Facts about Tunisia
Throughout its 3,000 years history, Tunisia has been home to countless civilizations that left behind a country rich of history and culture. With its southern Saharan breathtaking landscapes, its beautiful Mediterranean beaches and its welcoming people, Tunisia hosts an average of 7 millions Tourists per year from all over the World!
Throughout the years, Tunisia has been and continues to be a trend-setting nation in the Arab World:
- The First country to establish a constitution in 1861
- The First country to abolish polygamy in 1956
- The First country to give right to vote for women in 1957
- The First country to fund a human rights league in 1976
- The First country to overthrow a dictator in 2011
A Strategic Location
Located in North Africa, with the Mediterranean Sea along its coast, Tunisia enjoys a very strategic and easily accessible location from Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Multiple direct flights connect it to most of the countries in the region.
Positive Impacts of the Jasmine Revolution
In the past few months, Tunisia witnessed a historical revolution that resulted in the ouster of a dictatorship regime. On January 14, 20011, a new, free, democratic and optimistic Tunisia was born where transparency, rule of law and fair dispute resolution is becoming the norm rather then the exception.
Tunisia has declared war against big and small corruption. Banks, for the first time in their history, have started disclosing their bad assets, and the government is sharing statistical and economic information via portals that it never shared before. Transparency, and proper governance will take some time to be embedded in the system, but irreversible decisions are being made now for it to happen, and civil society, NGOs and associations like ours are actively monitoring and scrutinizing this process.
Why invest in Tunisia
A Diversified Economy
An average GDP Growth rate of over 5% throughout the last decade
- 3% growth in 2009 despite slow and negative economic growth in main trading partners.
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Important Sectors in the Tunisian Economy include:
- Agriculture.
- Tourism.
- Information & Communication Technologies.
- Manufacturing.
The Tunisian GDP is composed mainly by:
- Agriculture: 10.6%.
- Industry: 34.6%
- services: 54.8% (2010 est.)
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit, CIA World Factbook, Central Bank of Tunisia
A Country that has been Open for and to Business
Tunisia has been consistently ranked ahead of its geographical competitors in international rankings:
- 55th in ease of doing business (ahead of 5 European Union Countries)
- 32nd in global competitiveness
Source: Doing Business Report 2011- World Economic Forum
A Robust Infrastructure & Availability of Employable Skills in Place
Tunisia Ranks Worldwide:
- 42nd in Availability of latest technologies
- 30th in Quality of overall infrastructure
Tunisia is the most educated nation in the Arab World and Africa, with 81% literacy rate
- 20th in Education System Quality
- 7th in Availability of scientists & engineers
- 36th on innovation capacity
Source: The Global Competitiveness Report 2011, Ernst & Young presentation 2011
An Attractive and Proven System of Incentives
Tunisia offers operating costs that are more then 20% lower then in the countries with which it is in direct competition"
- Free transfer of profits and capital
- Simple incorporation procedures
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A favorable off shore regime:
- No corporate tax for companies exporting 100% of their products
- Non double taxation agreement signed with several countries
- Total exemption from import duties & taxes for imported equipment, raw materials
- 15 to 25% investment subsidy for projects established in Priority Regional Development areas
- State’s assumption of the employer’s share of contributions for the first 7 years
- Training grant: up to 50% of the training costs
Source: Ernst & Young Study 2009, Foreign Investment Promotion Agency
A Great Place to Live, One Which Will Only Get Better
Tunisia has a hospitable, progressive society that has been opened to visitors and investors
- Modern residential neighborhoods with excellent quality, affordable housing
- Foreign schools (including french and american) as well as public and private Tunisian educational institutions
- High quality medical services where more and more foreign patients (from the UK in particular) travel for health care
- Numerous commercial centers offering a wide variety of products
- A panoply of sporting activities are underpinned with well-established infrastructure
- Amusement parks and numerous public and private leisure activities exist
A Regional Hub for your International Expansion into Africa, the MENA region and Europe
Tunisia has the prerequesites to be a launching platform for regional operations in MENA, Africa and Southern Europe. It has been called the Switzerland of Africa and the Singapore of MENA by economic observers, and is positioning itself to become a regional hub for multinationals and SMEs looking for an operations center to cover the region.