Tunisia

In June 2016 Tunisia’s Parliament adopted a wide-ranging piece of new financial sector legislation, the New Banking Law No. 2016-48, which went into effect the following month. The law not only brings about a number of sizeable amendments to existing rules and regulations, but also lays out new frameworks for non-banking institutions and...

As in many countries, and emerging markets in particular, Tunisian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can struggle to access bank financing. According to International Financial Corporation figures, close to 30% of Tunisian micro-enterprises and SMEs lack any form of access to credit. However, the government is working to improve such...

Tunisia’s fiscal deficit and public debt burden rose in the years following the country’s 2011 revolution, before coming down again from 2013 onwards as a result of subsidy cuts and other fiscal consolidation measures taken by the state. However, more modest than expected growth in 2016, along with upward pressure on the public sector wage...

Tunisia’s economy has been buffeted in previous years by the fallout from factors such as domestic and regional political and security instability, and the slowdown in the eurozone. While a strong economic recovery has yet to materialise, the country’s growth prospects have been ticking upward over the past 12 months and, with a successful...

In its efforts towards economic recovery and the consolidation of democracy, Tunisia’s government is increasing cooperation with international partners. The revolution and democratic reforms have garnered significant international goodwill, recently evidenced by the success of the country’s investment conference, Tunisia 2020, in Tunis on...

The period from 2011 to 2016 ushered in unprecedented change for Tunisia. Six years after the beginning of the Jasmine Revolution, Tunisia has embraced a democratic rule of law, along with all of the swings and roundabouts that can entail.