Tunisia's Budget Execution Reveals 10.047 Billion Dinar Deficit in 2024
According to a recent report by the Tunisian Ministry of Finance, the provisional results of the state budget execution as of December 2024 reveal a budget deficit of -10.047 billion dinars (or -6.0% of GDP). This is despite a 5% increase in overall revenue compared to 2023, reaching 47.011 billion dinars. Tax revenue has grown by 9.7% to 41.754 billion dinars, driven mainly by direct taxes (+13.5%) and indirect taxes (+8.1%).
Public expenditure has increased by 4.6% to 56.434 billion dinars, dominated by salary costs (22.273 billion dinars) and subsidies (6.284 billion dinars).
Tunisia's public debt stands at 135.032 billion dinars, representing 81.2% of GDP as of 2024. External debt accounts for 46.2% of this amount (62.343 billion dinars), while internal debt reaches 72.688 billion dinars (53.8%). Debt servicing (principal + interest) has absorbed 18.522 billion dinars in 2024, including 9.329 billion dinars for external debt repayment.
Meanwhile, the Ministry has announced an ambitious goal to integrate 30% of renewable energy into the energy mix by 2035, up from the current 5%.
To finance the deficit, Tunisia has mobilized 15.283 billion dinars through domestic borrowing, mainly through treasury bonds, and -5.860 billion dinars in net external financing. The report also highlights the implementation of a "Water Management Plan by 2050" and the rehabilitation of rural drinking water networks at a cost of 2.3 billion dinars. Finally, the Ministry stresses the need for transparent project monitoring, with semi-annual progress reports, to avoid "announcements remaining dead letters" in a context of critical water and energy stress.
