Africa Economy

ETIQUETTE: The Western-style handshake is standard practice in business environments. However, it may happen that a woman does not offer a handshake, in which case the man should not extend his hand. Similarly, while close friends and relatives often greet each other with a kiss on both cheeks, some...

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...

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...

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...

Tunisia consistently ran a fairly small current account deficit for most of the late 2000s, with the figure standing in the low single digits as a percentage of GDP. However, as with many economic indicators, the deficit worsened significantly in the years immediately following the country’s revolution, jumping to 7.4% in 2011 and peaking at 9...

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.