Tunisia: Economy#
Tunisia's diverse, market-oriented economy has long been cited as a success story in Africa and the Middle East, but it faces an array of challenges following the 2011 Arab Spring revolution. Following an ill-fated experiment with socialist economic policies in the 1960s, Tunisia embarked on a successful strategy focused on bolstering exports, foreign investment, and tourism, all of which have become central to the country's economy. Key exports now include textiles and apparel, food products, petroleum products, chemicals, and phosphates, with about 80% of exports bound for Tunisia's main economic partner, the EU.Tunisia's liberal strategy, coupled with investments in education and infrastructure, fueled decades of 4-5% annual GDP growth and improving living standards. Former President Zine el Abidine BEN ALI (1987-2011) continued these policies, but as his reign wore on cronyism and corruption stymied economic performance, and unemployment rose among the country's growing ranks of university graduates. These grievances contributed to the January 2011 overthrow of BEN ALI, sending Tunisia's economy into a tailspin as tourism and investment declined sharply.
Since its establishment in late 2014, Tunisia’s new government has faced challenges reassuring businesses and investors, bringing budget and current account deficits under control, shoring up the country's financial system, lowering high unemployment, and reducing economic disparities between the more developed coastal region and the impoverished interior. In 2015, successive terrorist attacks against the tourism sector and worker strikes in the phosphate sector, which combined account for nearly 15% of GDP, slowed growth to less than 1% of GDP.
Economic Facts#
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | $130.8 billion (2016 est.) $128.9 billion (2015 est.) $127.9 billion (2014 est.) note: data are in 2016 dollars |
|---|---|
| GDP (official exchange rate) | $42.39 billion (2015 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1.5% (2016 est.) 0.8% (2015 est.) 2.3% (2014 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | $11,700 (2016 est.) $11,600 (2015 est.) $11,600 (2014 est.) note: data are in 2016 dollars |
| Gross national saving | 13.7% of GDP (2016 est.) 13.1% of GDP (2015 est.) 14% of GDP (2014 est.) |
| GDP - composition, by end use | household consumption: 71.6% government consumption: 20.1% investment in fixed capital: 18.8% investment in inventories: 1.6% exports of goods and services: 37.4% imports of goods and services: -49.5% (2016 est.) |
| GDP - composition, by sector of origin | agriculture: 10.1% industry: 28.3% services: 61.6% (2016 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | olives, olive oil, grain, tomatoes, citrus fruit, sugar beets, dates, almonds; beef, dairy products |
| Industries | petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate, iron ore), tourism, textiles, footwear, agribusiness, beverages |
| Industrial production growth rate | 1.1% (2016 est.) |
| Labor force | 4.038 million (2016 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 14.8% industry: 33.2% services: 51.7% (2014 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 15.4% (2016 est.) 15.2% (2015 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 15.5% (2010 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.6% highest 10%: 27% (2010 est.) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 40 (2005 est.) 41.7 (1995 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $9.882 billion expenditures: $11.77 billion (2016 est.) |
| Taxes and other revenues | 23.3% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | -4.5% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Public debt | 57.3% of GDP (2016 est.) 54.6% of GDP (2015 est.) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.8% (2016 est.) 4.9% (2015 est.) |
| Central bank discount rate | 5.75% (31 December 2010) |
| Commercial bank prime lending rate | 7.31% (31 December 2016 est.) 6.76% (31 December 2013 est.) |
| Stock of narrow money | $12.16 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $12.61 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Stock of broad money | $31.32 billion (31 December 2014 est.) $30.9 billion (31 December 2013 est.) |
| Stock of domestic credit | $35.25 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $35.73 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares | $8.887 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $9.662 billion (31 December 2011 est.) $10.68 billion (31 December 2010 est.) |
| Current account balance | -$3.397 billion (2016 est.) -$3.849 billion (2015 est.) |
| Exports | $12.88 billion (2016 est.) $14.07 billion (2015 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | clothing, semi-finished goods and textiles, agricultural products, mechanical goods, phosphates and chemicals, hydrocarbons, electrical equipment |
| Exports - partners | France 28.5%, Italy 17.2%, Germany 10.9%, Libya 6.1%, Spain 4.2% (2015) |
| Imports | $17.75 billion (2016 est.) $19.1 billion (2015 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | textiles, machinery and equipment, hydrocarbons, chemicals, foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners | France 19.4%, Italy 16.4%, Algeria 8.2%, Germany 7.4%, China 6% (2015) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | $6.276 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $7.059 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Debt - external | $27.23 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $25.45 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | $37.27 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $36.39 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | $285 million (31 December 2016 est.) $285 million (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Exchange rates | Tunisian dinars (TND) per US dollar - 2.141 (2016 est.) 1.9617 (2015 est.) 1.9617 (2014 est.) 1.6976 (2013 est.) 1.56 (2012 est.) |