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Education Financing in Tunisia

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Tunisia is an Arab state, categorised by UNESCO as a lower-middle income country in the United Nations economic and social commissions region of Africa North, and Sustainable Development Goals region of Western Asia and Northern Africa.

Tunisia has entered a protracted financial crisis, mainly as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine. This has led to political and social unrest which has weakened the countries' job market and made it harder for them to get out of the crisis.

Under Tunisia's Constitution, education is a universal right and compulsory until the age of 16 (Article 44 of the new Constitution). The Education Act (No. 2002-80 of 23 July 2002) ensures that education is a priority for the country as it improves people's job and social prospects, as well as supporting their development. Therefore, many financial resources and efforts have been invested into education within Tunisia, but significant challenges do remain.

Despite that fact that Tunisia has made progress in increasing access to education, regional disparities still exist between urban and rural areas. Urban schools have better access to digital tools, higher-qualified teachers, and better infrastructure, whereas rural schools often have limited resources, a trained teacher shortage, and inadequate facilities. This contributes to the cycle of poverty and exclusion in rural communities, and the gap between urban and rural communities in Tunisia.

This article covers spending on education in Tunisia, with a focus on government spending. It outlines what education aid Tunisia has received and its impacts. It covers Tunisia’s debt history, and IMF (International Monetary Fund) conditionalities, and their link to education. It briefly outlines illicit financial flows in Tunisia and their impact on education. Finally, it moves on to outline the historical changes in Tunisia’s education system and funding, starting from when Tunisia was a French protectorate, to the present day.

Education spending overview

World Book Day in Tunisia, 2012

Tunisia is among the top 10 countries in terms of education spending, either as a percentage of GDP or as a percentage of the national budget.

There is very limited data available on education spending across Tunisia, so there is some gaps in the date presented.

The current expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public institutions in Tunisia in 2010 was 89.65% . There is currently no more recent data from UNESCO UIS on this expenditure in Tunisia.

Current Expenditure as a Percentage of Total Expenditure in Public Institutions (%) in Tunisia

The capital expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure on public institutions in Tunisia was 11.98% . There is no more recent data.

Capital Expenditure as a Percentage of Total Expenditure in Public Institutions (%) in Tunisia

There is no data on staff compensation as a percentage of total expenditure in public institutions.

The expenditure other than staff compensation as a percentage of total expenditure in public institutions in Tunisia in 2000 was 8.22%. There is no more recent data.

The main source of funding for education in Tunisia is the government. Less than 1% of the total budget allocated to education has come from external funding since 2012.

Government spending on education

As of 2025, the total government expenditure on education as a percentage of total government expenditure in Tunisia was 17.28%. According to UNESCO data, government spending on education in Tunisia has decreased. In 2004, the total government expenditure on education as a percentage of total government expenditure was 27.83%.

Expenditure on Education as a Percentage of Total Government Expenditure (%) (UIS Calculation) in Tunisia

The government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP has increased, with a spike in 2020. In 2023, it was at 6.73%, compared to 2012 where it was at 5.95%.

Government Expenditure on Education as a Percentage of GDP (%) in Tunisia

The expenditure on primary education (percentage of government expenditure on education) in Tunisia in 2008 was 28%. In 1999, it was 34% so the expenditure has decreased. However, there is no more recent data.

The expenditure on secondary education (percentage of government expenditure on education) in Tunisia in 2015 was 72%. In 1999, it was 44% so has increased. However, this is no more recent data.

The government expenditure per student, tertiary (percentage of GDP per capita) in Tunisia in 2010 was 54.7%. This has decreased since 1999 when it was 83.7%. There is no more recent data.

Tunisia has exceeded recommendations of the 2015 Incheon Declaration that suggested that national governments spend between 4% and 6% of their GDP, and/or 15% to 20% of their total public expenditure on education. Education is a priority for the Tunisian government, which is reflected in the fact that public spending on education is the highest compared to other social sectors.

