Tunisia

Tunisia Economy

Tunisia's economy in numbers:

Nominal GDP of USD 46.4 billion in 2022.

GDP per capita of USD 3,752 compared to the global average of USD 10,589.

Average real GDP growth of 1.5% over the last decade.

Share of the region's population
Share of the region's GDP

Economic structure:

In 2021, services accounted for 68% of overall GDP, manufacturing 15%, other industrial activity 8%, and agriculture 9%. Looking at GDP by expenditure, private consumption accounted for 74% of GDP in 2021, government consumption 20%, fixed investment 12%, and net exports -6%.

GDP by economic sector
GDP by type of expenditure

International trade:

In 2019, manufactured products made up 82% of total merchandise exports, mineral fuels 6%, food 11%, ores and metals 2% and agricultural raw materials 0%, with other categories accounting for -1% of the total. In the same period, manufactured products made up 68% of total merchandise imports, mineral fuels 17%, food 11%, ores and metals 4% and agricultural raw materials 2%, with other goods accounting for -2% of the total. Total exports were worth USD 19 billion in 2022, while total imports were USD 26 billion.

Key exports
Key imports
Key export partners
Key import partners

Economic growth:

The economy recorded average annual growth of 1.5% in the decade to 2022. To read more about GDP growth in Tunisia, go to our dedicated page.

Fiscal policy:

Tunisia's fiscal deficit averaged 6.0% of GDP in the decade to 2022. Find out more on our dedicated page.

Unemployment:

The unemployment rate averaged 15.9% in the decade to 2022. For more information on Tunisia's unemployment click here.

Inflation:

Inflation averaged 5.6% in the decade to 2022. Go to our Tunisia inflation page for extra insight.

Monetary Policy:

Tunisia's monetary policy rate ended 2022 at 7.25%, up from 3.75% a decade earlier. See our Tunisia monetary policy page for additional details.

Exchange Rate:

From end-2012 to end-2022 the dinar weakened by 48.4% vs the U.S. dollar. For more info on the dinar, click here.
The economy likely remained subdued in Q4, weighed on by diminished purchasing power. While average inflation eased slightly from Q3 in the fourth quarter, it remained relatively high at over 8%. Coupled with spillovers from an elevated unemployment rate in Q3 and high interest rates, this will have restrained investment and consumption. More positively, merchandise exports growth more than doubled to 12% year on year in Q4 from Q3. In other news, Fitch Ratings affirmed the country’s ‘CCC-’ credit rating in December, citing increasing financing needs and limited external financing prospects due to a lack of progress on key subsidy reforms. In the fiscal arena, the cabinet approved a controversial bill on 25 January that will allow the Central Bank to finance the government’s fiscal deficit. The move compromises the BCT’s independence and could spell trouble for the currency and inflation.
Projections out to 2033.

44 indicators covered including both annual and quarterly frequencies.

Consensus Forecasts based on a panel of 18 expert analysts.

Want to get insight on the economic outlook for Tunisia in the coming years? FocusEconomics collects projections out to 2033 on 44 economic indicators for Tunisia from a panel of 18 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts, and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. This means you avoid the risk of relying on out of date, biased or outlier forecasts. Our Consensus Forecasts can be visualized in whichever way best suits your needs, including via interactive online dashboards , direct data delivery and executive-style reports which combine analysts' projections with timely written analysis from our in-house team of economists on the latest developments in the Tunisia economy. To download a sample report on the Tunisia's economy, click here . To get in touch with our team for more information, fill in the form at the bottom of this page .

Tunisia Economic Data

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Population (million) 11.9 12.0 12.2 12.3 12.4
GDP (USD bn) 42.9 42.0 42.6 46.9 46.4
GDP per capita (USD) 3,593 3,483 3,505 3,824 3,752
GDP (TND bn) 113 123 120 130 144
Economic Growth (Nominal GDP, ann. var. %) 10.8 8.8 -2.7 9.1 10.3
Economic Growth (GDP, ann. var. %) 2.6 1.6 -8.6 4.6 2.6
Private Consumption (ann. var. %) 0.3 2.3 -2.1 2.4 2.2
Government Consumption (ann. var. %) -1.1 1.4 -1.0 1.5 -1.2
Fixed Investment (ann. var. %) -0.2 0.5 -19.9 3.3 1.3
Exports (G&S, ann. var. %) 4.6 -4.2 -20.0 11.8 15.2
Imports (G&S, ann. var. %) 2.5 -8.4 -16.6 10.9 9.3
Industrial Production (ann. var. %) -0.7 -3.3 -5.5 10.5 2.3
Unemployment (% of active population, aop) 15.5 15.2 16.7 17.6 15.5
Fiscal Balance (% of GDP) -4.5 -3.3 -9.7 -7.9 -7.7
Public Debt (% of GDP) 73.4 67.8 77.8 79.9 79.9
Money (ann. var. of M2 %) 7.2 11.7 10.1 8.8 9.0
Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, eop) 7.5 6.1 4.9 6.6 10.1
Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, aop) 7.3 6.7 5.6 5.7 8.3
BCT Key Rate (%, eop) 6.75 7.75 6.25 6.25 7.25
Exchange Rate (TND per USD, eop) 2.99 2.77 2.69 2.87 3.12
Exchange Rate (TND per USD, aop) 2.64 2.93 2.81 2.78 3.10
Current Account Balance (USD bn) -4.5 -3.4 -2.5 -2.8 -4.0
Current Account Balance (% of GDP) -10.4 -8.1 -6.0 -6.0 -8.6
Merchandise Trade Balance (USD bn) -6.0 -5.6 -3.6 -4.8 -7.0
Merchandise Exports (USD bn) 15.6 15.0 13.8 16.8 18.5
Merchandise Imports (USD bn) 21.5 20.5 17.4 21.6 25.6
Merchandise Exports (ann. var. %) 8.8 -3.8 -7.9 21.6 10.6
Merchandise Imports (ann. var. %) 9.7 -4.6 -15.2 23.9 18.5
Foreign Direct Investment (USD bn) 1.0 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7
International Reserves (USD bn) 5.2 7.5 9.2 8.7 7.8
International Reserves (months of imports) 2.9 4.4 6.3 4.8 3.7
External Debt (USD bn) 35.1 39.4 41.1 41.7 39.7
External Debt (% of GDP) 81.8 94.0 96.5 88.9 85.5

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