enterprises plummeted to 15.45% by the end of 2006 reaching only 739 operational entities.

For its part, the sector of handicrafts is booming with 106,222 activities recorded so far across Algeria, 105,365 of them are individual craftsmen.