The Minister of Development, Investment, and International Cooperation, Selim Azzabi, expected the Tunisian economy to shrink by about 7 percent this year, explaining that "The number of unemployed people will rise by about 275,000 new unemployed, according to a government study, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program."
Tunisia ended this month all the restrictions on travel and movement aimed at containing the Coronavirus and the economic sectors returned to work normally and will open by the end of this month its land, sea, and air borders, in a sign of its control over the spread of the virus. But the vital tourism sector, which accounts for about 10 percent of its gross domestic product, is a major source of hard currency was hardly hit by the current crisis.
Azzabi said that "The economy is expected to shrink by 4.4 percent, but deflation may reach 6 or 7 percent during the supplementary finance law, which the government will present to the parliament within weeks."
The tourism industry fell by about 50 percent in the first five months of this year. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is expected to increase to 21.6 percent, compared to the 15 percent recorded at the beginning of this year.
Source (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Edited)
