Macroeconomic Forecast Tunisia

September 2007 | Macroeconomic Forecasts

The debt-to-GDP ratio, which has vacillated between the 48-55% mark since 1990, should slip marginally to 46.2% in 2007 and continue to slope downward thereafter. Thanks to the authorities' active debt management we see only a moderate growth in the total external debt burden to US$15.7bn (US$20.3bn) in 2007. Last year was the first time in over a decade that a reduction (of 2.7%) in the total debt burden was achieved, with a fall to US$15.0bn (TND20.4bn) from US$15.7bn (US$19.9bn) in 2006. In 2006, US$1.56bn from the partial privatisation of a state-owned telecoms operator was allocated for the advance payment of foreign debt. This is a positive trend for debt that is likely to continue with further privatisations in the pipeline.

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