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Tunisia Shows Signs of Recovery

Tunisia Shows Signs of Recovery
Tunisia Shows Signs of Recovery

Tunisia’s economy is displaying signs of economic recovery following difficult years since the Arab Spring, but remains dependent on consumption and imports, with weak investment and high levels of unemployment, prompting calls from the International Monetary Fund to cut its fiscal deficit and stabilize public debt, Arabian Business reported. “There are some encouraging signs that economic activity is picking up,” said Bjorn Rother, IMF economist and head of staff for Tunisia, in a note on Friday following a visit to the North African country at the end of August. The economy grew at 2.6% year-on-year in the first half of this year with strong performance in agriculture, services and tourism. However, “long-standing economic imbalances continue to pose significant risks to the economy”, Rother said. While inflation declined marginally in July, at 7.5%, it remains considerably higher than in previous years. Tunisia has made good progress on reducing its budget deficit in the first six months of 2018, Rother said. However, there are significant downside risks. Investment has again been weak this year, while unemployment among the young and women remains very high.

 

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