OVERVIEW Thanks to the wide-ranging reforms it has undertaken, Tunisia has managed, in a relatively short period of time, to make significant gains on the political, economic and social planes. Those gains have earned it the interest and consideration of the international community which, owing to the growth levels attained by the GDP and the improved living conditions of the inhabitants in spite of the country's modest natural resources, presents the Tunisian case as a model of success for developing countries. A model based on continual search for better balance between the imperatives of sustained economic development and the demands for coherent social promotion. In accordance with this vision, Man is perceived as a full actor in the development process and the main target of all the policies and choices implemented. Indeed, thanks to the country's political stability since the Change on November 7, 1987, the climate of confidence, and the liberation of initiatives, Tunisia has been able to take confident and decisive steps towards the openness of its economy and the achievement of social welfare for its citizens. A member country of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Tunisia is also the first country on the southern coast of the Mediterranean to have concluded a partnership and cooperation agreement with the European Union, the main component of which is the establishment of a free-trade zone. In this perspective, Tunisia has initiated an important program of multisectoral reforms aimed at laying the foundations for a solid, diversified and competitive economy capable of adapting to the new international environment. These basic reforms which aim to eliminate the imbalances impeding the deregulation of initiatives, have affected in turn prices, commerce, the tax system, the investment incentive system, the banking sector, the stock market and the capital market as well as the restructuring of public enterprises and the start of a major program of privatization and administrative reform. At the same time, special attention has been paid to the promotion of human resources through reforms of the educational and vocational training systems, which is likely to fulfill all the necessary conditions for the success of the program of overall upgrading of the economy, to improve productivity and face foreign competition under the best possible conditions. Perseverance with reforms has enabled Tunisia to make significant gains on the economic as well as the social fronts. Since 1987, Tunisia has recorded an average growth rate of 5%. Furthermore, despite the intensification of the world debt problem, Tunisia has managed to reduce its total debt burden. During the last few years, Tunisia has been frequently cited by international financial institutions as a "success story" in terms of economic structural adjustment. The main Tunisian exports are crude oil, minerals, manufactured goods, and agricultural products, including its lnternationally renowned olive oil. Tourism, in its turn, generates considerable resources.Tunisia's primary trading partners are France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Maghreb countries. Tunisia's thriving economy croates an attractive atmosphere for investors from the European Communiry, Japan and the United States. About 2,600 foreign firms have direct investments in or joint ventures wich Tunisian companies. Many of these firms have been attracted by Tunisia's proximity and preferential trading relations wich the European Community and the Arab Maghreb Union, as well as by the Investment Code which offers foreign investors,,, considerable incentives and exemptions. The administrative formalities to obtain the necessary licenses have considerably been facilitated. Currently ranked among emerging countries, Tunisia has adopted a development model based on modernity, on women's contribution and on education as a priority sector for investment. This has made possible to develop a diversified economy where top high tech sectors like computer are among the most advanced in the African continent.  Main Economic Indicators (1987-2007) Economic Development and General Balances 1987 2007 Gross Domestic Product (MD) 7,160 44,254 Growth rate (at constant prices) -2% 4.6% Debt ratio 57.9% 46.1% Debt service 26.3% 15.4% Inflation rate 8% 3% Global investment (MD) 1,789 10,000 National Savings (MD) 1,404.8 9,118.9 Distribution of investment -         Public -         Private 52.2% 47.8% 43% 57%   Sector-based distribution of GDP -         Agriculture -         Non-manufacturing industries -         Manufacturing industries -         Services     14.9% 16.9% 18.1% 50.1%     11.4%     11% 17.5% 59.8%   Source: National Institute of Statistics  This economic performance has been accompanied by the widest possible redistribution of the fruits of growth thus highlighting the foundations of the development model advocated by Tunisia and based on the inseparability between the economic and social dimensions of development. Strengthened with these achievements, Tunisia is starting the new millennium with confidence and serenity. It intends to reinforce and deepen the reforms it has initiated in order to face the challenges of the new stage and integrate its productive system into world economy under the best possible conditions. For this reason, such subjects as the reinforcement of the competitiveness of the economy, the promotion of the private sector, the establishment of quality infrastructures and the development of human resources occupy a prominent place in Tunisia's development project for the years to come. More Economic and Social Indicators on Tunisia (in PDF format)