About Tunisia
Tunisia in the Mediterranean Basin
Located on the coast of Northern Africa, along the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, Tunisia is right in the middle of a thriving industry of trade and communication with a large number of other Mediterranean Basin, European countries. Home also to a number of sea port cities, luxurious beachfront vistas, Roman Ruins, picturesque mosques, the Atlas Mountains, the Chott Djerid (a great salt lake), and the Sahara Desert, Tunisia offers a variety of attractions to its visitors.
About Tunisian Culture
In Tunisia, you will find a culture of people that developed from a native Berber and Arab ancestry combined with other cultures and a wide variety of influences from around the world. Their history is an interesting quilt of vibrant cultural colors, from early Greek & Roman influence, to Arabic and then Turkish rule, to Egyptian, Spanish, Islamic, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, African, Italian, English, American, and French influences, and then finally to an independent culture and country. This is apparent in the beautiful designs, patterns, and glazes of traditional Tunisian ceramics, cloth tapestries, woven carpets, and the intricate, exotic olive wood carvings that Tunisia is known for all over the world.
Facts About Tunisia
Geography of Tunisia
Location Of Tunisia:
|
Northern Africa, bordering
the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya |
Tunisian Geographic coordinates:
|
34 00 N, 9 00 E |
Area:
|
total: 163,610 sq km
water: 8,250 sq km
land: 155,360 sq km |
Area - comparative:
|
slightly larger than
Georgia |
Tunisian Land boundaries:
|
total: 1,424 km
border countries: Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km |
Tunisian Coastline:
|
1,148 km |
Tunisian Maritime claims:
|
contiguous zone: 24
NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Tunisian Climate:
|
temperate in north with
mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south |
Tunisian Terrain:
|
mountains in north; hot,
dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara |
Tunisian Elevation extremes:
|
lowest point: Shatt
al Gharsah -17 m
highest point: Jebel ech Chambi 1,544 m |
Tunisian Natural resources:
|
petroleum, phosphates, iron
ore, lead, zinc, salt |
Land use:
|
arable land: 18.67%
permanent crops: 12.87%
other: 68.46% (1998 est.) |
Irrigated land:
|
3,800 sq km (1998 est.) |
Tunisian Environment - current issues:
|
toxic and hazardous waste
disposal is ineffective and poses health risks; water pollution from raw
sewage; limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation;
overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
Tunisian Environment - international agreements:
|
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Tunisian Geography - note:
|
strategic location in
central Mediterranean; Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial
exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries,
particularly for oil exploration
|
Population of Tunisia
Tunisian Population:
|
9,974,722 (July 2004 est.) |
Tunisian Age structure:
|
0-14 years: 26% (male 1,337,546;
female 1,253,814)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 3,373,199; female 3,360,402)
65 years and over: 6.5% (male 315,151; female 334,610) (2004 est.) |
Median age:
|
total: 26.8 years
male: 26.3 years
female: 27.3 years (2004 est.) |
Tunisian Population growth rate:
|
1.01% (2004 est.) |
Tunisian Birth rate:
|
15.74 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Tunisian Death rate:
|
5.05 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Net migration rate:
|
-0.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004
est.) |
Tunisian Infant mortality rate:
|
total: 25.76 deaths/1,000 live
births
female: 22.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 28.7 deaths/1,000 live births |
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population: 74.66 years
male: 73 years
female: 76.44 years (2004 est.) |
Total fertility rate:
|
1.79 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
0.04% (2001 est.) |
Nationality:
|
noun: Tunisian(s)
adjective: Tunisian |
Ethnic groups:
|
Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1% |
Religions:
|
Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish and other
1% |
Languages:
|
Arabic (official and one of the languages
of commerce), French (commerce) |
Literacy:
|
definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 74.2%
male: 84%
female: 64.4% (2003 est.)
