The budget proposal for Tunisia for the year 2027 proposes to cap the growth of operating expenditures at a maximum of 3% compared to 2026, while requiring public structures to implement practical programs aimed at reducing energy, water and fuel consumption.
According to Circular No. 2 published on April 14, 2026 and addressed to ministers and state secretaries for drafting the main outlines of next year’s budget project, the government plans to maintain its support for low-income groups and the middle class, while committing to reform the subsidy system to ensure its effectiveness and targeted beneficiaries.
The circular also includes clear guidelines to reform the social security system and public health, enshrining the constitutional right to universal social protection.
Break with Traditional Models
The new project is based on breaking with traditional models of public resource management, adopting an approach aimed at ensuring the resilience of the national economy in the face of global crises and strengthening national sovereignty.
It is specified that Tunisia’s 2027 budget project represents a key executive phase within the 2026-2030 Development Plan, where the State seeks to stimulate growth drivers and create wealth by valorizing national resources and developing high value-added sectors.
Security as the Supreme Priority
Security, in its various dimensions, is presented as an absolute priority, notably food, water and energy security, through accelerating the transition to renewable energy and adopting smart agricultural techniques to address water shortages.
Social Justice and Support for Purchasing Power
On the social front, the government emphasizes, through this circular, the implementation of the principle of equal opportunity and the assurance of social justice.
It also includes clear guidelines to reform social security and public health systems, consolidating the constitutional right to universal social protection.
Rationalization of Recruitment and Operating Expenditures
Regarding financial balances, the government has put in place strict measures to control the wage bill and operating expenditures, planning to direct recruitment exclusively toward vital sectors, with a cap on ordinary promotions not exceeding 40%.
The budget project aims to limit the growth of operating expenditures to a maximum of 3% compared to 2026, while obliging public structures to adopt practical programs to reduce energy, water and fuel consumption.
Regarding salaries, the Presidency of the Government clarified that the wage bill reached a record level of 16.1% of GDP in 2020, which necessitated control.
Thus, the proposed salary policy for 2027 must take into account achieving financial stability, improving the quality of public services, and strengthening the State’s role in employment and reducing unemployment.
Public Investment and Regional Development
The circular places great importance on public investment as a lever for regional development, calling to prioritize ongoing projects and those pending in the regions, especially infrastructure projects with a direct impact on citizens’ lives.
It also emphasizes the need to ensure the preparation of new projects in terms of studies and financing before inclusion, to guarantee rapid execution and avoid wastage of public funds.
As a reminder, investment expenditures in the current budget were set at 6.36 billion dinars, or about 10% of total budget expenditures.
Participatory Methodology and Complete Digitization
For the first time, the budget project adopts the “bottom-up” approach, involving local and regional councils in defining priorities, alongside the generalization of the budget management system by objectives and the implementation of advanced digital systems (such as the “AMAD” system) to monitor budget execution with precision and transparency.
Structure of the Tunisian Financial Policy for 2027
The circular outlines a clear roadmap to control the wage bill by taking career paths into account, modernizing recruitment, and emphasizing that new hires should be exclusively oriented toward “priority” posts, focusing on skills that promote digital transformation and vital sectors.
Structure of the Tunisian Financial Policy for 2027 It also specifies the reintegration policy by encouraging “professional mobility,” that is, the transfer of staff from surplus sectors to those in need, to avoid unnecessary recruitment.
Public Investment Governance
The circular ends the policy of including “phantom” or unfinished projects in the budget, requiring that no new project be included unless its technical and financial studies are complete and its real estate situation is regularized. It emphasizes the priority to be given to pending regional projects, with the aim of restoring citizens’ confidence in the state’s ability to deliver.
It also calls for the maintenance of existing assets (buildings and equipment) rather than purchasing new equipment, reflecting a policy of smart austerity.
Transition to “Green Management”
Through the circular’s content, environmental measures appear almost for the first time as financial commitments rather than mere political rhetoric, with the obligation to install energy-efficient devices and to generalize solar energy in public administrations, as well as the activation of the monitoring system (GPRS) to track administrative vehicles, not only as a control tool to prevent abuse, but also as a means to significantly reduce fuel consumption.
It also implements measures to rationalize water resources, including the collection of all rainwater in public institutions, in direct response to the country’s water shortage.
Calendar for Budget Preparation
Moreover, the circular sets key dates for preparing the budget proposal for next year, fixing June 15, 2026 as the deadline for ministries to submit budget proposals.
The end of August 2026 has been set to finalize the discussion of sectoral budgets with the Ministry of Finance, to ensure the submission of the Finance Bill to the Chamber of Deputies and the National Council of Regions and Districts within constitutional deadlines (before October 15).
The circular ends by calling for the cooperation of all public structures to meet constitutional and legal deadlines in order to establish a comprehensive and equitable development model that guarantees the sustainability of public services and the stability of the State’s financial balances.
