Guidance

Overseas business risk: Tunisia

Updated 11 April 2022

1. Political and Economic

Tunisia has entered a new phase in the post-2011 political transition. On 25 July 2021, the President Kais Saied announced a series of measures to sack the prime minister, assume all executive powers and suspend the work of parliament for 30 days. Since then, President Saied extended the suspension of the Parliament indefinitely and legally formalised this rule by decree. President Saied appointed a new Prime Minister in September 2021 and a new government. In December 2021, Saied announced his political roadmap including a new constitution that will be put to referendum in July 2022 and parliamentary elections under a new electoral system in December 2022.

Tunisia already suffered from a challenging socio-economic situation even prior to the additional strains of the Covid-19 pandemic. Frustrations with high levels of unemployment continue to fuel protests.

2. Economic

Tunisia is facing many economic challenges, with high levels of unemployment, especially youth unemployment, and government spending deficits. There are positive signs of the government working on a reform plan and engaging with International Financial Institutions for structural support.

Regarding the UK, it is perceived positively as a friend of Tunisia which offers the potential to increase bilateral trade opportunities post-Brexit.

Prior to the 2015 terrorist attacks in Sousse and Bardo, the number of UK tourists who visited Tunisia grew to over 400,000 per year. The terrorist attacks had a major impact on the number of tourists visiting the country. UK Government and international efforts to improve security in Tunisia saw confidence return and the number of UK tourists visiting Tunisia reached over 350,000 in 2019.

Moreover, the UK remains a good market for Tunisian exports as bilateral trade continues to be in Tunisia’s favour. Total trade in goods and services between the UK and Tunisia was £430m in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2020. Textiles, oil derivatives and machinery are often among the top exports from the UK to Tunisia.

Despite the fact that Tunisia remains a difficult market for doing business as showed in the World Bank ease of doing business report, UK companies continued to show strong interest in pursuing opportunities in sectors such as energy, ICT, Education and financial and professional services.

To overcome part of the difficulties the market presents, UK companies can get the UK Export Finance (UKEF) has £2.5 billion set aside for the Tunisian market. UKEF is the government agency who provides guarantees to banks offering loans to overseas buyers of UK goods and services and insurance to exporters against the risk of not getting paid. These funds can be used to further grow UK exports to Tunisia. For more information please visit the website.

For more information please see the Tunisia economic factsheet.

3. Civil Disobedience and Labour Unrest

As a result of the political uncertainty, plus Tunisia’s longstanding socio-economic problems, civil disobedience and labour unrest remain a fact of life in the country. Over 12,000 acts of protests were recorded in 2021.

A notable long-standing labour unrest issue is oil and gas production in Al-Kamour in the south of Tunisia. In 2020, protesters shut down production because investment and jobs - promised by central government in 2017 to end a previous round of protests - had not materialised. The shutdown cost the state £260m in lost revenue and was only ended by further promises of jobs and investment. This in turn sparked protests elsewhere as the unemployed in other regions attempted to emulate the El-Kamour model of paralysing local economic activity to extract offers of investment from the government.

Other protests causing localised disruption happen with little or no warning. In late 2020, a wildcat strike at a cooking gas bottle-filling factory caused widespread shortages of cooking and heating gas during winter, leading to large queues, a flourishing black market and significant economic losses.

The phosphates industry was the most affected by job seeking protesters since the revolution. Production was halved in 2012 and production levels remain depressed, depriving the government from a major source of revenue. The government has stated its intent to double production levels of phosphate from 3.9 million tons in 2021 to a target of 8 million tons by 2024.

More information on political risk, including political demonstrations, is available in the FCDO travel advice

4. Human Rights

Tunisia has made significant advances in human rights since the 2011 revolution, with many civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights enshrined in the 2014 Constitution. However, extensive reforms are required to bring legislation in line with the Constitution, and the Constitutional Court, empowered to invalidate laws that do not conform with the rights in the Constitution, is yet to be established.

Since 2018, the FCO has not identified Tunisia as a “Human Rights Priority Country”, however there are still ongoing human rights concerns: torture and mistreatment; the impunity of security forces; arbitrary arrests; prolonged periods of detention and prison conditions.

5. Labour Market and Practices

British Nationals are not required to obtain entry visas for Tunisia for stays up to 3 months. Foreign nationals intending to take up employment in Tunisia must first obtain work and residence permits, which are only available in Tunisia and cannot be obtained before arrival.

Foreigners are not allowed to do jobs which Tunisians could normally fill. There are special provisions for foreign-owned or off-shore companies. As a general rule, job seekers should only sign properly drawn-up contracts offered by an employer and which have been endorsed by the Ministry of Social Affairs (website in French or Arabic). If you need advice, you can consult a lawyer. A list of lawyers is available from the British Embassy Tunis or the Consular Division of the FCDO in London.

For more information please see the guidance for living in Tunisia.

6. Bribery and Corruption

Bribery is illegal. It is an offence for British nationals or someone who is ordinarily resident in the UK, a body incorporated in the UK or a Scottish partnership, to bribe anywhere in the world.

In addition, a commercial organisation carrying on a business in the UK can be liable for the conduct of a person who is neither a UK national or resident in the UK or a body incorporated or formed in the UK. In this case it does not matter whether the acts or omissions which form part of the offence take place in the UK or elsewhere.

7. Corruption in Tunisia Revolution

Tunisia ranked 69 out of 180 countries in 2021 in the Corruption Perceptions Index, with its score rising (i.e. less corrupt) by one point since 2019.

Despite efforts made after the revolution to tackle corruption case under the Ben Ali regime, no cases have successfully been prosecuted in court. The findings of the Truth and Dignity Commission, charged with looking into historic corruption and human rights abuses, were finally published in the government’s official gazette in 2020. In response the government and parliament need to establish committees to monitor the implementation of the recommendations made by the Truth and Dignity Commission, however no official announcements have been made about this.

Visit the Business Anti-Corruption page providing advice and guidance about corruption and some basic effective procedures you can establish to protect your company from them.

Read the information provided on our Bribery and corruption page.

8. Terrorism Threat

Terrorists are still very likely to try to carry out further attacks in Tunisia, including against UK and Western interests. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners. You should be vigilant with regard to your personal security whilst you are in Tunisia.

Since the terrorist attacks on Bardo and Sousse in 2015, which had a major impact on the tourist economy, the Government of Tunisia has shown commitment and made progress in improving its security capabilities. However, the terrorist threat and continued attacks against the Tunisian security forces remain a major risk to Tunisia’s stability. Home grown extremism, including Returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters and in prisons and marginalised communities, remains a real concern, and instability in neighbouring Libya places Tunisia on the frontline in the fight against violent extremist influences.

Read the information provided on our Terrorism Travel Advice.

9. Protective Security Advice

The Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure also provides technical security advice and guidance to organisations within national infrastructure sectors.

For more advice please consult FCDO’s Tunisia travel advice.

Read the information provided by the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, which delivers protective security advice and guidance to publicly accessible locations. CT awareness learning sessions are also available through their website.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is the national lead for public cyber security advice and guidance.

The Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (PCPI) provides a single web based reference for a range of crime prevention initiatives for business and residential venues.

10. Intellectual Property

Tunisia belongs to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and is a signatory to the Bern Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (copyright) and the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (patent, trademark and related industrial property). As a member of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and a signatory to the UNCTAD agreement on the protection of patents and trademarks, Tunisia undertakes to protect foreign property rights.

Read the information provided on our Intellectual Property page.

11. Organised Crime

Read the information provided on our Crime and fraud prevention page.

12. Contact

For information on conducting business with Tunisia contact the Department for Business and Trade team based in the country.