Facts about Tunisia

Facts about Tunisia

1. Cani Islands: Tunisia is Africa’s northernmost country, with the Iles Cani (“Dog Islands”) off the city of Metline as Africa’s northernmost point

2. Population composition: The vast majority (98%) of Tunisia’s population are Arabs and Berbers. In addition, there are approximately 1% Europeans (mainly French and Italians) and 1% others (mainly Jews)

3. Gastronomy: The national dish of Tunisia is couscous. Tunisian cuisine mainly uses fish, seafood, olives, honey, vegetables and characteristic spice blends from North Africa

5. Festivals: There are a number of festivals in Tunisia, including: Carthage Film Festival, Sahara International Festival, Tabarka Jazz Festival and Sbeitla’s Spring International Festival

Fact: The Uqba Mosque in Kairouan is a holy site in Islam
Attribution: Tab59 + ahisgett – Flickr.com | Patrick Verdier + BishkekRocks – Wikipedia.org

Tunesiens lange kystlinje ud mod Middelhavet (øverst) i kombination med det varme vejr gør landet til en eftertragtet turistdestination. Den historiske by Karthago (nederst) tiltrækker også mange turister

6. Tourist attractions: Tunisia’s long Mediterranean coastline stretches 1,148 km. Combined with the country’s warm weather, this makes the coastline one of the main tourist attractions in Tunisia. Another major attraction is the city of Carthage, founded by Phoenicians in 814 BC and later the center of several great empires. Today, the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

7. Kairouan: Along with Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem, Kairouan in Tunisia is one of the holiest cities in the Islamic world. The city was founded by Arabs in 670 AD and over time became an important center of Islamic learning. The city has therefore long attracted Muslims from many parts of the world and is today Tunisia’s 6th largest city with 565,000 inhabitants. Kairouan is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site

8. The Ottoman Empire: In 1574, the Turks conquered Tunisia and the country became part of the Ottoman Empire. In the late 19th century, Tunisia was hit by a deadly combination of plague and famine, while political and social reforms took place in the Ottoman capital

9. French rule: In 1869, Tunisia declared bankruptcy and was taken over by an international commission. In 1881, France invaded the country and made it a French protectorate, although Italy was not happy with this solution. Since then, the French and Italians have always been the largest European groups in the country

10. Independence: Tunisia gained independence from France in 1956 under Habib Bourguiba, who later became Tunisia’s first president. Since then, the country has only had 2 presidents: Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Moncef Marzouki (current)

11. Today: The Tunisian Revolution started on December 17, 2010, when 26-year-old greengrocer Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire. His death triggered a wave of protests in the Arab world, also known as the Arab Spring, which led to the resignation of several presidents in Arab countries (including Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali). The backdrop was high unemployment, inflation, corruption, poor living conditions and a lack of various political freedoms such as freedom of speech

Fact: The long coastline and the city of Carthage are among Tunisia's most popular tourist attractions
Attribution: Tab59 + ahisgett – Flickr.com | Patrick Verdier + BishkekRocks – Wikipedia.org

Tunisia’s long coastline on the Mediterranean Sea (top) combined with the warm weather makes the country a popular tourist destination. The historic city of Carthage (bottom) also attracts many tourists

Geographic facts

  • Location: North Africa. Between Algeria and Libya
  • Country borders: Algeria (965 km) and Libya (459 km)
  • Coastline: 1,148 km
  • Climate: Temperate in the north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. Desert in the south
  • Landscape: Mountains in the north. Hot, dry plains in the center. Semi-arid in the south (the Sahara Desert begins here)
  • Lowest point: -17 m (Shatt al Gharsah)
  • Highest point: 1,544 m (Jebel ech Chambi)
  • Natural resources: petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc and salt
  • Largest city: Tunis
  • Capital city: Tunis
  • Total area (square kilometers): 163.610,00 (2021)
  • Land areas (km2): 151.132,52 (2015)
  • Urban areas (km2): 2.877,95 (2015)
  • Agricultural land (km2): 97.005,00 (2021)
  • Agricultural area (% of total area): 62,44 (2021)
  • Forest area (% of land area): 4,53 (2021)
  • Plant species (higher), endangered: 9,00 (2018)
  • CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita): 2,41 (2020)

Demographic facts

Population

  • Population density (people per km2 total area): 1,26 (2017)
  • Population of largest city: 78,93 (2021)
  • Population growth (annual %): 2.475.446,00 (2023)
  • Population, total: 0,82 (2023)
  • Population growth in urban areas (annual %): 70,54 (2023)
  • Population in urban areas (% of total population): 1,29 (2023)
  • Population in rural areas (% of total population): 29,46 (2023)
  • Population growth in rural areas (annual %): -0,29 (2023)
  • Etniske grupper: 98% Arabs and Berbers, 1% Europeans, 1% others (incl. Jews)
  • Sprog: Arabic is the official language and the language of commerce. French is also a trade language. In addition, Berber (Tamazight) is spoken.
  • Religioner: 98% Muslim (Islam is the official religion), 1% Christian, 1% other (incl. Jews)
  • Net immigration: 9,90 (2022)

