Tunisia
The country seeks to bolster its digital sector. The Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies launched a tender for the installation of a national 5G network, open to both domestic and foreign enterprises. Complete coverage will be achieved, according to minister of Information Nazir ben Neji, by the end of 2024. Tunis already boasts one of the most efficient telecommunications networks in Africa, with ICT services currently accounting for 7,5% of national GDP. The growth of Tunisia’s ICT sector mirrors the country’s status as a central node for telecommunications, with three optic-fibre cables connecting Kelibia to Sicily (Didon, Hannibal, KELTRA-2) and a tranche of the trans-Mediterranean Medusa cable set to connect Bizerte to Marseille by 2025. Moreover, Bizerte recently inaugurated a new extension of the PEACE, and SEA-ME-WE cable systems, crossing Suez to connect the Mediterranean to the Pacific Ocean. Italy has also showed interest in Tunisia’s digital potential, with minister of Entreprises and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso signing a memorandum of understanding with ben Neji during his visit in Tunis at the end of May.
Meanwhile, tensions in Ras Ajdir deepened ties between Tunisia and western Libya (Tripoli). Following a phone call between Tunisian president Kais Saied and Tripoli’s Prime minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, officials from the two countries met on June 11th to discuss the implementation of custom procedures and ensure the reopening of the border crossing. The issue was at the center of the in-person meeting between Saied and Dbeibah on the sidelines of the China-Arab States cooperation forum, which Beijing had hosted at the end of May.
News in domestic politics, finally, as Saied announced a 7% raise of the minimum private sector salary. The measure – which Saied announced after a meeting with minister of Social Affairs Kamel Maddouri – will enter into force by next month and will be retroactively applied up to May 2024. A new salary increase up to 7,5% is scheduled in 2025. The announcement also raises doubts due to the state of the Tunisian economy, which suffers from high public debt, unemployment, and inflationary pressures on food staples. It should be noted that Saied’s statement also comes as he faces its first elections as incumbent, scheduled for October 6th, 2024.
Download the June 2024 report
Italy confirms its support to the country, which looks increasingly precarious economically and affected by anti-western actors’s agendas. By Francesco Meriano
An analysis by Daniele Ruvinetti
The number of African countries thinking of developing a nuclear programme is growing, while collaboration projects with Russia and China are increasing. By Emanuele Rossi
| Head of state | Kais Saied |
| Head of Government | Ahmed Hachani |
| Institutional Form | Unitary presidential republic |
| Capital | Tunis |
| Legislative Power | Assembly of the Representatives of the People (217 Members), temporarily suspended |
| Judicial Power | Court of Cassation (composed of First President, House of Presidents and Magistrates; it’s organised into 27 civil and 11 Penal Houses) |
| Ambassador to Italy | Mourad Bourelha |
| Total Area kmq | 163.610 km2 |
| Land | 155.360 km2 |
| Weather | Temperate in the north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in the south |
| Natural resources | Petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc and salt |
| Economic summary | Its economy particularly suffered from the global financial crisis of 2008, helping to start the Jasmine Revolution in 2010-2011, which led to popular protests, uprisings and a regime change. Despite the establish of a democratic system, the social and economic expectations of Tunisian people remain unmet, generating a lot of protests between 2019 and 2020. The social and political context has been aggravated by the pandemic of Covid-19, and this led the President to announce a temporary suspension of Parliament. |
| GDP | € 46.5 billion (2023) |
| Pro-capite GDP (Purchasing power parity) | $2889 (Dec. 2021) |
| Exports | € 18.2 billion (2023) |
| Export partner | France 29.4%, Italy 17.2%, Germany 14.2%, United States 4.12% (2020) Imports: $16.5 billion (2020) |
| Imports | € 23.2 billion (2023) |
| Import partner | France 17.6%, Italy 16.5%, Germany 8.54%, China 8.67%, Türkiye 5.57% (2020) |
| Trade With Italy | € 6,865 billion (2023) |
| Population | 11.896.972 (2022) |
| Population Growth | 0,69% (2022 est.) |
| Ethnicities | Arabs 98%, Europeans 1%, Jews and others 1% |
| Languages | Arabic (official, one of the languages of trade), French (trade), Berber (Tamazight) |
| Religions | Islamic (official, Sunni) 99.1%, other (includes Christians, Jews, Shia Muslims and Baha'i) <1% |
| Urbanization | 70,2% (2022) |
| Literacy | 81.8% (2020) |
Independent since 1956, the Tunisian Republic overlooks the Mediterranean Sea and borders with Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast. Most of the 11.8-million population is Arab. There are, however, Imaziɣen and European minorities. The country’s official language is Arabic, but French is widely spoken.
Lacking major oil resources, over the years Tunisia has developed a market-oriented economy and an interesting manufacturing industry, which make it a success story in Africa and the Arab world.
Italy has always seen Tunisia as a natural production platform for companies willing to diversify their activities and penetrate new markets in the Maghreb and, more generally, Africa. The country’s appeal stems from factors including geographical proximity to important markets, the availability of skilled labour and the presence of competitive high-added-value production chains such as automotive, textile and garments, aerospace, plastics, renewable energy, information technology and telecommunications. With a total trade of $ 6,47 billion (2021), Italy is Tunisia’s second trade partner. With a positive balance, Italy is the second largest exporter to Tunisia and the second largest importer from it, with a total market share of 14 percent as of October 2020. Italy’s economic presence in Tunisia is large, solid and dynamic, with around 800 companies employing over 68,000 people. Italian companies represent one third of the companies with foreign participation in the country. Most of these are concentrated in Greater Tunis and the coastal regions and operate in major manufacturing sectors, including textile and garment, energy, construction, automotive components, banking, transport, mechanical, electrical, pharmaceutical, tourism and agri-food.
