February 28, 2004

Official name: Tunisian Republic
Area: 164,150 sq km
Population: 9,335,000
Capital: Tunis
Currency: Tunisian Dinar
Official Language: Arabic
Major Cities: Sfax, Ariana, Bizerte, Djerba, Gabes, Sousse, Kairouan, Bardo, La Goulette
Independence Day: 20 March 1956
Major Exports: Textiles and clothing, crude petroleum, phosphates and fertilizers, olive oil, fruit, leather and shoes, fishery products, machinery and electrical appliances.

Tunisia borders the Mediterranean Sea on the north and northeast, Libya on the southeast, and Algeria on the southwest and west.

Physical features
Low-lying spurs of the Tell Atlas cross the country in a southwest to northeast direction. Peaks range in height from about 2,000 to 5,000 feet. Fertile valleys and plains are interspersed among the mountains. To the south is a plateau that averages about 2,000 feet in elevation. Further south, the plateau descends to a chain of low-lying salt lakes, known as shatt, or chott. Several of these lakes lie below sea level. On the south, the shatt adjoins the Sahara, which constitutes about 40 per cent of Tunisia’s land area. Wadi Majardah is the only river of the country, which empties into the gulf of Tunis.

Climate
A mild Mediterranean climate is experienced in Northern Tunisia. In the north, temperature average 11°C in January and 26°C in July. Towards the south the climate becomes progressively hotter and drier. In the northern regions the rainy season begins from October and goes on right up to May. Average annual rainfall is about 610 mm but may vary greatly from year to year. Annual rainfall decreases in the southern regions and is only about 178 mm in the Sahara.

Ethnicity and religion
About 98 per cent of the people are of Arabic descent. Others, are mostly of European descent and live mainly in and around Tunis or on the island of Jazirat Jarbah.

Islam is Tunisia’s official religion. About 98 per cent of the people are Muslims, mostly Sunni Muslim of the Malikite tradition, founded by Malik ibn Anas. In villages, zaouya(small mausoleums built in memory of especially holy men) are the main centres for religious activity. One per cent of the population is Christian and there are about 9,000 Jews.

Language
Although Arabic is the official language, Berber and French are also widely spoken. The latter is also being used in business and official circles. Most Tunisians are bilingual, and many speak some English. Derija is the Arabic dialect spoken in Tunisia.

Government
Tunisia is a republic, headed by a president who appoints a prime minister and a Council of Ministers. The 1959 constitution, amended in 1988, provides for a president, who is both head of state and government, elected for a five-year term. The president cannot serve more than three terms. There is a single-chamber, 163-member national assembly, also directly elected for a five- year term (144 by simple majority voting and, from 1993, 19 reserved for parties failing to win a majority in each of the country’s 25 constituencies, so as to ensure the presence of an opposition in the national assembly. The voting age is 20, but voters must have held citizenship for at least five years.

Diet
Eating from a communal dish is customary. Couscous is Tunisia’s national dish. It is made of steamed and spiced semolina, and topped with vegetables and meat prepared in a variety of different ways. Other traditional dishes include breek (a thin, fried dough stuffed with an egg, cooked vegetables, and tuna) and tajine (a slow- cooked stew of vegetables and meat). Lamb and chicken are the most common meats, and fish is widely available on the coast. Tomatoes, potatoes, onions, olives, and peppers are used in Tunisian cooking. Fruits in the markets include dates, oranges, apricots, watermelons, nectarines, and cactus fruit.

Wildlife
The animals found in Tunisia are leopard, Levant viper, red deer, dromedary, wild cat wild boar, red fox, small spotted genet, Eurasian otter, Mediterranean chameleon, green toad and desert jerboa.

The birds constituting the wildlife of the country includes song thrush, European robin, bearded vulture, osprey, hoopoe, Greater flamingo, great spotted woodpecker, blue tit and peregrine falcon.

History
814 BC: Phoenician emigrants from Tyre, in Lebanon, founded Carthage, near modern Tunis, as a trading post. By 6th century BC, the Carthaginian kingdom dominated western the Mediterranean.

146 BC: Carthage destroyed by Punic Wars with Rome, which began 264 BC; Carthage became part of Rome’s African province.

533 AD: Came under control of the Byzantine Empire.

7th century: Invaded by Arabs, who introduced Islam. Succession of Islamic dynasties followed, including Aghlabids (9th century), Fatimids (10th century), and Almohads (12th century).

1574: Became part of the Islamic Turkish Ottoman Empire.

1705: Husayn Bey founded local dynasty, which held power under the rule of the Ottomans.

Early 19th century: Ahmad Bey launched a programme of economic modernization, which was to nearly bankrupt the country.

1881: Became French protectorate, with Bey retaining local power.

1920: Destour (Constitution) Party, named after original Tunisian constitution of 1861, founded to campaign for equal Tunisian participation in French-dominated government.

1934: Habib Bourguiba founded radical splinter party, the Neo- Destour Party, to spearhead nationalist movement.

1942-43: Brief German occupation during World War II.

1956: Independence achieved as monarchy under Bey, with Bourguiba as prime minister.

1957: Bey deposed; Tunisia became one-party republic with Bourguiba as president.

1975: Bourguiba made president for life.

1979: Headquarters for Arab League moved to Tunis after Egypt signed Camp David Accords with Israel.

1981: Multiparty elections held, as a sign of political liberalization, but were won by Bourguiba’s Destourian Socialist Party (DSP).

1982: Allowed Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to use Tunis for its headquarters.

1985: Diplomatic relations with Libya severed; Israel attacked by the PLO headquarters.

1987: Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, new prime minister, declared Bourguiba (now aged 84) incompetent for government and seized power as president.

1988: 2,000 political prisoners freed; privatization initiative. Diplomatic relations with Libya restored. DSP renamed RCD.

1990: Arab League’s headquarters returned to Cairo, Egypt.

1991: Opposition to US actions during the Gulf War. Crackdown on religious fundamentalists; Renaissance Party banned.

1992: Western criticism of human-rights transgressions.

1994: Ben Ali and RCD re-elected. PLO transferred headquarters to Gaza City in Palestine.

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