Tunisia has cut its economic growth forecast for this year to 1% from the 2.7% envisaged in the 2020 budget, Prime Minister Elyess Fakhfakh said on Sunday, as the vital tourism sector faces a strong threat due to the coronavirus crisis. He told the local Magreb newspaper that the coronavirus crisis would knock half a percentage point off growth.

Tunisia faces urgent economic problems after a relative decline in the nine years since the ouster of veteran autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, who died in exile in September. Unemployment is more than 15% nationally and 30% in some cities, while inflation is high, and successive governments have struggled to rein in high fiscal deficits and control the public debt.

Fakhfakh, who took office two weeks ago, did not give more details on lowering growth forecasts, but it is widely expected that the vital tourism sector will be affected by the coronavirus, in addition to the agricultural sector, which may be exacerbated by the severe shortage in rainfall rates.

Last year, nine million tourists visited Tunisia for the first time. Tourism accounts for about 8% of Tunisia's GDP and is a key source of foreign currency.