Economy

Tunisia has received ample coverage as one of the few – if not arguably the only – true success stories of the Arab Spring. Much of substance has been achieved in the last five years, as the country has taken the first steps towards becoming a robust and transparent democracy, showing a propensity towards consensual dialogue and negotiation....

Balancing a budget is made all the more challenging in times of low growth. However, Tunisia has had some remarkable success in addressing its fiscal shortfalls, and while debt has been inching upwards, it is still manageable. The government has more work to do to bring the budget closer to a surplus and will look to slow the rise in debt, but...

A year has passed since Tunisia’s first-ever free and transparent elections. The people voted in a president, a multi-party parliament and a government with broad political support. While substantive dialogue was carried out during its transition period, Tunisia still needs to bring its various political and civilian components together to...

As part of efforts to develop the economy, the Tunisian authorities are keen to boost levels of investment, which stand at around 18.5% of GDP, well below the 30% witnessed in neighbouring Morocco. The country’s 2016-20 development plan requires total investment of TD125bn (€57.3bn) to be made in the coming five years. In order to facilitate...

The Jasmine Revolution in 2011 obviously had a noticeable impact on the more vulnerable actors in the Tunisian economy – most clearly, on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Between the opportunities created by the country’s historic event and the threats that came about from such a major upheaval, Tunisia’s SMEs had to suddenly and...