Basic facts of Tunisia
Official name: Tunisian Republic
Capital: Tunis
Area: 164,418 sq km 63,482
Population: 10,378,140 (2008 estimate)
Population growth rate: 0.99 percent (2008 estimate)
Population density: 67 persons per sq km, 173 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution:
Share urban 64 percent (2005 estimate)
Share rural 36 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities: Tunis, Sfax, Aryānah, Sūsah, Al Qayrawān
Languages: Arabic (official), French, Berber
Religious affiliations:
Muslim (Islam is the official religion; mostly Sunni Muslim) 99 percent
Other 1 percent
Life expectancy:
Total 75.6 years (2008 estimate)
Female 77.5 years (2008 estimate)
Male 73.8 years (2008 estimate)
Literacy rate:
Total 76.2 percent (2005 estimate)
Female 66.7 percent (2005 estimate)
Male 85.7 percent (2005 estimate)
Form of government: Republic
Total number of military personnel: 35,300 (2004)
Introduction:
Tunisia, country on the north coast of Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The Atlas Mountains run across the country, dividing the country’s fertile northern plains from the hotter, dryer southern regions. The Sahara, the vast desert that covers much of northern Africa, begins in southern Tunisia.
Tunisia is a small country by North African standards, sandwiched between the much larger countries of AlgeriaLibya to the southeast. The northernmost country in Africa, Tunisia is bounded on the north and east by the Mediterranean. The country’s strategic location has brought it into contact with many civilizations that sought control of North Africa, including those of the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs, and Ottoman Turks.
Official name: Tunisian Republic
Capital: Tunis
Area: 164,418 sq km 63,482
Population: 10,378,140 (2008 estimate)
Population growth rate: 0.99 percent (2008 estimate)
Population density: 67 persons per sq km, 173 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution:
Share urban 64 percent (2005 estimate)
Share rural 36 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities: Tunis, Sfax, Aryānah, Sūsah, Al Qayrawān
Languages: Arabic (official), French, Berber
Religious affiliations:
Muslim (Islam is the official religion; mostly Sunni Muslim) 99 percent
Other 1 percent
Life expectancy:
Total 75.6 years (2008 estimate)
Female 77.5 years (2008 estimate)
Male 73.8 years (2008 estimate)
Literacy rate:
Total 76.2 percent (2005 estimate)
Female 66.7 percent (2005 estimate)
Male 85.7 percent (2005 estimate)
Form of government: Republic
Total number of military personnel: 35,300 (2004)
Introduction:
Tunisia, country on the north coast of Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The Atlas Mountains run across the country, dividing the country’s fertile northern plains from the hotter, dryer southern regions. The Sahara, the vast desert that covers much of northern Africa, begins in southern Tunisia.
Tunisia is a small country by North African standards, sandwiched between the much larger countries of AlgeriaLibya to the southeast. The northernmost country in Africa, Tunisia is bounded on the north and east by the Mediterranean. The country’s strategic location has brought it into contact with many civilizations that sought control of North Africa, including those of the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs, and Ottoman Turks.
Mosque, Hammamet, Tunisia
Hammamet is a small fishing port southeast of Tunis and one of the most popular beach resorts in Tunisia. This hilltop mosque in Hammamet overlooks the Mediterranean Sea.
Desert Oasis, Tunisia
The Sahara Desert extends into southern Tunisia and covers about 40 percent of the country’s land area. Camels are still used as a means of transportation in some parts of the desert, such as at this oasis near Dūz.
Tunis,Tunisia
Tunis, the captial and largest city of Tunisia, is divided into two sections: an older Muslim quarter, characterized by narrow, winding streets, and a newer, European section, with straight, wide streets. The European quarter, pictured here, was built while Tunisia was under French rule, from 1881 to 1956.
Roman Ruin
An impressive Roman monument, a 3rd-century ad amphitheater, lies in northeastern Tunisia. From the 2nd century bc to 5th century ad most of the region was part of the Roman province called Africa.
Amphitheater in El Jem, Tunisia
The town of El Jem in Tunisia has one of the largest amphitheaters built by the ancient Romans. The amphitheater could hold as many as 35,000 spectators for gladiatorial fights and other spectacles. Known as Thysdrus in ancient times, El Jem was the center of a thriving agricultural region, known especially for its groves of olive trees.
Tunis’s Old City
From the late 7th to the early 16th century, a succession of Muslim dynasties ruled Tunisia. This minaret of the Great al-Zaytuna Mosque is located in the old, walled Muslim quarter of Tunis. The mosque was begun in the 9th century and finished in the 17th century.
Bab el-Bhar, Tunis
Founded by the Phoenicians in the 6th century bc, the port city of Tunis lies on the northeastern coast of TunisiaTunis from the new European quarter built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Tunisia was a French colony. and is divided into an old and a new section. The Bab el-Bhar, shown here, is a gate that separates the old Muslim quarter of Tunis from the new European quarter built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Tunisia was a French colony.