Tunisia’s real GDP should rebound and grow 2% in 2021 and 3.9% in 2022, according to the 2021 North Africa Economic Outlook report of the African Development Bank (AfDB), on the theme: «the path to post-COVID-19 recovery.»
The current account deficit is expected to narrow over the medium term to 4.1% in 2021 and 3.6% in 2022 as the recovery continues. The major risks to this scenario are a third wave of the pandemic and political instability at the national and regional level, the AfDB said.
Risks also include the increase in popular protests against social conditions, insufficient access of companies to financial resources, and a slower-than-expected recovery of European economies on which Tunisian exports depend heavily.
In 2020, Tunisia’s Real GDP contracted by 8.8%, the report said, adding that in Q2 of 2020, GDP fell by 21% year-on-year, due to lockdowns that reduced domestic supply and demand.
According to the same source, GDP growth in North Africa is expected to rebound 4% in 2021, the same level as in 2019, and then rise 6% in 2022. This projected recovery is better than any other region in Africa.
