The World Bank’s latest Tunisia Economic Monitor: Tunisia’s Water Challenge: From Scarcity to Resilience said water management would become increasingly important to economic growth, employment and living standards.
Tunisia has settled into a period of slow economic growth and remains vulnerable to higher import prices and imbalances in public finances.
Economic growth reached 2.7% in 2025 before easing to 2.4% year-on-year during the first half of 2026.
Agriculture, tourism and the mechanical and electrical industries supported activity. However, growth is projected at 2.3% in 2026 and an average of 2.1% during 2027 and 2028.
Unemployment fell to 14.9% during the second quarter of 2026. The unemployment rate among women remained significantly higher at 21.6%, nearly twice the rate recorded among men.
Tunisia has about 380 cubic metres of renewable freshwater available per person annually, placing the country well below the international threshold for absolute water scarcity.
Climate change and increasing demand are expected to intensify pressure on limited supplies.
Agriculture employs 14% of Tunisia’s workforce and as many as half of workers in rural communities. The World Bank estimated that water shortages and climate pressures could eliminate at least 30% of agricultural jobs by 2050 while substantially reducing output.
The effects would spread to tourism, food processing, manufacturing and other water-dependent industries. “Water security is fundamental for jobs and growth,” World Bank Division Director for the Maghreb and Malta Ahmadou Moustapha Ndiaye said.
“However, with the right policies, institutions and investments, Tunisia can ease the impact of water scarcity upon the living standards of ordinary Tunisians.”
The first phase of the World Bank-supported RESEau programme is expected to create about 4 000 permanent and 13 400 temporary jobs.
Tunisia’s Plan Eau 2050 proposes annual investment of about $900 million until mid-century.
The World Bank said infrastructure investment should be accompanied by stronger governance, sustainable financing and improved performance among service providers.
Recommended measures include modernising the Water Code, establishing rules for treated wastewater reuse, reducing network losses, expanding digital systems and improving irrigation management.
Cost recovery should also improve while protecting vulnerable households from unaffordable increases.
–WorldBank/ChannelAfrica–
