Promote:
Invest in Tunisia
A short guide for companies expanding into Tunisia: the economy at a glance, the rules and steps to set up, and who can help, each with its source.
1. Tunisia at a glance
PopulationEstimate
12.3 million
Tunisia’s population was 12,348,573 people in 2025.
Source: World Bank WDI, Tunisia population, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
GDP
US$57.5 billion
GDP was US$57.50 billion in current dollars in 2025.
Source: World Bank WDI, Tunisia GDP, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
GDP per person
US$4,657
GDP per person was US$4,656.64 in current dollars in 2025.
Source: World Bank WDI, Tunisia GDP per person, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
Real GDP growth
2.5%
Real GDP growth was 2.5 percent in 2025.
Source: World Bank WDI, Tunisia real GDP growth, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
Inflation
5.6%
Consumer prices rose 5.6 percent over twelve months to September 2026, on the national statistics institute’s year-on-year rate.
Source: INS Tunisia, consumer price index, September 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of September 2026
Foreign direct investment inflows
US$1.17 billion
Foreign direct investment inflows were US$1,172.75 million in 2025 (UNCTAD).
Source: UNCTADstat, FDI flows, Tunisia, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
The currency is the Tunisian dinar, ISO code TND.
Source: Central Bank of Tunisia, home page, October 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
2. Before you set up
The investment agency, any one-stop route, the sectors reserved for nationals and the zones, as the guide found them.
The investment promotion agency is TIA, the governmental body responsible for investment, which says it supported 255 projects between 2019 and April 2026.
Source: Tunisia Investment Authority, Our Missions page (figures to April 2026) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
TIA runs the one-stop shop for investors, called the single point of contact, with a national investor platform that handles declarations, authorizations and incorporation.
Source: Tunisia Investment Authority, Our Missions page (figures to April 2026) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
As of 2025, per the WTO review, foreign investors cannot buy agricultural land (Law No. 64-5), and foreign stakes in fishing companies are capped at two thirds.
Source: WTO Trade Policy Review of Tunisia, Secretariat report, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of October 14, 2025
As of 2025, per the WTO review, Tunisia has two business parks (free zones), at Bizerte and Zarzis.
Source: WTO Trade Policy Review of Tunisia, Secretariat report, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of October 14, 2025
3. Steps to set up
The main steps, in order, each with the body responsible and its official page.
Setting up in Tunisia
- Declare the investment project through the national investor platform of TIA.Tunisia Investment AuthorityOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Tunisia Investment Authority, Our Missions page (figures to April 2026) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Incorporate the company, choosing a legal form, and register it through the platform.Tunisia Investment AuthorityMinimum capital TND 1,000 for a limited company, TND 5,000 for a joint-stock companyOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Tunisia Investment Authority, Legal Framework page (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Request the authorizations your activity needs; if the administration stays silent past the legal deadline, the law counts silence as approval and TIA may issue it.Tunisia Investment AuthorityOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: WTO Trade Policy Review of Tunisia, Secretariat report, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of October 14, 2025
- Apply for investment grants and tax benefits; a national committee at TIA examines projects over TND 15 million, and agency or regional committees examine smaller ones.Tunisia Investment AuthorityOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: WTO Trade Policy Review of Tunisia, Secretariat report, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of October 14, 2025
Show 3 more set-up steps
- Affiliate the company with social security and request residence permits for foreign managers through the platform.Tunisia Investment AuthorityOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Tunisia Investment Authority, Our Missions page (figures to April 2026) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Choose a site: AFI sells serviced industrial plots, and business parks host export-oriented companies; foreign investors cannot buy agricultural land.Agence Foncière IndustrielleOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Tunisia Investment Authority, Industrial Zones page (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Open accounts and arrange transfers through an authorized bank, because capital movements go through the central bank or authorized intermediaries.Banque Centrale de TunisieOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Tunisia Investment Authority, Legal Framework page (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
4. Organizations that help investors
Start with TIA. Each card links to the organization’s own site.
Each card says what it can help with:Get adviceFind financeMeet requirementsResearch markets
Investment and business setup
- Get advice
National investment authority
TIA
Tunisia Investment Authority
Acts as the single point of contact for investors and runs a national platform for declarations, authorizations, incorporation and incentives.
Visit TIA (opens in a new tab)Source: Tunisia Investment Authority, Our Missions page (figures to April 2026) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Get advice
Foreign investment agency
FIPA-Tunisia
Foreign Investment Promotion Agency
Promotes foreign investment and publishes statistics on international investment in Tunisia, as the WTO review cites.
