Several years ago, Tunisia embarked on a program to digitize its administration with the aim of simplifying procedures for citizens and businesses. The National Program for the Unique Identification Project is proof of this.
However, these efforts to digitize the Tunisian administration are struggling to make progress in relation to the needs expressed by businesses.
Tunisia among the leaders in e-government in Africa
Tunisia, South Africa, Gabon, Mauritius and Ghana remain the leaders in e-government adoption in their respective regions, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ e-Government Survey 2024: Accelerating Digital Transformation for Sustainable Development. These countries held the same rank in the 2022 survey.
According to the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA), Tunisia retained its top position in North Africa, moving up one place to third in the continental rankings, after being fourth in 2022.
These five countries stand out for their E-Government Development Index (EGDI), which exceeds the African average of 0.4247 (on a scale of 1.0000). Their strengths lie in telecommunications infrastructure, human capital development and online services, which are close to the world average of 0.6382′.
As regional leaders in e-governance, these countries set an example for other African countries. Their progress underlines the importance of investing in digital infrastructure, human capital and improving online services.
120 online services
The digitalization of Tunisia has accelerated and we can already find more than 120 administrative services online, bringing together both services for Tunisian citizens and legal entities (companies and associations) operating on Tunisian soil.
The introduction of e-government in Tunisia dates back to 1980, when the Tunisian authorities took the first steps towards introducing IT into the public administration and dematerializing administrative procedures.
Since 2005, efforts have been focused on electronic services (e-mail, search engines, downloading forms and online specifications…) and then on the online provision of various services.
Today, 90% of Tunisian ministries have their own website and, by October 2013, there will be 202 online administrative services in the country.
The best known are online university enrolment services, online job search, online bill payment, online company creation, virtual one-stop shopping, remote tax declaration, remote salary declaration and remote payment of contributions to the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) and the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM), as well as online public procurement and, of course, e-commerce (…).