|
Tunisian Government
Country name:
|
conventional long form: Tunisian
Republic
conventional short form: Tunisia
local short form: Tunis
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah at Tunisiyah |
Tunisian Government type:
|
republic |
Capital of Tunisia:
|
Tunis |
Tunisian Administrative divisions:
|
24 governorates; Ariana (Aryanah), Beja
(Bajah), Ben Arous (Bin 'Arus), Bizerte (Banzart), Gabes (Qabis), Gafsa (Qafsah), Jendouba
(Jundubah), Kairouan (Al Qayrawan), Kasserine (Al Qasrayn), Kebili (Qibili), Kef (Al Kaf),
Mahdia (Al Mahdiyah), Manouba (Manubah), Medenine (Madanin), Monastir (Al Munastir),
Nabeul (Nabul), Sfax (Safaqis), Sidi Bou Zid (Sidi Bu Zayd), Siliana (Silyanah), Sousse
(Susah), Tataouine (Tatawin), Tozeur (Tawzar), Tunis, Zaghouan (Zaghwan) |
Tunisian Independence Day:
|
20 March 1956 (from France) |
National holiday:
|
Independence Day, 20 March (1956) |
Tunisian Constitution:
|
1 June 1959; amended 12 July 1988 |
Tunisian Legal system:
|
based on French civil law system and
Islamic law; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint
session |
Suffrage:
|
20 years of age; universal |
Executive branch:
|
chief of state: President Zine El
Abidine BEN ALI (since 7 November 1987)
head of government: Prime Minister Mohamed GHANNOUCHI (since 17 November 1999)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last
held 24 October 1999 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI reelected for a third term
without opposition; percent of vote - Zine El Abidine BEN ALI nearly 100% |
Legislative branch:
|
unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Majlis
al-Nuwaab (182 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 24 October 1999 (next to be held NA 2004)
election results: percent of vote by party - RCD 92%; seats by party - RCD 148, MDS
13, UDU 7, PUP 7, Al-Tajdid 5, PSL 2; note - reforms enabled opposition parties to win up
to 20% of seats, increasing the number of seats they hold from 19 in the last election to
34 now |
Judicial branch:
|
Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation |
Tunisian Political parties and leaders:
|
Al-Tajdid Movement [Adel CHAOUCH];
Constitutional Democratic Rally Party (Rassemblement Constitutionnel Democratique) or RCD
[President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI (official ruling party)]; Liberal Social Party or PSL
[Mounir BEJI]; Movement of Democratic Socialists or MDS [Khamis CHAMMARI]; Popular Unity
Party or PUP [Mohamed Belhaj AMOR]; Unionist Democratic Union or UDU [Abderrahmane TLILI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders:
|
the Islamic fundamentalist party, Al Nahda
(Renaissance), is outlawed |
Tunisian Economy
Tunisia has a diverse economy, with important agricultural, mining, energy, tourism,
and manufacturing sectors. Governmental control of economic affairs while still heavy
has gradually lessened over the past decade with increasing privatization,
simplification of the tax structure, and a prudent approach to debt. Real growth,
averaging 5 percent for the latter half of the last decade, slowed to a 15-year low of
1.9% in 2002 because of agricultural drought, slow investment, and lackluster tourism.
Better rains in 2003, however, pushed GDP growth up to an estimated 6 percent, and
tourism also recovered after the end of combat operations in Iraq. GDP growth is likely
to ease to the 5-5.5 percent range in 2004 as the agricultural sector is unlikely to
continue to expand as rapidly. Tunisia has agreed to gradually remove barriers to trade
with the European Union over the next decade. Broader privatization, further
liberalization of the investment code to increase foreign investment, improvements in
government efficiency, and reduction of the trade deficit are among the challenges for
the future.
