Tunisia: Introduction

Total Population: 10,549,100

Annual Growth Rate: 1.0%

Density: 68 Inhabitants/km²

Urban Population: 67.3%

Population of main cities including suburbs: Tunis (2,300,000); Sfax (265,000); Nabeul (170,000); Kairouan (120,000).

Ethnic Origins: 98% Arabs, 1% Europeans, Jews and others 1%.

Official Language: In Tunisia, Arabic is the official language. The Arabic which all Tunisians speak in their everyday communications is a dialectal variety called Tunisian Arabic.

Other Languages Spoken: 98 % of the population speak Arabic, the rest speak Berber. French is also spoken by a large majority of Tunisians.

Business Language(s): English is not very common. French is the language used in trade, and for some administrative texts.

Religion: Muslims 98%, Christians 1%, Jews 1%

Literacy Rate: 74.3%

Area: 163,610 km²

Type of State: According to the terms of the Constitution, Tunisia is a free State, sovereign and independent. Its religion is Islam, its language Arabic and its regime a Republic.The power instituted by the Constitution is founded on the sovereignty of the people and the separation of powers. The regime it establishes is the republican regime.

Type of Economy: Lower-middle-income economy.
French colony up to 1956 and is now having strong economic ties with the European Union. An economy based on agriculture, the mining and energy sectors and tourism.

HDI*: 0.683/1

HDI (World Rank): 81/169

Telephone Code:
To Make a Call From Tunisia, Dial 00
To Make a Call to Tunisia, Dial +216

Internet Suffix: .tn

Telephone Lines: 12.2 per 100 Inhabitants

Internet Users: 27.5 per 100 Inhabitants

Access to Electricity: 99% of the Population