Global Dividends Hit Record $1.75 Trillion in 2024, Up 6.6% from 2023
Tunisia Sees Stability in Dividend Distribution Despite Contraction in Listed Companies and Partial Profit Retention
Global dividends reached a record $1.75 trillion in 2024, up 6.6% from 2023, according to a study by Janus Henderson. Meanwhile, the trend in Tunisia remains marked by stability, despite a slight contraction in the number of listed companies and partial profit retention.
This global progress is driven by the entry of tech giants Meta (Facebook) and Alphabet (Google) into the circle of dividend-paying companies, with a combined dividend of $15.1 billion.
In Tunisia, 60% of listed companies on the Tunis Stock Exchange paid dividends for the 2023 fiscal year, according to a May 2025 publication titled "Dividend Distribution by Companies for the 2021/2022/2023 Fiscal Years" issued by the Tunis Stock Exchange. Out of the 78 listed in 2023, down from 82 in 2022 due to the delisting of four companies, 48 paid dividends, a slight decrease compared to 2022 (49 companies). It is worth noting that the delisted companies had not paid dividends previously, which relativizes the impact of their withdrawal on the overall figures.
Certain profitable companies, however, chose not to pay dividends. This is the case for STB, Carthage Cement, and STIP, which reported average profits of 86 million Tunisian dinars (Mtnd), 41 Mtnd, and 12 Mtnd, respectively, over the 2021-2023 period. Their decision is part of a strategy to offset previous losses, with profits being retained to strengthen their financial structure.
In quantitative terms, the total amount of dividends distributed by listed companies in Tunisia increased from 1,136 Mtnd in 2021 to 1,393 Mtnd in 2023, representing a 22.6% growth (+257 Mtnd). This sustained growth testifies to the resilience of listed companies, whose cumulative profits increased by 13.3% (+288 Mtnd) over the same period.
