ECONOMY
Economy - overview: Tunisia has a diverse economy, with important
agricultural, mining, energy, tourism, and manufacturing sectors. Detailed
governmental control of economic affairs has gradually lessened over
the past decade with increasing privatization of trade and commerce,
simplification of the tax structure, and a cautious approach to debt.
Real growth has averaged 4.5% in 1991-96, and inflation has been moderate.
Growth in tourism and increased trade have been key elements in this
solid record. Agricultural production accounted for a major portion
of growth in GDP in 1996, growth having been adversely affected by drought
in 1995. Further privatization, the attraction of increased foreign
investment, and improvements in government efficiency are among the
challenges for the future.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $43.3 billion (1996 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 7.1% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,800 (1996 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 13.5%
industry: 33.8%
services: 52.7% (1996 est.)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 6% (1996 est.)
Labor force:
total: 2.917 million (1993 est.)
by occupation: services 55%, industry 23%, agriculture 22% (1995 est.)
note : shortage of skilled labor
Unemployment rate: 16% (1995 est.)
Budget:
revenues : $5.2 billion
expenditures: $7.2 billion, including capital expenditures to $1.4 billion
(1996 est.)
Industries: petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron ore),
tourism, textiles, footwear, food, beverages
Industrial production growth rate: 3.5% (1995)
Electricity - capacity: 1.7 million kW (1995 est.)
Electricity - production: 6.5 billion kWh (1995 est.)
Electricity - consumption per capita: 678 kWh (1995 est.)
Agriculture - products: olives, dates, oranges, almonds, grain, sugar
beets, grapes; poultry, beef, dairy products
Exports:
total value: $5.7 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: hydrocarbons, textiles, agricultural products, phosphates
and chemicals
partners: EU 75%, North African countries 7%, India 2%, US 1%
Imports:
total value: $7.7 billion (c.i.f., 1996 est.)
commodities: industrial goods and equipment 57%, hydrocarbons 13%, food
12%, consumer goods
partners: EU countries 70%, North African countries 6%, US 5%, Japan
2%, Switzerland 1%
Debt - external: $9.6 billion (1996 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $221 million (1993)
Currency: 1 Tunisian dinar (TD) = 1,000 millimes
Exchange rates: Tunisian dinars (TD) per US$1 - 1.0075 (January 1997),
0.9985 (December 1996), 0.9733 (1996), 0.9458 (1995), 1.0116 (1994),
1.0037 (1993), 0.8844 (1992)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Late in 1985, commodity prices and tourism revenues fell, and harvests
were poor. Workers' remittances fell when Libya expelled 32,000 Tunisian
workers. An overvalued dinar and a growing foreign debt sparked a foreign
exchange crisis. In 1986, the government launched a structural adjustment
program to liberalize prices, reduce tariffs, and reorient Tunisia toward
a market economy.
Tunisia's economic reform program has been lauded as a model by international financial institutions. The government has liberalized prices, reduced tariffs, lowered debt-service-to-exports and debt-to-GDP ratios, and extended the average maturity of its $9 billion foreign debt. Structural adjustment brought additional lending from the World Bank and other Western creditors. In 1990, Tunisia acceded to the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The government also has privatized about 32 state-owned enterprises.
Unemployment continues to plague Tunisia's economy and is aggravated by a rapidly growing work force. An estimated 60% of the population is under the age of 25. Officially, 16% of the Tunisian work force is unemployed, but an estimated 50% of workers are unemployed or underemployed.
In 1992, Tunisia reentered the private international capital market for the first time in six years, securing a $10-million line of credit for balance of payments support. An emerging stock exchange offers investors opportunities. Recent oil and natural gas discoveries have put off until the 21st century Tunisia's becoming a net energy importer. Still, difficult economic reforms need to be made, including further reductions in tariffs and subsidies.
The Tunisian Government adopted a unified investment code in 1993 to attract foreign capital. More than 600 export-oriented joint venture firms operate in Tunisia to take advantage of relatively low labor costs and preferential access to nearby European markets. Economic links are closest with European countries, which dominate Tunisia's trade. Tunisia seeks continued preferential trade agreements with European countries. In 1993, Tunisia made the dinar convertible for trade transactions.