Banking in Tunisia
Tunisia is known for economic and political stability, its highly educated workforce, while Islamic radicalism is weak. Tunisia does not have the resource curse of oil or mineral deposits that often determine instability. From 2000 to 2009, Tunisia grew at an annual rate of 5.2% and its per capita income of about $8,300 (in PPP terms) in 2009 was second only to Lebanon among the oil-importing MENA countries. The stability of the Tunisian Dinar and historically low inflation in Tunisia are positive indicators for its potential development of financial services. Inflation was 4.9% in FY 2007-08 and 3.5% in FY 2008-09. The Tunisian Dinar was less volatile in 2000-2010 than the currencies of its oil-importing neighbors, Egypt and Morocco.
Tunisian rial
The rial was issued by the Ottoman rulers of Tunis. Although known as the piastre by Europeans, it was not equal to the Turkish kuruş, also known as the piastre. From 1855, the rial was on a bimetallic standard of 1 rial = 0.17716 grams pure gold or 2.7873 grams pure silver. In 1887, the gold content of the 25 rial coin was slightly reduced to make it equivalent to 15 French francs. In 1891, this conversion rate (more conveniently expressed as 1 rial = 60 centimes) was used when the Tunisian franc replaced the rial.