Tunisia: Operating a Business

Legal Forms of Companies

The individual company: Number of partners: 1 person
Capital (max/min): No minimum capital
Shareholders and liability: The individual businessman is liable for company debts on his personal property.
Limited liability company (SARL): Number of partners: 2 partners minimum.
Capital (max/min): TND 1,000 minimum. The minimum nominal value of a share must be TND 5.
Shareholders and liability: Their liability is limited to the amount of capital contributed.
Public limited company (SA): Number of partners: Minimum 7 partners.
Capital (max/min): Minimum capital: TND 5,000. 1/4 of the capital must be paid upon creation. The balance must be paid up within a maximum of 5 years.
TDN 50,000 if the company does make a public invitation.
Shareholders and liability: Their liability is limited to the amount of capital contributed.
General partnership: Number of partners: Minimum 2 partners, with a maximum of 50.
Capital (max/min): No minimum capital.
Shareholders and liability: Their liability is unlimited.
Limited joint-stock partnership: Number of partners: There are 2 types of partner, the active partners and the silent partners.
Capital (max/min): No minimum capital.
Shareholders and liability: The liability of the active partners is unlimited. The liability of the silent partners is limited to the amount of capital contributed as long as they do not participate in the management of the company.

Setting Up a Company	Tunisia	Middle East & North Africa
Procedures (number)	3.00	6.28
Time (days)	9.00	19.51

Source: The World Bank - Doing Business, Latest data available.

The Competent Organisation: Trade Registry of Tunisia
For Further Information: Doing Business, Information on how to start a business in Tunisia

Dun & Bradstreet - Worldwide directory with financial information on businesses

Kompass - Tunisian business directory

Principle: In the framework of the safeguard scheme, two legal decisions are generally made:
- being put into receivership, a state where payment stops, it is impossible to face the liabilities due with the current assets.
- compulsory liquidation, a persistent state where payment stops and receivership is manifestly impossible.
Minimum Debt-to-Capital Ratio Triggering Liquidation: No minimum.
Bankruptcy Laws: Commercial Code

	2018	2019	2020
Labour Force	4,086,764	4,115,302	4,107,933

Minimum Wage: In 2022, it was equal to TND 429.312 per month for 48 hours worked per week for non-agricultural workers (TND 365.732 in case of 40 weekly hours of work); and to TND 16.512 per day for agricultural workers according to the data from the National Institute of Statistics (lastest available data).
Average Wage: The ILO does not publish data on the average wage in Tunisia.
In 2020, according to different private surveys, the average monthly salary was estimated at TND 914 (for non-agricultural services).

The Areas Covered: - Health Insurance: cover for all or part of the expenses for health, maternity, disability, or death not linked to the exercise of one's professional activity.
- Industrial accidents and professional illnesses: cover for all or part of the expenses for illness, disability, or death linked to the exercise of one's professional activity.
- Old age: taking care of pensions for people who have previously exercised a professional activity. Family allowances: cover for all or part of family expenses relative to children, housing, etc.
- Unemployment: cover for all or part of the wages not received during periods of unemployment.
- Welfare: financial aid for people whose resources are too low to face needs created by handicap, age, illness, or social or economic difficulties, when the other forms of solidarity (social insurance or family solidarity) are insufficient or non-existent.
Contributions: Contributions Paid By the Employer: The social security contributions rate for employers is 16.57%.
Contributions Paid By the Employee: Total of 9.18%:
- Old age, invalidity, survivors: 4.73%;
- Sickness, maternity: 3.16%;
- Family benefits: 0.88%;
- Other services: AT/MP, PST, FSE: 0.38%.

Type of Contract: Legal measures govern work contracts; collective agreements and individual negotiation complete them. The formality of work contracts is extremely rigid. The constraints of dismissal and hiring conditions are rather flexible.

Labour Laws: Consult Doing Business Website, to obtain a summary of the labor regulations that apply to local entreprises.

Social Dialogue and Involvement of Social Partners
Unionisation Rate: 15 %.
Labour Unions: Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) (in Arabic)
Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA) (in French)
Regulation Bodies: Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment

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