Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
· collected 2026-09-03 · by Hichem Mechichi
On the eve of the January 14, 2011 revolution, Tunisia was neither an ideal democracy nor the economic “dragon” of the southern Mediterranean that official propaganda portrayed it as.
asserted
propaganda → portray → it
Public and individual freedoms were restricted, clientelism was widespread, development was unequal and unbalanced, and the regime controlled everyday life with an iron grip.
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regime → restrict → grip
The “Tunisian model” was marked by serious imbalances, many of which helped spur the revolution.
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many → mark → revolution
Regional and social disparities in the distribution of wealth and opportunities created a growing sense of injustice among large sections of the population.
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disparities → create → population
When protests erupted following the mistreatment of a street vendor in Sidi Bouzid by municipal police officers and his subsequent suicide, they developed into a nationwide uprising that ultimately transformed the country’s political, social and economic order.
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that → erupt → order
But acknowledging the injustice Tunisians endured before 2011 should not obscure another reality: The state had a cohesive administration, managed an open economy that maintained its main macroeconomic balances to some extent, and provided public services that met citizens’ needs to some degree.
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that → acknowledge → degree
The economy was far from delivering prosperity for all, and its benefits were distributed unfairly.
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benefits → deliver → all
But it remained cohesive and achieved steady growth averaging 4 percent annually during the decade before the revolution.
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it → remain → revolution
That rate fell by half between 2011 and 2021.
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rate → fall → 2011
The revolution opened a new chapter, bringing political pluralism, freedom of expression and democratic institutions.
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revolution → open → expression
But this political transition was not accompanied by an economic one.
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transition → accompany → one
Governments, coalitions and policies changed without putting the economy on a path towards fair and sustainable growth.
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Governments → change → growth
Instead, economic indicators deteriorated, public-finance imbalances worsened and creating wealth and jobs became increasingly difficult.
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creating → deteriorate → wealth
Yet despite this decline and severe difficulties, particularly during COVID-19, Tunisia had not before 2021 reached the point where the state could no longer perform its basic functions or the economy’s fundamental balances were severely disrupted, as happened afterwards.
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balances → reach → functions
Tunisians are now living through the summer of 2026 amid persistent electricity and water cuts, a collapsed health system unable to provide basic care and essential medicines, and purchasing power at its lowest levels, leaving citizens barely able to obtain basic foodstuffs.
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Tunisians → live → foodstuffs
How did Tunisia reach a situation unprecedented in the history of the post-independence state?
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Tunisia → reach → state
And how did promises of economic salvation, self-reliance, recovering stolen funds and building a new economic model lead to a reality in which citizens cannot find enough water for themselves and their families?
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citizens → recover → themselves
Between the allure of rhetoric and the exercise of power
Kais Saied came to power in 2019 at a moment of political exhaustion, after years of conflict among the elites and amid growing economic and social difficulties that had caused many Tunisians to lose confidence in the political class.
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Tunisians → come → class
He did not come with a coherent political philosophy nor a recognised school of economic thought.
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He → come → thought
Instead, he offered populist rhetoric that reduced the complexities of Tunisia’s economy and society to a simple proposition: Tunisia was not poor; its wealth had been plundered and monopolised by corrupt figures and businesspeople associated with the old system.
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wealth → offer → system
The state simply had to recover this money and redistribute it to the regions and groups deprived of it.
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state → have → it
Fighting corruption therefore became a central pillar of his rhetoric, presented not merely as part of institutional reform but as an approach almost sufficient in itself to rebuild the economy.
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Fighting → fight → economy
From this came the major promises: Recovering stolen funds, creating community companies as a new form of ownership, and breaking with international financial institutions and sovereign rating agencies through “self-reliance”.
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promises → come → reliance
These ideas appealed to many Tunisians because they reduced a complex crisis to identifiable culprits and causes, but also because they drew on genuine disillusionment with the post-revolutionary political elite and real problems of corruption, poor governance and regional and social inequality.
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they → appeal → corruption
In July 2021, Saied took control of all powers, dissolved constitutional institutions and silenced opposition voices in the name of implementing a project he promised would place Tunisia on a new historic path.
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he → take → path
What, then, has become of that project: Fighting corruption to recover wealth, retrieving stolen funds to finance development, redistributing wealth to marginalised regions, establishing community companies owned and managed by local communities, and building an economy more independent of the outside world?
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What → become → world
What has it produced once rhetoric and promises gave way to the exercise of power?
The numbers are stubborn
Whatever one’s political position on Kais Saied, the economic figures provide a clear measure of the results.
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figures → produce → results
After a temporary post-pandemic rebound produced growth of about 4.7 percent in 2021, growth fell to 2.8 percent in 2022 and 0.2 percent in 2023, before recovering to 1.6 percent in 2024 and about 2.5 percent in 2025, according to World Bank data.
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growth → produce → data
Growth of 2 or 2.5 percent is insufficient to absorb unemployment, which remains at about 15 percent, let alone create new jobs.
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which → absorb → jobs
Nor is it enough to finance the investment required by an economy already constrained by structural weaknesses.
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it → finance → weaknesses
Meanwhile, the state’s need for resources to finance expenditure and service its debt has increased.
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need → finance → debt
Public debt rose from about 67.8 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 to nearly 85 percent in 2024, while gross financing needs almost doubled, from 7.9 percent of GDP to 16 percent.
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needs → rise → percent
As access to external financing narrowed, the state became increasingly dependent on domestic markets and the banking system.
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state → narrow → markets
In February 2024, the Central Bank directly lent the Treasury about seven billion dinars, interest-free and with a long repayment period.
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Bank → lend → period
In 2025, the state again borrowed the same amount directly from the Central Bank, in foreign currency, to cover part of its external financing needs.
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state → borrow → needs
Commercial banks have also been increasingly required to finance the Treasury through government bonds, crowding out the private sector and restricting its access to financing.
At the same time, cash circulating outside the banking system reached record levels after the authorities retreated from earlier policies encouraging electronic payments, integrating the informal economy and reducing cash transactions.
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authorities → require → transactions
This weakened the banking system’s ability to mobilise savings and finance productive investment.
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This → weaken → investment
Purchasing power has consequently fallen sharply.
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power → purchase → ?
Although inflation declined from a peak of 10.4 percent in February 2023 to about 5.7 percent in 2025, prices did not return to previous levels, and food remains a major burden on Tunisian households.
By the summer of 2026, the crisis had moved beyond economic statistics into everyday life.
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crisis → decline → life
Tunisians organise their days around electricity and water cuts, while many see migration as their only means of escape, even when the journey risks death at sea.
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journey → organise → sea
…and 28 more, not listed.
