Tunisia
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 | Kamal Al-Madouri |
| 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.
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