Tunisia

Airports

total: 31 usable: 27 with permanent-surface runways: 14 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 9 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 5 note: a new airport opened 6 May 1993, length and type of surface NA

Highways

total: 17,700 km paved: bituminous 9,100 km unpaved: improved, unimproved earth 8,600 km

Merchant marine

23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 152,683 GRT/199,273 DWT, bulk 6, cargo 6, chemical tanker 6, liquefied gas 1, oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, short-sea passenger 1

Pipelines

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

Ports

Bizerte, Gabes, Sfax, Sousse, Tunis, La Goulette, Zarzis

Railroads

2,115 km total; 465 km 1.435-meter (standard) gauge; 1,650 km 1.000-meter gauge

Telecommunications

the system is above the African average; facilities consist of open-wire lines, coaxial cable, and microwave radio relay; key centers are Sfax, Sousse, Bizerte, and Tunis; 233,000 telephones (28 telephones per 1,000 persons); broadcast stations - 7 AM, 8 FM, 19 TV; 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 ARABSAT with back-up control station; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Algeria and Libya

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary forces, National Guard

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $618 million, 3.7% of GDP (1993 est.)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 2,229,362; fit for military service 1,281,015; reach military age (20) annually 91,941 (1994 est.)

Agriculture

accounts for 16% of GDP and one-third of labor force; output subject to severe fluctuations because of frequent droughts; export crops - olives, dates, oranges, almonds; other products - grain, sugar beets, wine grapes, poultry, beef, dairy; not self-sufficient in food

Budget

revenues: $4.3 billion expenditures: $5.5 billion, including capital expenditures to $NA (1993 est.)

Currency

1 Tunisian dinar (TD) = 1,000 millimes

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $730 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89) $52 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $684 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $410 million

Electricity

capacity: 1,545,000 kW production: 5,096 kWh consumption per capita: 600 kWh (1992)

Exchange rates

Tunisian dinars (TD) per US$1 - 1.0514 (January 1994), 1.0037 (1993), 0.8844 (1992), 0.9246 (1991), 0.8783 (1990), 0.9493 (1989)

Exports

$4.1 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: hydrocarbons, agricultural products, phosphates and chemicals partners: EC countries 75%, Middle East 10%, Algeria 2%, India 2%, US 1%

External debt

$7.7 billion (1993 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Imports

$6.4 billion (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: industrial goods and equipment 57%, hydrocarbons 13%, food 12%, consumer goods partners: EC countries 70%, US 5%, Middle East 2%, Japan 2%, Switzerland 1%, Algeria 1%

Industrial production

growth rate 5% (1989); accounts for about 25% of GDP, including petroleum

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

4.5% (1993 est.)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $34.3 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$4,000 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

2.6% (1993 est.)

Overview

Tunisia has a diverse economy, with important agricultural, mining, energy, tourism and manufacturing sectors. The economy grew rapidly in the mid-1980s, GDP growth averaging 5.4% in 1983-85. Following a foreign exchange crisis caused by a sharp drop in agricultural output and tourism, combined with the oil price collapse in 1986, Tunisia inaugurated an IMF-sponsored economic rehabilitation scheme. Subsequent government structural reforms have helped liberalize and open the economy, and GDP growth has been positive since the start of the program. A sharp rebound in tourism from the downturn caused by the Gulf war and strong agricultural performance boosted real GDP growth to more than 8% in 1992; growth fell back to 2.6% in 1993. Further privatization and further improvements in government administrative efficiency are among the challenges for the future.

Unemployment rate

16.2% (1993 est.)

Area

total area: 163,610 sq km land area: 155,360 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Georgia

Climate

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

Coastline

1,148 km

Environment

current issues: toxic and hazardous waste disposal is ineffective and presents human health risks; water pollution from untreated sewage; water scarcity; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Marine Life Conservation

International disputes

maritime boundary dispute with Libya; land boundary dispute with Algeria settled in 1993

Irrigated land

2,750 sq km (1989)

Land boundaries

total 1,424 km, Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km

Land use

arable land: 20% permanent crops: 10% meadows and pastures: 19% forest and woodland: 4% other: 47%

Location

Northern Africa, 144 km from Italy across the Strait of Sicily, between Algeria and Libya

Map references

Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt

Note

strategic location in central Mediterranean

Terrain

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

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

Capital

Tunis

Chamber of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwaab)

elections last held 2 April 1989 (next to be held NA March 1994); results - RCD 80.7%, independents/Islamists 13.7%, MDS 3.2%, other 2.4%; seats - (141 total) RCD 141

Constitution

1 June 1959; amended 12 July 1988

Digraph

TS

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Ismail KHALIL chancery: 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: (202) 862-1850

Executive branch

chief of state: President Gen. Zine el Abidine BEN ALI (since 7 November 1987); election last held 20 March 1994 (next to be held NA); results - Gen. Zine el Abidine BEN ALI was reelected without opposition head of government: Prime Minister Hamed KAROUI (since 26 September 1989) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president

FAX

[216] (1) 789-719

Flag

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

Independence

20 March 1956 (from France)

Judicial branch

Court of Cassation (Cour de Cassation)

Legal system

based on French civil law system and Islamic law; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session

Legislative branch

unicameral

Member of

ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MINURSO, NAM, OAPEC (withdrew from active membership in 1986), OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOSOM, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Names

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

National holiday

National Day, 20 March (1956)

Other political or pressure groups

the Islamic fundamentalist party, An Nahda (Rebirth), is outlawed

Political parties and leaders

Constitutional Democratic Rally Party (RCD), President BEN ALI (official ruling party); Movement of Democratic Socialists (MDS), Mohammed MOUAADA; five other political parties are legal, including the Communist Party

Suffrage

20 years of age; universal

Type

republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador John T. McCARTHY embassy: 144 Avenue de la Liberte, 1002 Tunis-Belvedere mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [216] (1) 782-566

Birth rate

23.4 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate

4.95 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Arab-Berber 98%, European 1%, Jewish less than 1%

Infant mortality rate

34.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Labor force

2.25 million by occupation: agriculture 32% note: shortage of skilled labor

Languages

Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 72.89 years male: 70.85 years female: 75.03 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 65% male: 74% female: 56%

Nationality

noun: Tunisian(s) adjective: Tunisian

Net migration rate

-0.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population

8,726,562 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

1.76% (1994 est.)

Religions

Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish 1%

Total fertility rate

2.88 children born/woman (1994 est.)