Tunisia
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Tunisia is a nation in northern-Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the north and to the east, and between Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast. The eastern end of the Atlas mountains occur in north of the country beyond which there are hills and plains to the coast. South of the mountains is a hot, dry central plain; and its semiarid south merges into the SaharaDesert.
Tunisia's major environmental issues include: toxic and hazardous waste disposal which is ineffective and poses health risks; water pollution from raw sewage; limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; and, desertification.
Rivalry between French and Italian interests in Tunisia culminated in a French invasion in 1881 and the creation of a protectorate. Agitation for independence in the decades following World War I was finally successful in getting the French to recognize Tunisia as an independent state in 1956. The country's first president, Habib Bourguiba, established a strict one-party state. He dominated the country for 31 years, repressing Islamic fundamentalism and establishing rights for women unmatched by any other Arab nation. In November 1987, BOURGUIBA was removed from office and replaced by Zine el Abidine Ben Ali in a bloodless coup. Ben Ali is currently serving his fourth consecutive five-year term as president; the next elections are scheduled for October 2009. Tunisia has long taken a moderate, non-aligned stance in its foreign relations. Domestically, it has sought to defuse rising pressure for a more open political society.
Geography
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya
Geographic Coordinates: 34 00 N, 9 00 E
Area: 163,610 km2 (155,360 km2 land and 8,250 km2 water)
arable land: 17.05%
permanent crops: 13.08%
other: 69.87% (2005)
Land Boundaries: 1,424 km. Border countries: Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km
Coastline: 1,148 km
Maritime Claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 12 nm
Natural Hazards: NA
Terrain: Mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara. Its lowest point is Shatt al Gharsah (-17 metres) and its highest point is Jebel ech Chambi (1,544 metres).
Climate: Temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south
Government
Government Type: Republic
Capital: Tunis
Independence Date: 20 March 1956 (from France)
Legal System: based on French civil law system and Islamic law; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal except for active government security forces (including the police and the military), people with mental disabilities, people who have served more than three months in prison (criminal cases only), and people given a suspended sentence of more than six months
International Environment Agreements
Tunisia is party to international agreements on: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, and Wetlands. It has signed, but not ratified an intenational agreement on Marine Life Conservation.
People and Society
Population: 10,383,577 (July 2008 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 23.2% (male 1,246,105/female 1,167,379)
15-64 years: 69.7% (male 3,638,062/female 3,595,254)
65 years and over: 7.1% (male 345,590/female 391,187) (2008 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 0.989% (2008 est.)
Birth Rate: 15.5 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death Rate: 5.17 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net Migration Rate: -0.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 75.56 years (2008 est.)
Total Fertility Rate: 1.73 children born/woman (2008 est.)
Languages: Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce)
Literacy (2004 census): 74.3% (male: 83.4% - female: 65.3%)
Water
Total Renewable Water Resources: 4.6 cu km (2003)
Freshwater Withdrawal: Total: 2.64 cu km/yr (14% domestic, 4% industrial, 82% agricultural). Per capita: 261 cu m/yr (2000)
Agriculture
Agricultural Products: olives, olive oil, grain, tomatoes, citrus fruit, sugar beets, dates, almonds; beef, dairy products
Irrigated Land: 3,940 sq km (2003)
Resources
Natural Resources: petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt.
Energy
| Energy in Tunisia | |||||
| Production | Consumption | Exports | Imports | Reserves | |
| Electricity | 12.85 billion kWh (2005) | 11.17 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) | |
| Oil | 76,900 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 90,000 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 75,060 bbl/day (2004) | 85,680 bbl/day (2004) | 1.7 billion bbl (2007 est.) |
| Natural Gas | 2.398 billion cu m (2005 est.) | 4.124 billion cu m (2005 est.) | 0 cu m (2005 est.) | 1.726 billion cu m (2005) | 74.68 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Source: CIA Factbook | |||||
Economy
Tunisia has a diverse economy, with important agricultural, mining, 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. Progressive social policies also have helped raise living conditions in Tunisia relative to the region. Real growth, which averaged almost 5% over the past decade, reached 6.3% in 2007 because of development in non-textile manufacturing, a recovery in agricultural production, and strong growth in the services sector. However, Tunisia will need to reach even higher growth levels to create sufficient employment opportunities for an already large number of unemployed as well as the growing population of university graduates. 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 ahead.
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $77 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (Official Exchange Rate): $35.01 billion (2007 est.)
GDP- real growth rate: 6.3% (2007 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP): $7,500 (2007 est.)
GDP- composition by sector:
agriculture: 11.6%
industry: 25.7%
services: 62.8% (2007 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line: 7.4% (2005 est.)
Industries: petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron ore), tourism, textiles, footwear, agribusiness, beverages
Exports: clothing, semi-finished goods and textiles, agricultural products, mechanical goods, phosphates and chemicals, hydrocarbons, electrical equipment
Export Partners: France 30.7%, Italy 20.6%, Germany 8.4%, Spain 5.4%, Libya 5.1% (2006)
Imports: textiles, machinery and equipment, hydrocarbons, chemicals, foodstuffs
Import Partners: France 24.1%, Italy 22.2%, Germany 9.8%, Spain 5.1% (2006)
Economic Aid Recipient: $376.5 million (2005)
Currency: Tunisian dinar (TND)
Ports and Terminals: Bizerte, Gabes, La Goulette, Rades, Sfax, Skhira
Further Reading