United States Department of State

Tunisia United States Department of State

The newly elected Government of Tunisia (GOT) was sworn into power on February 6, 2015 following three rounds of free and fair democratic elections. The GOT has a five year mandate and places a priority on attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). Tunisia is taking steps to attract FDI, increase foreign currency reserves, and reduce unemployment. There are more than 14,136 foreign companies currently operate in Tunisia. Historically, the GOT has encouraged export-oriented FDI in the interior regions and in key industrial sectors, such as call centers, electronics, aerospace and aeronautics, automotive parts, and textile/apparel manufacturing. The off-shore sectors that attract the greatest FDI are: scientific and technical specialized activities (37 percent), textile & clothing (12 percent), ICT (9 percent), and wholesale (9 percent; automobiles and motorcycles excluded). Inadequate infrastructure in the interior results in the concentration of most of the foreign investment (offshore and onshore) in the coastal regions of the north-east (78 percent) and the center-east (19 percent). Western and southern regions attracted only 3 percent of foreign companies (491 out of 14,136) despite incentives offered to offshore companies to invest in those regions.