Y-NEET in Tunisia

Country Overview:

Tunisia faces a persistent structural imbalance between labour supply and demand. Despite a slight improvement in 2025, with the overall unemployment rate reduced to 15.3% in the second quarter, significant disparities remain: female unemployment stands at 20.9% compared to 12.6% for men, and youth unemployment (ages 15–24) reaches 36.8%, more than twice the national average. Tertiary graduates are not spared, with an unemployment rate of 24%, highlighting a continued mismatch between skills and labour market needs. For the analysis of the NEET indicator (Not in Employment, Education or Training), the age bracket has been expanded from 15–24 to 15–29 years to better reflect national realities.
This adjustment considers the specific characteristics of Tunisia’s labour market and extended educational pathways. The transition to employment is often delayed by prolonged higher education, difficulties in labour market insertion, and prevailing social norms, exposing young people up to age 29 to a heightened risk of long-term exclusion. In 2024, nearly one-third of Tunisian youth aged 15–29—29.4%—are NEET, representing a major challenge for social and economic inclusion.

Profile and Trends of NEETs

The NEET indicator is used by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as a key metric to assess youth vulnerability and their exclusion from education systems and the labour market. In 2024, the NEET rate among young people in Tunisia stood at 29.4%, affecting nearly one-third of the youth population. The age distribution reveals increasing vulnerability with progression through the age bracket: 54.1% of NEETs are aged 25–29, compared to 33.3% for those aged 20–24 and only 12.6% for the 15–19 group, reflecting a difficult school-to-work transition.
Marked territorial disparities persist regions in the Central East and West record rates as high as 40.5%, linked to poverty, geographic isolation, and weak infrastructure, while Greater Tunis remains below 17% due to demographic concentration. The rural–urban divide is evident (40.4% in rural areas versus 59.6% in urban settings). Despite denser service provision in urban areas, NEET youth face saturated labour markets, informal employment, and working conditions often below decent work standards. This duality exacerbates territorial inequalities and reinforces barriers to social and labour market inclusion, particularly for women and youth from interior regions.
From a sociodemographic perspective, women account for 54.5% of NEETs, often inactive due to family responsibilities, while men are more affected by unemployment. Educational attainment does not guarantee protection against exclusion: 50.8% of NEETs have only basic education, but 16.2% hold tertiary degrees, illustrating the persistent skills mismatch between education and labour market needs. These trends highlight a multidimensional phenomenon shaped by age, gender, geography, and education, requiring targeted and localized policies to prevent long-term exclusion.The typology of NEET youth (15–29 years) in Tunisia reveals two main profiles reflecting distinct socio-economic realities: NEET jobseekers, representing about 43% of the NEET population, and inactive NEETs, who make up nearly 57% and are completely outside job-search circuits, often due to family constraints, discouragement, or cultural and territorial barriers.

Employment Policy and Ongoing Reforms

Tunisia has embarked on a comprehensive modernization of its employment policies to address the challenges posed by the high proportion of NEET youth (29.4% of those aged 15–29). The National Employment Strategy 2035 serves as the overarching framework, focusing on social inclusion, human capital development, and the transition to formal employment. The update of the National Employment Strategy (NES) has introduced a dedicated section on NEET youth, underscoring the strategic importance of this group in labour market policies. Once adopted, this revision will bring major reforms, including the creation of a “NEET youth rate” indicator for regular monitoring and the establishment of a one-stop shop to coordinate support services.
The update also emphasizes strengthening partnerships with civil society organizations and youth centres to improve outreach to NEETs who remain outside public service networks, as well as adapting education and training pathways to labour market needs by promoting entrepreneurship culture and recognition of prior learning.

Implications for the Initiative

Tunisia is moving towards a holistic approach to address the NEET youth challenge, combining government efforts, strategic partnerships, and innovative mechanisms. This approach is grounded in the implementation of Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs), the modernization of public employment services (ANETI, BETI), and the development of labour market-oriented vocational training programmes, including second-chance schemes for early school leavers.
Local NGOs and community-based associations, leveraging their territorial presence, complement public action by offering proximity solutions and tailored pathways, particularly for rural young women and “invisible” NEETs.

Key Levers and Barriers

The analysis of the regulatory framework, public policies, and service mapping highlights several strategic levers conducive to the implementation of the Youth NEET project, as well as structural barriers that could limit its impact if not anticipated. Among the strengths, there is a clear political commitment, reflected in the integration of NEETs into the National Employment Strategy and the modernization of Active Labour Market Programmes (PAMT).

Key levers for this initiative include:

• Strengthened strategic framework: The update of the National Employment Strategy (NES) and the presence of mechanisms such as Second-Chance Schools (E2C) and the New Chance Scheme (DNC) provide an institutional foundation for integrating Youth NEET approaches.
• Existence of Active Labour Market Policies.
• Dense institutional and associative network
• Openness to innovation and international cooperation

Barriers to overcome include:

• Fragmentation and weak intersectoral coordination: Existing mechanisms are dispersed across multiple ministries and actors, lacking integrated governance and effective consultation mechanisms.
• Absence of explicit NEET targeting in legislation.
• Territorial inequalities and limited-service coverage
• Offices, complicating NEETs’ access to services.
• Lack of reliable and interoperable data: Statistical monitoring of NEETs is limited.