Algeria

Algeria provides a case of nationally coordinated, voluntary public zakat administration with territorially organized collection and distribution mechanisms. Established through the Zakat Fund in 2003 and subsequently developed through the creation of the National Office of Awqaf and Zakat in 2021, the system combines ministerial supervision, mosque-based participation, and local committees involved in beneficiary identification and resource allocation.

The publication of annual institutional collection figures since 2003 provides a basis for examining the evolution of recorded zakat contributions over time. However, the absence of similarly accessible, disaggregated distribution accounts raises questions concerning financial traceability, reporting coverage, and the relationship between national coordination and territorial implementation. Algeria also offers a case for investigating how voluntary public collection mechanisms interact with individual giving practices and how emerging digital payment infrastructure may influence institutional participation and data collection.

NB1: "Voluntary Public System" describes the nationally coordinated public zakat scheme. Contributions to the public fund are voluntary, although zakat remains a religious obligation for eligible individuals. The classification does not imply that all zakat paid in Algeria passes through the public system.

NB2: "Fully centralized" refers to the existence of a national coordinating institution under ministerial supervision. Implementation remains territorially distributed through wilaya, local, and mosque-based committees. The category does not imply that beneficiary selection and redistribution are exclusively administered at the national level.

NB3: The reported DZD 1.65 billion for 2024 combines zakat al-mal and zakat al-fitr collected through the official scheme. Agricultural zakat appears as zero in the published series, without sufficient information to determine whether this reflects no recorded collection or incomplete reporting. The amount excludes unrecorded direct giving and should not be interpreted as total national zakat payments.

Collection (DZD, 2024):
Zakat al-mal: 858,492,987.29 (52.0%)
Zakat al-fitr: 791,020,078.50 (48.0%)
Agricultural zakat: Reported as zero
Total of non-zero reported categories: 1,649,513,065.79 (100%)

The most recent figures published for the Hijri year 1447 H—approximately DZD 1.04 billion for zakat al-mal and DZD 901.14 million for zakat al-fitr—are retained for reference. They do not replace the series for the calendar year 2024.

NB4: ONWZ publishes annual institutional collection figures extending back to 2003. However, complete annual audited financial statements, actual disbursement shares by asnaf, and consistently disaggregated distribution data have not been identified in the publicly accessible material reviewed. Historical allocation rules do not establish actual disbursement shares for 2024.

NB5: Figures published for the Hijri year 1447 H and ministerial statements concerning collection campaigns are not automatically comparable with the calendar-year series. Differences in reporting periods and collection categories must be verified before combining these observations.