Cost of Living in Tunisia
Image credit: M.Rais
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Tunisia: $12,775/capita.
Cities in Tunisia
Income Category
Happiness
4.4 / 10
#113 globally
GDP per Capita
Population
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 71% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Child Education
Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.
Public schools
How realistic the local public-school path is for a relocating family in Tunisia.
Quality
Mixed public schools
Assessment snapshot: 2022
Expat access
Language-heavy for non-Arabic speakers
hardInstruction
Arabic / French
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
374
Well below OECD avg
PISA 2022 · OECD avg ~480
Why this quality rating
Tunisia has a reasonably structured public school system by North African standards, with Arabic and French as instruction languages. Quality varies significantly by region. International schools in Tunis serve expatriate families.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Enrollment is technically open to resident families, but the Arabic-first (with French) instruction model typically pushes international families toward private or international schools.
📋 Homeschooling
Legal with school enrollmentTunisia allows "individual education" with registration at the Ministry of Education. Students must take official exams at a recognized school. No mandatory curriculum at home but must meet exam standards. Growing digital nomad scene in Tunis.
Homeschool legality in Tunisia — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Childcare & Domestic Help
Current city samples for the family-support costs we track in Tunisia.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$450-$650
1 tracked city, not a national average
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$850-$1,150
1 tracked city, not a national average
Source: curated family relocation research
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Tunisia.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
GoodGood national coverage support this rating.
Public care
MixedA visible public hospital footprint help, but patients still shoulder a meaningful share of costs.
Private care
MixedA large tracked hospital and clinic network help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
76/100
2023
Physicians
1.31/1k
2021
Hospital beds
1.82/1k
2023
Out of pocket
38%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
76.7 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
36/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
7.7/1k
2024
International patient readiness
MixedMultiple facilities have websites and there is visible specialty depth help, but price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedMultiple facilities have crawlable websites help, but published self-pay prices are scarce.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Tunisia yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Administrative & Support Services | — |
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Mining & Quarrying | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Public Administration & Defence | — |
| Real Estate | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2019 annual wages in Tunisia · Source: ILO ILOSTAT
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders can stay up to 120 days without a visa.
About Tunisia
Tunisia is a practical North African option for relocators who want Mediterranean weather without European costs, with living expenses described as very low and usually easiest to manage from Tunis or Sfax. Arabic is official, while French is widely spoken, so day-to-day life can be easier for people comfortable in either language than for English-only arrivals. The tradeoff is uneven infrastructure: major cities have fast 4G internet and good urban hospitals, but healthcare and connectivity can drop off outside those areas. The climate is Mediterranean, with hot dry summers, which suits some retirees and remote workers but can be wearing if you need cooler weather. Many nationals can enter visa-free for 30-90 days, useful for a trial stay before making larger relocation plans.
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Common questions about Tunisia
Sourced from SortaRich's public-data ranking engine — every figure links to its institutional source.
Is Tunisia a good country to live in?
Tunisia is a lower-rated country to live in per the World Happiness Report (4.4 of 10, ranking #113 globally). Whether it's right for you depends on your priorities — use SortaRich's free quiz to see how Tunisia ranks for your specific income, family, and visa profile.
Sources: World Happiness Report, SortaRich Methodology
How much does it cost to live in Tunisia?
The cost of living in Tunisia is about 71% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), with an overall cost-of-living index of 29. SortaRich personalizes these numbers to your home city's purchasing power so the comparison is real, not nominal.
Sources: SortaRich Cost of Living, World Bank ICP 2021
How far does $1 go in Tunisia?
$1 goes about 3.2x further in Tunisia than in the baseline market — your home-country income stretches that much more (current PPP ratio: 3.23). The figure adjusts every year as exchange rates and local prices shift. SortaRich uses World Bank ICP 2021 as the anchor and Penn World Tables 11.0 for cross-validation.
Sources: World Bank ICP 2021, Penn World Tables 11.0
What visa do I need to move to Tunisia?
To move to Tunisia you have these visa options: Tourist entry: visa_free (120 days). Visa rules change frequently — confirm the current terms with the official immigration authority before booking flights.
Source: SortaRich Visa Database
What are the best cities to live in Tunisia?
The best cities to live in Tunisia are Tunis, Sousse — those are the most-searched options among the 2 cities profiled in the SortaRich database. Each city page includes a personalized PPP comparison versus your home city plus subnational price data where available.
Source: SortaRich City Index