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- Economy
-
- Overview: The economy depends primarily on petroleum,
- phosphates, tourism, and exports of light manufactures.
- Following two years of drought-induced economic decline, the
- economy made a strong recovery in 1990 as a result of a
- bountiful harvest, continued export growth, and higher domestic
- investment. Continued high inflation and unemployment have
- eroded popular support for the government, however, and forced
- Tunis to slow the pace of economic reform. Nonetheless, the
- government appears committed to implementing its IMF-supported
- structural adjustment program and to servicing its foreign debt.
-
- GDP: exchange rate conversion - $10.9 billion, per capita
- $1,320; real growth rate 3.5% (1991)
-
- Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.2% (1991)
-
- Unemployment rate: 15% (1991)
-
- Budget: revenues $3.8 billion; expenditures $5.4 billion,
- including capital expenditures of $970 million (1992 est.)
-
- Exports: $3.7 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
-
- commodities: hydrocarbons, agricultural products, phosphates
- and chemicals
-
- partners: EC 74%, Middle East 11%, US 2%, Turkey, USSR
-
- Imports: $4.9 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
-
- commodities: industrial goods and equipment 57%, hydrocarbons
- 13%, food 12%, consumer goods
-
- partners: EC 67%, US 6%, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Turkey,
- Algeria
-
- External debt: $8.6 billion (1991)
-
- Industrial production: growth rate 5% (1989); accounts for
- about 25% of GDP, including petroleum
-
- Electricity: 1,493,000 kW capacity; 4,210 million kWh produced,
- 530 kWh per capita (1989)
-
- Industries: petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron
- ore), tourism, textiles, footwear, food, beverages
-
- Agriculture: accounts for 16% of GDP and one-third of labor
- force; output subject to severe fluctuations because of
- frequent droughts; export crops - olives, dates, oranges,
- almonds; other products - grain, sugar beets, wine grapes,
- poultry, beef, dairy; not self-sufficient in food; fish catch
- of 99,200 metric tons (1987)
-
- Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $730
- million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
- commitments (1970-89), $5.2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid
- (1979-89), $684 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $410
- million
-
- Currency: Tunisian dinar (plural - dinars); 1 Tunisian dinar
- (TD) = 1,000 millimes
-
- Exchange rates: Tunisian dinars (TD) per US$1 - 0.9272 (March
- 1992), 0.9246 (1991), 0.8783 (1990), 0.9493 (1989), 0.8578
- (1988), 0.8287 (1987)
-
- Fiscal year: calendar year
-
-