Tunisia was ranked the most competitive business environment in Africa in a report released during the World Economic Forum summit in Cape Town. The 2009 Africa Competitiveness Report, produced by the WEF in association with the African Development Bank and the World Bank, gave the Tunisian economy a score of 4.6 out of 5 for competitiveness, ranking it the 36th most competitive economy globally and the fifth most competitive in the Arab world. The report, based on hard data and responses to the WEF’s Executive Opinion Survey, singles out the country’s institutions as “one of its most competitive advantages,” resting on “fairly transparent and trustworthy relations between government and civil society.” As a whole, Tunisia’s institutions ranked 22nd globally, with a particularly high placing for efficiency of public spending (2nd), public trust of politicians (16th), low levels of favoritism among officials (14th) and transparency in the policymaking process (15th). Beyond
