The general population and 2024 habitat census confirms a major structural trend in Tunisia: Almost 75 % of Tunisian households own their accommodationAccording to data revealed this Monday, September 29, by Abdelkader Talhaoui, technical director of the census at the National Statistical Institute (INS).
Guest of the national radio, Talhaoui said that The property rate is higher in rural areas than in urban areas. A contrast that translates different social and economic realities: in the countryside, intergenerational transmission and self -construction dominate, while in town, access to housing comes up more at the cost of land and real estate prices.
Another figure challenges: the country counts 825,000 unoccupied dwellingsof which 200,000 are classified as second homes. This volume raises questions on the management of the real estate stock in Tunisia, in a context where large fringes of the population, especially young people and households with modest income, struggle to find affordable housing in large agglomerations.
Socio-economic reading
This statistical photograph highlights several paradoxes:
- On the one hand, Tunisia displays a among the highest ownership rate in the regionreflection of a culture of investment in stone, perceived as a refuge value.
- On the other, territorial inequalities persist : Housing remains more accessible in rural areas, but often at the cost of a deficit in infrastructure and public services.
- Finally, the presence of such a massive vacant park questions: How to explain that a country with high demand in housing, especially social, leaves as many unoccupied goods? The causes range from land speculation to emigration, including the absence of valuation policies of vacant housing.
Towards a more coherent housing policy?
For many economists, this data recall the urgency of a more integrated housing policy: incentives for rehabilitation, taxation on unoccupied residences, and above all support for the construction of social and intermediate housing.
Ultimately, if the figure of 75 % of owner households may seem reassuring, it should not obscure the challenges: The housing market remains unbalanced, marked both by an abundance of empty housing and a shortage of tenders accessible to the most fragile categories.
