One-off salary increases are no longer sufficient to address Tunisia’s deepening purchasing power crisis, according to a stark new analysis by the Arab Institute of Business Leaders (IACE). Presented during a meeting on the 2026 finance bill this Tuesday, the Institute’s data reveals a severe and structural gap between household incomes and the real cost of living.
The figures are telling. The guaranteed minimum wage for 2025 is set at 528 dinars, a sum the IACE labels “very low” against essential expenses. The real monthly cost of living is estimated at around 1,200 dinars in rural areas. For a typical urban family of four, monthly outlays range from 3,000 to 3,500 dinars, and can reach 4,500 dinars for a more comfortable standard—far outstripping base earnings.
A critical driver of this financial strain is the escalating cost of two fundamental sectors: education and health. The IACE reports a family spends 10-20% of its budget on a single school-aged child. This burden skyrockets for households with two children in exam years, with baccalaureate-related costs consuming 30-40% of family income. Healthcare adds another 5-8% on average. Combined, these two sectors absorb nearly 30% of annual household income, crippling the middle class’s ability to save and undermining financial stability.
“In this context, salary increases lose their meaning in the absence of profound reforms in education and public health,” the Institute concluded.
While the Central Bank of Tunisia reports overall inflation has stabilized near 5%, this masks a harsher reality. Prices for non-staple food products continue to surge at a rate of 21%, severely impacting vulnerable groups and the middle class alike.
The IACE also sounded the alarm on persistent poverty, now affecting 18% of the population, and worsening inequality. Its analysis shows that 70% of Tunisians hold just 10% of national wealth, a disparity it warns “threatens social cohesion.”
Faced with this assessment, the Institute is urging a radical shift in policy. It argues that preserving purchasing power now depends on a structural overhaul of social services. Only such fundamental reforms, the IACE states, can provide lasting relief to households and give any future wage policy genuine effectiveness.
TunisianMonitorOnline (BRC)