In 2021, 93% of the public education budget was used on recurrent expenditures so only 7% was left for spending on investment. Most of the recurrent budget is spent on salaries- 83% was spent on salaries in 2019- which means that little is left for improving governance and quality of education.

Education aid

Sadiki College, Tunisia, 21 September, 2013

The World Bank has provided financial aid in developing education in Tunisia. The Higher Education Restructuring Project in 1992 was designed to address the low cost-effectiveness and lack of responsiveness of higher education to the needs of the country. This project was supported by a $75 million USD loan from The World Bank (citation).

The Secondary Education Support Project in 1997 aimed at improving the quality and efficiency of basic and secondary education, especially due to the increase in of upper-basic and secondary enrolment in Tunisia. This was supported by a World Bank loan of $98.3 million USD.

The Second Training and Employment Project supported the Tunisia's government strategy to improve training services, with the aim of increasing the competitiveness of the economy. The World Bank gave a $60 million USD loan to Tunisia to help with creating a labour market information system, and to develop employment and training services.

Grundke & Cassimon (2022) argue that in order to improve public job placement services, resources need to be increased and reallocated from expensive and ineffective wage subsidy programmes, to new employment services, training provision, and adult education. This should raise the employability of low-skilled workers, as well as encouraging investments in training.

In February of 2025, The World Bank's Board of Directors approved the Strengthening Tertiary Education for Employability, Innovation and Resilience (STEEIR) project, a $100 million USD project, designed to improve students employability, as well as strengthen the quality and governance of higher education and scientific research institutions in Tunisia . This project aims to equip students with knowledge and skills that will help them enter the labour market, whilst also supporting reforms to improve university management and industry links.

Within North Africa, Tunisia is a vital destination for higher education. Both local and international students are able to access a range of financial aid opportunities to help them access higher education. Tunisian students at public universities are likely to qualify for social-criteria grants. For 2026, eligibility heavily depends on parents' annual income. High-achieving students may also receive financial aid based on merit. This assists with textbook costs and daily living expenses.

For students to qualify for a social grant, the family's 'Gross Global Income' is analysed. The threshold for being granted financial aid is adjusted each year based on the national minimum wage. For 2026, students from a household with a net annual income below 5,000 dinar qualify for the maximum grant. Students with a family net annual income between 5,000 and 8,000 dinar may receive partial support. However, students above this threshold are unlikely to qualify for a social grant.

The grants are managed by specialised regional bodies. The OOUN (Office des Œuvres Universitaires pour le Nord) is based in Tunis and serves the Northern region of Tunisia. The OOUC (Office des Œuvres Universitaires pour le Centre) is based in Sousse and serves the central region. And, the OOUS (Office des Œuvres Universitaires pour le Sud) is based in Sfax and serves the Southern region.

The Tunisian government also provides prestigious study abroad programs for Tunisian citizens. For example, the 'Government Scholarships Programme Tunisia' supports students who wish to study in Germany. The program helps to fund both Bachelor's and Master's degrees at state-recognised universities in Germany, by covering monthly payments, semester fees, and providing health insurance.

Debt servicing, IMF conditionalities, and education

Tunisia, similarly to other countries in the Global South, is stuck in the vicious cycle of debt and austerity. In 2023, Tunisia's debt reached a record high, with debt accounting for 83% of GDP. This was due to a mixture of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A negative growth rate of 8.6% in 2020 was recorded, which coincided with a health crisis, led to a budget deficit of 10% of GDP. Furthermore, the Ukraine war has strained public finances, meaning that Tunisia has found it challenging to finance its budget, especially in foreign currencies.

This pressure on public finances coincided with when Tunisia had to meet significant debt obligations. Debt service reached 14.44 billion dinars in 2022, 20.75 billion in 2023, and 24,97 billion in 2024. The external debt service increased from 6 billion dinars in 2022 to 12.3 billion in 2024. Therefore, Tunisia is facing extremely high repayment deadlines for previous contracted debts.

