Tunisia is a partner country of German development cooperation. GTZ (GIZ as of January 2011) has been working in Tunisia on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) since 1975 and has maintained an office in Tunis since 1999.

Tunisia has an average per capita income of over 3,800 US dollars per annum and is therefore classified as a middle-income country.

Since 1990, the country has generated average growth of approximately 5% of its GDP per annum. As it accounts for a large number of jobs and is a major supplier to the food industry, the sector is of great significance in economic and socio-political terms. However, the contribution to GDP made by industry (textiles, leather, food, electrical engineering) and the service sector has increased disproportionately in recent years and has overtaken that of agriculture. Tunisia is one of the most important partners in the Barcelona Process and for the European Neighbourhood Policy.

Yet these positive development indicators are accompanied by problematic trends.  The country’s economic and demographic development, rapid urbanisation, resource-intensive industrialisation and the expansion of irrigated agriculture have placed a considerable burden on the environment and have heavily depleted natural resources, a situation that is set to worsen with climate change.

The Tunisian Government is trying to counteract these trends through the implementation of reform and development plans. Its aims are to lower unemployment and to improve the competitiveness of domestic industry, as well as to protect and sparingly use natural resources and adapt to climate change. 

German development cooperation supports Tunisia’s reform and development plans for the priority areas economic development and environmental protection.