Tunisia: Understanding Conflict 2012 - Johns Hopkins School of ...

continued to cite statistics claiming that unemployment in the region was just above eight
percent. In reality, that number was easily three or four times that. This clear disconnect
between the phony narrative of the government and the day-to-day reality for the
Tunisian citizens, particularly in the interior regions of the country, fueled the mass
protests that spread across the country in December 2010 and January 2011.
Although the economic situation was certainly declining in Tunis, communities in
the interior of the country, especially rural ones, were especially hard hit in the lead-up to
the revolution. In 2008, the national unemployment rate was 14.2 % according to the
World Bank (World Bank, 2011). However, this number does not reflect the gross
inequality between the coastal regions and the interior, or the catastrophically high level
of unemployment among the youth. The youth bulge, a demographic shift which came
with the general improvement in health conditions and a declining infant mortality rate,
exerted tremendous pressure on the labor market leading up to and after the revolution.
Youth unemployment in 2011 was around 30%, and was most likely higher in some
regions. These regions, like Sidi Bouzid, became the epicenter of the revolution. Going
forward, there is a clear consensus among Tunisians—experts and regular citizens
alike—that high unemployment, particularly among the youth and in the interior, is the
greatest challenge to the nascent government.
Private Enterprise
According to the Tunisian National Institute of Statistics, business activity in the north
and east of the country (the coastal regions) not only dwarfs the amount of private
business in the interior regions, it also grew at a faster rate between 2005 and 2010. As
can be seen from the table below, the north-east region (which includes Tunis) has both
the largest number of private businesses, as well as the highest level of growth with an
increase in the private sector by 29%. The region with the next highest level of private
sector activity was the center-east, which grew by 27%. The average growth in business
in the center-west regions and the south-west regions was comparatively low at around
19.6%. The north-west region and south-east regions are a mix of coastal and interior
provinces.
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