Stagnation or Growth? Algeria’s development pathway to 2040

Algeria has achieved universal primary education and high STEM enrolment, but faces significant challenges with secondary school completion rates, educational quality, and a mismatch between graduate skills and labour market demands.

• Algeria has made significant strides in basic education access, achieving a literacy rate of approximately 78% and a 97% net enrolment rate for primary education as of 2015.
• Despite primary success, the secondary education system suffers from 'leakages', with upper secondary completion rates falling 11 percentage points below the average for other lower-middle-income countries (OLMICs).
• The quality of education is hampered by a reliance on rote learning, inadequate teacher training, overcrowded classrooms, and a lack of resources, leading to a disconnect between the education system and the requirements of the job market and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
• Gender dynamics in education shift at higher levels; while female gross enrolment is lower than males overall—particularly in rural areas—women outperform men after age 16, resulting in a female-to-male ratio of over 1.5 to 1 at the tertiary level.
• Algeria shows a strong orientation toward STEM fields at the tertiary level, with 9.1% of learners studying these subjects—significantly higher than the 2.6% expected for its development level—and women accounting for 41% of STEM graduates in 2018.

APA

Cilliers, J., & Kwasi, S. (2023). Stagnation or Growth? Algeria’s development pathway to 2040. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=country/algeria&topic=06-education

Chicago

Cilliers, Jakkie, and Stellah Kwasi. Stagnation or Growth? Algeria’s development pathway to 2040. Institute for Security Studies, 2023. https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=country/algeria&topic=06-education.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cilliers |first1=Jakkie |last2=Kwasi |first2=Stellah |title=Stagnation or Growth? Algeria’s development pathway to 2040 |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=12 May 2023 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=country/algeria&topic=06-education |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cilliers2023stagnation, author = {Cilliers, Jakkie and Kwasi, Stellah}, title = {{Stagnation or Growth? Algeria’s development pathway to 2040}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=country/algeria&topic=06-education}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }