Why the Tunisian Middle Class is Threatened of Extinction

Why the Tunisian Middle Class is Threatened of Extinction

By any measure, the Tunisian middle class is receding. The most recent study by the Tunisian Institute for Strategic Studies (ITES), affiliated with the Tunisian presidency, revealed that Tunisia's middle class shrunk from more than 70% of the population in 2010 to 55% in 2018.

Economist and investment consultant Sadok Jabnoun was quoted by Tunisian news agency TAP as saying "the middle class in Tunisia has shrunk by 30%, while it was dominant in Tunisian society by 60%.“

Political and economic developments in recent years have affected the living conditions of the main components of this class “” employees, small craftsmen, educators and even small businessmen. The crisis has been compounded this year by the coronavirus pandemic.

Sociologist Mahmoud Ezzedine says a large segment of the middle class has become poor over the