Birth and death rates

  • Fertility rate, total (births per woman): 2,06 (2022)
  • Birth rate, gross (per 1,000 inhabitants): 15,60 (2022)
  • Teenage mothers (% of women aged 15-19 who have had children or are pregnant): 2,90 (1988)
  • Death rate, gross (per 1,000 people): 7,60 (2022)
  • Life expectancy at birth, women (years): 77,41 (2022)
  • Life expectancy at birth, men (years): 71,37 (2022)
  • Life expectancy at birth, all (years): 74,26 (2022)
  • Mortality caused by traffic accidents (per 100,000 inhabitants): 129,26 (2022)
  • Mortality, women (per 1,000 adult women): 16,50 (2019)
  • Mortality, male (per 1,000 adult males): 74,87 (2022)
  • Suicide rate, women (per 100,000 women): 143,23 (2022)
  • Mortality, infant (per 1,000 live births): 4,70 (2019)

Work, income and education

  • Wage earners, total (% of total labor force): 74,61 (2022)
  • Income share of the highest 10%: 27,00 (2021)
  • Income share of the lowest 10%: 3,10 (2021)
  • Unemployment, total (% of total labor force): 15,11 (2023)
  • Labor force, total: 4.445.313,00 (2023)
  • Workforce with basic education (% of the workforce): 50,52 (2023)
  • Labor force with medium education (% of labor force): 57,61 (2023)
  • Number of poor cf. national poverty limits (% of the population): 12.458.223,00 (2023)
  • Proportion of the population with moderate or severe food insecurity (%): 28,50 (2021)
  • School enrolments, primary school (gross %): 103,91 (2022)
  • Youth unemployment, all young people (% of total labor force aged 15 - 24): 38,51 (2023)
  • Young people not in education, employment or training, total (% of all young people): 22,65 (2023)
  • Literacy/literacy, total adults (% of population over 15): 350.930,06 (2022)

    Spending

  • Household (and NPIS) consumption expenditure (US$): 127.936.304.352,99 (2023)
  • Electricity consumption (kWh per inhabitant): 1.408,09 (2014)
  • Inhabitants using the Internet (% of the population): 73,84 (2022)
  • Mobile subscriptions (per 100 people): 14,00 (2018)
  • Number of smokers, total (over 15 years): 24,60 (2020)
  • Alcohol consumption per capita (litres of pure alcohol, expected estimates, +15 years): 1,71 (2020)

Business and tourism

  • Employers, total (% of total labor force): 4,66 (2022)
  • New companies (number of registrations): 1,67 (2022)
  • New businesses (new registrations per 1,000 inhabitants aged 15 - 64): -4.000,00 (2023)
  • Listed companies, total: 82,00 (2022)
  • Business conditions (0 = lowest grade to 100 = highest grade): 1.777,00 (2021)
  • International tourism, number of arrivals: 2.012.000,00 (2020)
  • International tourism, number of departures: 739.000,00 (2020)
  • Railway lines (total route kilometers): 1.777,00 (2021)
  • Railways, number of passengers transported (million passenger-kilometres): 633,33 (2021)

Health

  • Hospital beds (per 1,000 inhabitants): 2,42 (2021)
  • Suicide rate, men (per 100,000 men): 1,90 (2019)
  • Nurses and midwives (per 1,000 inhabitants): 13.615,00 (2022)
  • Doctors (per 1,000 inhabitants): 2,43 (2017)
  • Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15 - 49): 205,37 (2023)

Facts Tunisia's economy

GDP and GNI

  • BNP (US$): 68,66 (2019)
  • GDP growth (annual %): 48.529.595.416,65 (2023)
  • GDP per capita (US$): 0,42 (2023)
  • GDP, KPP (US$): 3.895,39 (2023)
  • BNI (US$): 170.448.561.952,22 (2023)
  • GNI growth (annual %): 47.219.686.966,44 (2023)
  • Gross savings (% of GDP): -0,09 (2023)

Inflation, interest rates and consumer prices

  • Deposit rate (%): 12,40 (2021)
  • Lending rate (%): 25,30 (2019)
  • Inflation, consumer prices (annual %): 11.410.312.530,17 (2023)
  • Consumer Price Index (2010 = 100): 205,37 (2023)

Trade and production

  • Trade (% of GDP): n/a
  • Vareeksport (US$): 19.985.000.000,00 (2023)
  • Vareimport (US$): 25.485.000.000,00 (2023)
  • Food exports (% of merchandise exports): 11,79 (2022)
  • Food imports (% of goods imports): 12,76 (2022)
  • Food Production Index (2004 - 2006 = 100): 109,55 (2022)
  • Index of animal production (2004 - 2006 = 100): 104,46 (2022)

Industry

  • Industry (including construction), value added (% of GDP): 6,35 (2022)
  • Industry (including construction), value added (US$): 23,51 (2023)
  • Industry, value added (% of GDP): 15,14 (2023)
  • Industry, value added (US$): 7.347.709.935,95 (2023)

Military

  • Armed forces, total: 48.000,00 (2020)
  • Military expenditure (% of GDP): 2,48 (2022)
  • Military Expenditure (US$): 1.156.186.915,69 (2022)

Others

  • Current health expenditure (% of GDP): 12,40 (2021)
  • Labor tax and contribution (% of company profit): 9,33 (2023)
  • Development Assistance (ODA) received per capita (US$): 98,11 (2022)
  • Social contributions (% of income): 109,13 (2023)