Tunisia Ranks 124th Globally and 27th in Africa in Terms of Economic Freedom
According to the Economic Freedom of the World index published by the Fraser Institute (Canada), Tunisia occupies the 124th position worldwide and 27th in Africa in terms of economic freedom. For economics professor Ridha Chkondali, this ranking reflects a worrying situation where economic freedom is largely hindered by obstacles such as bureaucracy and a lack of integrity in the judicial system.
During his intervention on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, on Express Fm, Chkondali defined economic freedom as the ability to produce, trade, and consume goods and services without abusive state intervention or recourse to force, fraud, or theft. He emphasized that this freedom relies on an environment where property rights are respected, and the state intervenes in a limited and proportionate manner to the size of the economy.
The Canadian index takes into account five key areas:
- The size of the state (public consumption, subsidies, transfers, public investments, taxation)
- The legal system and protection of property rights (judicial independence, court integrity, military intervention)
- Monetary stability (money supply growth, inflation, foreign exchange accounts)
- International trade freedom and market regulation (financial, banking, wages)
In parallel, another index published by the American institute The Heritage Foundation ranks Tunisia 149th out of 184 countries, with a score of 49.1/100, indicating a strong restriction of economic freedoms.
Chkondali also pointed out Tunisia's low monetary stability, ranked 104th worldwide, calling for urgent reform. According to him, these rankings are primarily indicators for foreign and Tunisian investors, shedding light on the business environment in the country. He highlighted the importance of reducing the gap between economic freedom and political freedom, a crucial factor for ensuring the success of democratic transition. In his view, an imbalance between these two dimensions greatly increases the risk of democratic failure.
To conclude, he recalled that the countries at the top of the economic freedom index are Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United States.