Tunisia's sovereign debt puts huge strain on their economy and therefore poses a significant obstacle in addressing social challenges and increasing inequalities. Due to this, Tunisia first turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new program. The IMF suggested a 4-year program that provided $1.9 billion USD in funding that would be disbursed in 8 tranches, each being conditioned by implementing reforms defined within its framework. This included enacting austerity measures that targeted public services. However, Tunisia rejected the program on April 6 2023, due to the conditions proposed by the IMF, with the president of Tunisia stating that 'the IMF's recipes for budgetary support for Tunisia are unacceptable and threaten social peace'.

The IMF's program planned to freeze recruitment in the public sector, and had this been implemented, this would have led to staff shortages in critical sectors, including education. However, Tunisia managed to avoid these austerity measures and public sector recruitment has gradually resumed. In 2025, over 21,000 positions were created, with 43.1% of these being within the education sector.

Illicit financial flows and education

Illicit financial flows are the illegal transference of unlawfully owned money or capital from one country to another. Tunisia loses around $1.2 billion USD a year to illicit financial flows, which is around 3% of the governments GDP. From 2008 to 2015, Tunisia was ranked first for illicit financial flows and eighth for corruption in the Middle East and North Africa by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.

The loss of income through illicit financial flows has a hugely negative impact on Tunisia's economy. Key public sectors, including education, could be a lot more efficient if they could benefit from even a fraction of the millions lost every year to illicit financial flows. For example, the government could pay the salaries of 4,300 teachers for 24 months with just 10% of the suspected illicit financial flows in Tunisia.

Historical changes in education funding

Women's education in Carthage, April 1964

Historically, religious spaces- such as mosques- were the sole providers of education in Tunisia. However, from 1881 to 1956, Tunisia was a French protectorate, and during this period, French settlers built primary schools and increased enrolment rates for both Tunisian and European pupils. This marked a departure from a religious-centred education approach, and moved towards a western-inspired education system.

In 1840, the first French, free girls' school was founded by Mother Émilie de Vialar. Other French and European schools were founded between then and 1883. However, they primarily served European communities in Tunis, Sousse, and Sfax.

French education policy in Tunisia was largely shaped by their experience in Algeria prior. Jules Ferry's recommendations to Louis Machuel (the head of Direction Générale de l’Instruction Publique) highlighted the importance of teaching Arabic as well as French, teaching religious education to Catholic and Muslim pupils, and employing teachers to teach Arabic and Islamic studies. This aimed to bring more local Tunisian children into the schools by alleviating concerns around cultural displacement, which was a challenge in Algeria.

French investment into public primary education significantly increased between 1891 and 1931. Due to this, more local children did enrol in schools, and from 1931 onwards, more Tunisian pupils were enrolled in primary schools than European pupils.

Tunisia gained independence in 1956, and the government made the expansion of primary education a priority. They had a goal of achieving universal primary school enrolment by 1966, but were met with significant challenges, such a severe teacher shortage. In 1957, there were only 6159 teachers, and around 20,000 more were needed to keep a reasonable pupil to teacher ratio of 40:1. UNESCO noticed that the rate of new class openings significantly exceeded the supply of teachers by the training schools. To combat this challenge, the government substantially increased education spending to 32% in 1967, from 18% in 1958-59.

The second major education reform in Tunisia since gaining their independence was implemented between 1989 and 1991, and aimed to universalize primary education, with an emphasis on human rights and citizenship. It aimed to combat discrimination- both racial and sexual- and improve the overall quality of education. This reform made education compulsory for 9 years for children between the ages of 6 and 16, instead of the previous 6 years. It also encouraged the separation of education from religion by banning religious veils and making mixed-sex classes compulsory. By 2004, the enrolment rate for children aged 6-14 had increased to 99%. Overall, the reform did contribute to the achievement of universal primary education, but it was ultimately the continued monetary investment by the Tunisian government that enabled the change.