Visit FIPA-Tunisia (opens in a new tab)Source: WTO Trade Policy Review of Tunisia, Secretariat report, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of October 14, 2025
Show 4 more organizations
Industry and innovation agency
APII
Agence de Promotion de l’Industrie et de l’Innovation
Examines grant applications for industrial projects and offers online project declaration and a company set-up desk.
Visit APII (opens in a new tab)Source: APII, industry portal home page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
Industrial land agency
AFI
Agence Foncière Industrielle
Develops industrial zones and sells serviced industrial plots to promoters.
Visit AFI (opens in a new tab)Source: AFI, home page (in Arabic) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Get advice
Agricultural investment agency
APIA
Agence de Promotion des Investissements Agricoles
Takes investment declarations and grant applications for farming and fishing projects and publishes the agricultural investment manual.
Visit APIA (opens in a new tab)Source: APIA, home page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
Business park operator
Bizerte Business Park
Parc d’Activités Economiques de Bizerte
Develops and maintains the Bizerte free zone and gives operators customs, administrative and technical help on site.
Visit Bizerte Business Park (opens in a new tab)Source: Bizerte business park, presentation page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
Customs and tax
- Meet requirements
Customs authority
DGD
Direction générale des douanes
Applies customs law, assigns the customs code exporters need, and handles export declarations, certificates of origin and duty drawback.
Visit DGD (opens in a new tab)Source: WTO Trade Policy Review of Tunisia, Secretariat report, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of October 14, 2025
Chambers and industry associations
- Get advice
Regional chamber of commerce
CCIS
Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie de Sfax
Issues certificates of origin, including electronic ones, and runs export support, training and business missions for companies in its region.
Visit CCIS (opens in a new tab)Source: Sfax chamber of commerce, home page, 2026 notices (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
Farmers and fishers union
UTAP
Union Tunisienne de l’Agriculture et de la Pêche
Represents farmers and fishers and organizes trade shows, training and business meetings abroad for its members.
Visit UTAP (opens in a new tab)Source: UTAP, home page, October 2026 notices (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 22, 2026
5. Worth knowing
Reserved sectors
Foreign investors cannot buy agricultural land, and foreign stakes in fishing companies are capped at two thirds, per the WTO review.
What to do: Choose a long-term lease for farm sites, and confirm sector limits with TIA before you set the ownership structure.
Source: WTO Trade Policy Review of Tunisia, Secretariat report, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of October 14, 2025
Foreign staff limits
The Investment Law allows foreign managers up to 30 percent of management staff for three years, then 10 percent, and the WTO review calls this rule rigid.
What to do: Check your management hiring against the limit, and ask the employment ministry about approval for more.
Sources: Tunisia Investment Authority, Investment Law 2016, English translation (opens in a new tab); WTO Trade Policy Review of Tunisia, Secretariat report, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of October 14, 2025
Public debt and arrears
The WTO review reports external debt at 83 percent of GDP and a fiscal deficit of 6.4 percent of GDP in 2024, with sovereign ratings cut since 2015.
What to do: Ask your bank or an export insurer about payment guarantees before you sell to public buyers.
Source: WTO Trade Policy Review of Tunisia, Secretariat report, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of October 14, 2025
Activities needing authorization
Decree No. 2018-417 lists the activities needing prior authorization, including natural resources, transport, finance, health, education and telecommunications.
What to do: Check the decree’s list for your activity before you declare the project.
Source: WTO Trade Policy Review of Tunisia, Secretariat report, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of October 14, 2025
6. How Promote:Global helps
- Compare Tunisia with other countriesSet Tunisia beside other countries on investment momentum, fundamentals and trade access, before site, tax and legal work.
- Find advisors and service firmsAsk an advisory firm a scoped, paid question, or browse firms that list their own services, from legal work to logistics.
- Organize your next stepsKeep each product and market in a project, with a roadmap of steps you work through.
Turn this guide into your Tunisia project.
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Promote:Tunisia is an independent guide by Promote:Global, not an official government portal. The organizations named here are independent public and membership bodies, not Promote:Global partners, and every link goes to their own site.
Facts read from public sources, with an editorial cut-off of October 31, 2026. Nothing here is investment, legal, tax or sanctions advice. Check current status with the organization before you rely on it.