Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya

Geographic coordinates: 34 00 N, 9 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
total: 163,610 sq km
land: 155,360 sq km
water: 8,250 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than Georgia

Land boundaries:
total: 1,424 km
border countries: Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km

Coastline: 1,148 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
territorial sea : 12 nm

Climate: temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south

Terrain: mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara

Elevation extremes:
lowest point : Shatt al Gharsah -17 m
highest point: Jabal ash Shanabi 1,544 m

Natural resources: petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt

Land use:
arable land: 19%
permanent crops: 13%
permanent pastures: 20%
forests and woodland: 4%
other : 44% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 3,800 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: toxic and hazardous waste disposal is ineffective and presents human health risks; water pollution from raw sewage; limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

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

Geography - note: strategic location in central Mediterranean

Population: 9,815,644 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years : 27.8% (male 1,412,625; female 1,320,729)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 3,234,770; female 3,233,149)
65 years and over:6.3% (male 303,093; female 311,278) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate:1.12% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 16.83 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 27.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.16 years
male : 72.56 years
female: 75.89 years (2002 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.94 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Nationality:
noun : Tunisian(s)
adjective: Tunisian

Ethnic groups: Arab-Berber 98%, European 1%, Jewish less than 1%

Religions: Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish 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: 66.7%
male: 78.6%
female : 54.6% (1995 est.)

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Tunisia
conventional short form: Tunisia
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah at Tunisiyah
local short form: Tunis

Data code: TS

Government type: republic

National capital: Tunis

Administrative divisions: 23 governorates; Beja, Ben Arous, Bizerte, Gabes, Gafsa, Jendouba, Kairouan, Kasserine, Kebili, L'Ariana, Le Kef, Mahdia, Medenine, Monastir, Nabeul, Sfax, Sidi Bou Zid, Siliana, Sousse, Tataouine, Tozeur, Tunis, Zaghouan

Independence: 20 March 1956 (from France)

National holiday: National Day, 20 March (1956)

Constitution: 1 June 1959; amended 12 July 1988

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 (163 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 (Cour de Cassation)

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

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, BSEC (observer), CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNTAES, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Hatem ATALLAH
chancery: 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005
telephone: [1] (202) 862-1850

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission : Ambassador Rust M. DEMING
embassy: 144 Avenue de la Liberte, 1002 Tunis-Belvedere
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [216] (1) 782-566
FAX: [216] (1) 789-719

Flag description: red with a white disk in the center bearing a red crescent nearly encircling a red five-pointed star; the crescent and star are traditional symbols of Islam

Economy - overview: 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 averaged 5.4% in the past five years, and inflation is slowing. Growth in tourism and increased trade have been key elements in this steady growth, although tourism revenues have slowed since 11 September 2001 and may take a year or more to fully recover. Tunisia's association agreement with the European Union entered into force on 1 March 1998, the first such accord between the EU and a Mediterranean country. Under the agreement Tunisia will gradually remove barriers to trade with the EU over the next decade. Broader privatization, further liberalization of the investment code to increase foreign investment, and improvements in government efficiency are among the challenges for the future.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $64.5 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 4.8% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 13%
industry:13%
services: 54% (2000 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 2.7% (2001 est.)

Labor force:
total: 2.69 million (2001 est.)
by occupation: services 55%, industry 23%, agriculture 22% (1995 est.)
note : shortage of skilled labor

Unemployment rate: 15.6% (2000 est.)

Budget:
revenues :$5.7 billion
expenditures: $6.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.5 billion (2001 est.)

Industries: petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron ore), tourism, textiles, footwear, food, beverages

Industrial production growth rate: 5.2% (2001 est.)

Electricity - capacity: 1.7 million kW (1995 est.)

Electricity - production: 10.3 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 678 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products: olives, dates, oranges, almonds, grain, sugar beets, grapes; poultry, beef, dairy products

Exports:
total value: $6.6 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
commodities: hydrocarbons, textiles, agricultural products, phosphates and chemicals
partners: France 28%, Italy 21%, Germany 14%, Belgium 6%, Libya (2000)

Imports:
total value: $8.9 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
commodities: industrial goods and equipment 57%, hydrocarbons 13%, food 12%, consumer goods
partners: France 30%, Italy 21%, Germany 11%, Spain 4%, Belgium (2000)

Debt - external: $11.5 billion (2001 est.)

Economic aid:
recipient: $933.2 million (1995); note - ODA, $90 million (1998 est.)

Currency: 1 Tunisian dinar (TND) = 1,000 millimes

Exchange rates: Tunisian dinars per US dollar - 1.44 (January 2002), 1.3753 (2001), 1.3707 (2000), 1.1862 (1999), 1.1387 (1998), 1.1059 (1997)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Telephones: 654,000 (1997)

Telephone system:above the African average and continuing to be upgraded; key centers are Sfax, Sousse, Bizerte, and Tunis; Internet access available
domestic :trunk facilities consist of open-wire lines, coaxial cable, and microwave radio relay
international: 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Algeria and Libya; participant in Medarabtel; two international gateway digital switches

Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 20, shortwave 2 (1998)

Radios: 2.06 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:26 (plus 76 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions: 920,000 (1997)

Communications - note: Internet access is permitted but is licensed through a government agency

Railways:
total: 2,168 km
standard gauge: 471 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge : 1,687 km 1.000-m gauge
dual gauge: 10 km 1.000-m and 1.435-m gauges (three rails) (2001)

Highways:
total: 23,100 km
paved: 23,100 km
unpaved: 4,874 km (1996)

Pipelines: crude oil 797 km; petroleum products 86 km; natural gas 742 km

Ports and harbors: Bizerte, Gabes, La Goulette, Sfax, Sousse, Tunis, Zarzis

Merchant marine:
total:16 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 150,710 GRT/162,616 DWT
ships by type:bulk 2, cargo 4, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 1 (2002 est.)

Airports: 30 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 14
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m : 6
1,524 to 2,437 m:2
914 to 1,523 m:3 (2001)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total :16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m:7 (2001)

Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary forces

Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age (2002 est.)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49 : 2,806,881 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males: 1,597,565 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 105,146 (2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $356 million (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.5% (FY99)

Disputes - international: none