GDP:
|
purchasing power parity - $68.78 billion
(2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate:
|
6% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita:
|
purchasing power parity - $6,900 (2003
est.) |
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 12%
industry: 32%
services: 56% (2003 est.) |
Tunisian Population below poverty line:
|
7.6% (2001 est.) |
Tunisian Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 31.8% (1995) |
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
41.7 (1995) |
Tunisian Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
2.7% (2003 est.) |
Tunisian Labor force:
|
3.5 million
note: shortage of skilled labor (2001 est.) |
Tunisian Labor force - by occupation:
|
services 55%, industry 23%, agriculture 22%
(1995 est.) |
Tunisian Unemployment rate:
|
14.3% (2003 est.) |
Tunisian Budget:
|
revenues: $5.2 billion
expenditures: $5.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (2002
est.) |
Tunisian Industries:
|
petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate
and iron ore), tourism, textiles, footwear, agribusiness, beverages |
Tunisian Industrial production growth rate:
|
3.1% (2003 est.) |
Tunisian Electricity - production:
|
10.48 billion kWh (2001) |
Tunisian Electricity - production by source:
|
fossil fuel: 99.5%
hydro: 0.5%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
Tunisian Electricity - consumption:
|
9.748 billion kWh (2001) |
Tunisian Electricity - exports:
|
0 kWh (2001) |
Tunisian Electricity - imports:
|
1 million kWh (2001) |
Tunisian Oil - production:
|
72,580 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
Tunisian Oil - consumption:
|
87,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
Tunisian Oil - proved reserves:
|
417 million bbl (1 January 2002) |
Tunisian Natural gas - production:
|
2.25 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
Tunisian Natural gas - consumption:
|
3.83 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
Tunisian Natural gas - exports:
|
0 cu m (2001 est.) |
Tunisian Natural gas - imports:
|
1.58 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
Tunisian Natural gas - proved reserves:
|
77.16 billion cu m (1 January 2002) |
Tunisian Agriculture - products:
|
olives, olive oil, grain, dairy products,
tomatoes, citrus fruit, beef, sugar beets, dates, almonds |
Tunisian Exports:
|
$8.035 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
Tunisian Exports - commodities:
|
textiles, mechanical goods, phosphates and
chemicals, agricultural products, hydrocarbons |
Tunisian Exports - partners:
|
France 31.3%, Italy 21.6%, Germany 11.5%,
Spain 4.8%, Libya 4.7%, Belgium 4.3% (2002) |
Tunisian Imports:
|
$10.3 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
Tunisian Imports - commodities:
|
textiles, machinery and equipment,
hydrocarbons, chemicals, food |
Tunisian Imports - partners:
|
France 25.6%, Italy 19.5%, Germany 8.9%,
Spain 5% (2002) |
Tunisian Debt - external:
|
$13.8 billion (2003 est.) |
Tunisian Economic aid - recipient:
|
$378 million (2001) |
Tunisian Currency:
|
Tunisian dinar (TND) |
Tunisian Currency code:
|
TND |
Tunisian Exchange rates:
|
Tunisian dinars per US dollar - 1.29
(2003), 1.42 (2002), 1.44 (2001), 1.37 (2000), 1.19 (1999) |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress and worldfacts.us
Events In Tunisia
The Islamic (or Hjira) calendar is a full 11 days shorter than the Gregorian (Western) calendar, so public holidays and festivals fall 11 days earlier each year. Ras as-Sana is the Islamic celebration of the new year. Moulid an-Nabi celebrates the prophet Mohammed's birthday. These celebrations include parades in the city streets with lights, feasts, drummers and special sweets. Ramadan is celebrated during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, commemorating the month when the Quran was revealed to Mohammed. Out of deference, the faithful take neither food nor water until after sunset each day. At the end of Ramadan (Eid al-Fitr), the fasting breaks with much celebration and gaiety.
Eid al-Adha is the time of the pilgrimage to Mecca, which each Muslim is expected to make at least once in their lifetime. Streets are decorated with coloured lights and children play in their best clothes. The ritual of Mahmal is performed in each village - passing pilgrims are given carpets and shrouds to take on their journey.
In terms of secular festivals, July and August are the months to remember. The main event on the Tunis calendar is the Carthage International Festival, which fills those months with music, dance and theatre performances at Carthage's heavily restored Roman theatre. The El-Jem International Symphonic Music Festival is held every July. The Dougga Festival of classical drama also takes place in July and August in - you guessed it - Dougga. After the summer heat dies down, the biennial Carthage International Film Festival (concentrating on Middle Eastern and African cinema) takes place in October in odd-numbered years.
Public Holidays
1 January - New Year's Day
20 March - Independence Day
21 March - Youth Day
9 April - Martyr's Day
1 May - Labour Day
25 July - Republic Day
3 August - Public Holiday
13 August - Women's Day
15 October - Evacuation Day
7 November - Anniversary of Ben Ali's Accession
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