Tunisia’s national economy grew 2.6 percent in the first half of this year, compared to 1.9 percent in the same period of 2017, the National Institute of Statistics (INS) has said.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) also grew 2.8 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2018 compared to the same period last year, and 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2018, according to the latest statistics from INS.
This increase is particularly due to the rise in the value added of vital sectors, such as food industries (+2.4 percent), textiles, clothing and footwear (+2.6 percent) and chemical industries, which grew 4.9 percent.
Non-manufacturing industries also posted a 1.3 percent increase in the second quarter of 2018, compared to the same period of 2017, INS said.
The services sector has continued to grow, with a 3.6 percent increase in value added in the second quarter of 2018 due to a growth in hospitality by 11.5 percent.
Despite the positive results, economic expert Ezzeddine Soaidan said that the Tunisian economy has been facing many problems, mainly attracting investments and improving financial resources.
The economy’s growth of 2.6 percent is an important step but it is still not sufficient to achieve the required development and create job opportunities.
Tunisian authorities hope to reach a 3 percent economic growth by the end of 2018. But international agencies have expected a growth of only 2.8 percent.
