01Key Takeaways
- Tunisia imported $25.93 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 2.8% from $26.67 billion in 2022, essentially unchanged and the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Mineral fuels led every import category at 17.9% ($4.65 billion), with electrical machinery ranking a close second at 12.4% ($3.20 billion).
- Italy was Tunisia's largest import partner, supplying 12.5% of imports, worth $3.24 billion.
- The top three import partners together accounted for 33.7% of total import value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $21.6B | $18.4B | $22.5B | $26.7B | $25.9B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | $3.2B | 12.5% |
| 2 | France | $2.8B | 10.7% |
| 3 | China | $2.7B | 10.6% |
| 4 | Russia | $2.1B | 8.2% |
| 5 | Algeria | $1.8B | 7.0% |
| 6 | Germany | $1.8B | 6.9% |
| 7 | Turkey | $1.2B | 4.7% |
| 8 | Spain | $950.3M | 3.7% |
| 9 | Areas, nes | $750.0M | 2.9% |
| 10 | United States | $655.9M | 2.5% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $4.7B | 17.9% |
| 2 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $3.2B | 12.4% |
| 3 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $2.0B | 7.7% |
| 4 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $1.6B | 6.3% |
| 5 | Cereals | $1.6B | 6.1% |
| 6 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $1.4B | 5.6% |
| 7 | Iron and Steel | $901.7M | 3.5% |
| 8 | Copper and Articles thereof | $618.1M | 2.4% |
| 9 | Cotton | $613.8M | 2.4% |
| 10 | Pharmaceutical Products | $588.5M | 2.3% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Import Value Held Nearly Steady in 2023 After a Two-Year Climb
Tunisia imported $25.93 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 2.8% from $26.67 billion in 2022. This is the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset. The dataset covers a full five years, from 2019 through 2023, tracking the same North African economy covered on the export side of this dataset.
Import value stood at $21.57 billion in 2019. It fell to $18.45 billion in 2020, the low point of this five-year window, before climbing for two consecutive years. Import value reached $22.50 billion in 2021 and $26.67 billion in 2022, the high point of this five-year window, before easing back to $25.93 billion in 2023.
This dataset does not explain the 2020 dip or the two-year climb that followed. Import value in 2023 nonetheless remained well above every year in this window before 2022. A decline of just 2.8% describes a near-plateau rather than a genuine reversal. It holds on to almost all of the gains built up over the previous two years. That shape closely mirrors the export side of trade for this same country, which also climbed through the same period. Export value kept rising in 2023, though, rather than pulling back the way import value did.
Fuel and Electronics Anchor an Import List Tied to Manufacturing and Food Security
Mineral fuels led every import category in 2023, worth $4.65 billion, or 17.9% of the total, by a clear margin the largest single category on this list. Electrical machinery and equipment ranked a close second at 12.4%, worth $3.20 billion, components that likely feed the same wiring harness industry driving this country's export list. Machinery and mechanical appliances followed at 7.7%, worth $1.99 billion. These first three categories together account for well over a third of total import value.
Plastics added 6.3%, worth $1.63 billion, and cereals contributed 6.1%, worth $1.58 billion. Russia captures close to half of North Africa's wheat import market, with Black Sea suppliers dominating the region's grain trade, a dependence reflected in cereals ranking among this dataset's top import categories and Russia ranking among its top import partners. Vehicles added another 5.6%, worth $1.45 billion.
Iron and steel contributed 3.5% ($901.69 million), and copper added a further 2.4% ($618.11 million). Cotton contributed a nearly identical 2.4% ($613.77 million), a raw material input for this country's apparel export industry. Pharmaceutical products closed out the top ten at 2.3%, worth $588.55 million, the smallest share among all ten categories on this list, though still a sizeable figure on its own. Fuel and electronics together account for close to a third of total import value, with a longer tail of industrial and agricultural inputs filling out the rest of this list.
Italy, France and China Lead a Diversified Partner List
Italy was Tunisia's largest import partner in 2023, taking 12.5% of imports, worth $3.24 billion. France ranked second at 10.7%, worth $2.77 billion. China followed at 10.6%, worth $2.74 billion, keeping the top three within roughly two percentage points of each other. Together, these top three partners accounted for 33.7% of total import value, a far lower concentration than seen on the export side of trade for this country.
Russia contributed 8.2% ($2.12 billion), and Algeria added 7.0% ($1.81 billion). Germany followed at 6.9% ($1.80 billion), and Turkey added 4.7% ($1.22 billion).
Spain contributed 3.7% ($950.31 million). A destination recorded in trade statistics as "Areas, nes," a catch-all classification for shipments not assigned to a single specific origin, ranked ninth at 2.9%, worth $749.98 million. United States closed out the top ten at 2.5%, worth $655.91 million, the smallest share among the ten partners listed here. This list spans Europe, Asia, North Africa and North America, a broader geographic spread than the heavily European-focused export side of trade for this country. Ranks four through ten here are packed within roughly six percentage points of each other, a far tighter cluster than the wider gaps separating the top three.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an import profile built around fuel, electronics and food staples, holding nearly steady after two years of growth. That profile is sourced from a partner base spread far more evenly across regions than the concentrated European base seen on the export side of trade for this country.