The National Institute of Statistics in Tunisia revealed that the Tunisian economy contracted by 21.6 percent in the second quarter of this year on an annual basis due to the Coronavirus crisis, and this is the largest decline in it in 23 years. While the unemployment rate rose to 18 percent in the second quarter.
The reasons for the contraction are due to the decline in production in most areas, such as hotels, restaurants, cafes, and transportation services, as well as the services sector.
Tunisia's economy depends to a large extent on the tourism sector and the Tunisian government recently issued a decree mandating the wearing of protective masks in clinics, hospitals, major commercial spaces, the train station in the capital and the port of La Goulette, to reduce the spread of the virus. Despite the return of injuries, the government has ruled out implementing the closure measures again.
In this context, Adnan Sud, Director General of the Tunisian Institute of Statistics, affirmed that "this contraction comes as a result of the approval of the quarantine to address the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, which included most economic sectors except for the agricultural sector." He pointed out that "the service sector is one of the sectors most affected by the Corona pandemic and the measures taken to contain it, to shrink during the second quarter of 2020 by 30.4 percent."
Source (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
