ate. Growth in tourism and increased trade
have been key elements in this solid record. Agricultural production
accounted for a major portion of growth in GDP in 1996, growth having
been adversely affected by drought in 1995. Further privatization, the
attraction of increased foreign investment, and improvements in
government efficiency are among the challenges for the future.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $43.3 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 7.1% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,800 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 13.5%
industry: 33.8%
services: 52.7% (1996 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 6% (1996 est.)

Labor force:
total: 2.917 million (1993 est.)
by occupation: services 55%, industry 23%, agriculture 22% (1995 est.)
note : shortage of skilled labor

Unemployment rate: 16% (1995 est.)

Budget:
revenues : $5.2 billion
expenditures: $7.2 billion, including capital expenditures to $1.4
billion (1996 est.)

Industries: petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron ore),
tourism, textiles, footwear, food, beverages

Industrial production growth rate: 3.5% (1995)

Electricity - capacity: 1.7 million kW (1995 est.)

Electricity - production: 6.5 billion kWh (1995 est.)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 678 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products: olives, dates, oranges, almonds, grain, sugar
beets, grapes; poultry, beef, dairy products

Exports:
total value: $5.7 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: hydrocarbons, textiles, agricultural products, phosphates
and chemicals
partners: EU 75%, North African countries 7%, India 2%, US 1%

Imports:
total value: $7.7 billion (c.i.f., 1996 est.)
commodities: industrial goods and equipment 57%, hydrocarbons 13%,
food 12%, consumer goods
partners: EU countries 70%, North African countries 6%, US 5%, Japan
2%, Switzerland 1%

Debt - external: $9.6 billion (1996 est.)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $221 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Tunisian dinar (TD) = 1,000 millimes

Exchange rates: Tunisian dinars (TD) per US$1 - 1.0075 (January 1997),
0.9985 (December 1996), 0.9733 (1996), 0.9458 (1995), 1.0116 (1994),
1.0037 (1993), 0.8844 (1992)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@Tunisia:Communications

Telephones: 560,000 (1996 est.)

Telephone system: the system is above the African average; key centers
are Sfax, Sousse, Bizerte, and Tunis
domestic : trunk facilities co