A new report by the the National Institute of Statistics (INS) giving an “estimate of gross domestic product in major regions” shows a wide disparity between the Tunisian regions in terms of regional GDP per capita.

The report indicates that the GDP per capita amounted to 7,943 Tunisian dinars at the national level in 2016. Only two regions have a GDP per capita higher than this national average. These are the regions of Greater Tunis (11,780 TD) and the Center-East region (7,952 TD).

Regarding the other territories, only the North-East region has a GDP per capita close to the national average (7641 TD).

Besides its own dynamics, the peripheral region of Greater Tunis benefits from the spillover effects of activity in and around the capital.

In the interior regions, GDP per capita is lower: it amounts to 6,797 TD in the South-East, 6,507 TD in the South-West, 5,503 TD in the North-West and finally only 4,472 TD in the Centre-West region.

The ratio of GDP per capita between the two extreme regions is 2.6 in 2016 against 3 in 2013, reflecting, therefore, a slight reduction in inequality during these three years.

The INS report also indicates that the regions with the highest GDP per capita are also those with the lowest poverty rates, although this relationship is not totally linear.

For example, despite having a slightly higher GDP/capita than the Southwest region, the Southeast region has a slightly higher poverty rate (18.6 percent for the Southeast and 17.6 percent for the Southwest), probably due to the fact that hydrocarbon extraction generates relatively little jobs and income locally distributed.

Source: TAP News Agency