The Tunisian government approved the 2022 budget, amid expectations of borrowing about 6.8 billion dollars (6 billion euros) to revive the economy, which has been badly affected by the political crisis and the Covid-19 epidemic.
The size of the budget is 57.2 billion dinars (about 17.6 billion euros), an increase of 3.2 percent compared to 2021. While the projected budget deficit for 2022 is 8.5 billion dinars (2.6 billion euros), which represents 6.2 percent of GDP.
The budget also provides for seeking to borrow about 20 billion dinars (5.7 billion euros) to cover expenses and cash needs. The level of public debt is expected to be 82.6 percent of GDP, compared to 85.6 percent in 2021.
The debt will take the form of external credits of 12.6 billion dinars (3.9 billion euros) and domestic loans of 7.3 billion dinars (2.3 billion euros). Note that the budget assumes a growth rate of 2.6 percent, and the average price of a barrel of oil is $75. Tunisia, which has been going through a deep political crisis since July, is trying to find solutions in order to revive its faltering economy, which is severely affected by the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Source (Al-Arabiya.net Website, Edited)
