Data from fDiMarkets shows that FDI into Tunisia has decreased each year since 2008. Data is only available for the first 11 months of 2011, but it is unlikely that end-of-year figures will improve on 2010. Indeed, if figures for the first 11 months of both years are examined, 2010 saw more investments, more jobs created and a higher level of capital investment.

Statistics from 2003 to the end of November 2011 show that 2007 and 2008 saw significant levels of FDI into Tunisia. In 2008, for example, a total of $21.95bn was invested in 59 projects, leading to the creation of more than 20,000 jobs. But 2009 witnessed a significant drop in FDI, with $8.53bn invested in 52 projects and just less than 15,000 jobs created. This was followed by an even more significant decrease in 2010, when $1.93bn was invested in 48 projects, creating just fewer than 10,000 jobs. The first 11 months of 2011 offer little hope of a recovery, with little more than 6000 jobs created through 38 investments and capital investment for the period standing at $1.48bn.

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These significant decreases can be largely explained by a decline in investment in the manufacturing and construction industries since 2008. For example, in 2008, Tunisia received more than $16bn of FDI in the construction industry, leading to more than 8000 jobs being created. This sector still created jobs in 2009 but levels of investment have decreased significantly since. Similarly FDI from the manufacturing industry has also declined, with, for example, less than half the jobs being created in the first 11 months of 2011 compared to 2008.  

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