Resource information
Tunisia has successfully shifted from
resource-based exports dominated by oil and gas to
manufactures and services. The economy is now driven mainly
by textile, electrical, mechanical, and food processing
exports; tourism and related activities; and production of
olives and cereals. Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth
has been rising consistently, increasing from 3 percent
annually over 1985-90 to more than 5 percent annually over
1996-02. Today, with a per capita income of US$2,000,
Tunisians enjoy more than two-and-a-half times the real
incomes that their parents had 30 years ago. Tunisia signed
an association agreement with the European Union (EUAA) that
provides for free trade in manufacturing by 2008. The
European Union (EU) has been Tunisia's dominant trading
partner; the region is the source of 67 percent of capital
flows into Tunisia, accounts for a large share of
Tunisia's tourism market, and is the region with the
largest community of expatriate Tunisians. This dominance
renders Tunisia's economy vulnerable to adverse
developments in the EU.
