Tunisia

Airports

29 total, 26 usable; 13 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 7 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 7 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

19 major transport aircraft

Highways

17,700 km total; 9,100 km bituminous; 8,600 km improved and unimproved earth

Merchant marine

21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 160,069 GRT/218,791 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 4 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 petroleum tanker, 6 chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 5 bulk

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 radio relay; key centers are Sfax, Sousse, Bizerte, and Tunis; 233,000 telephones; 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 to Algeria and Libya; radio relay to Algeria, and Libya

Branches

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

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $520 million, 5% of GDP (1992 budget)

Manpower availability

males 15-49, 2,117,864; 1,217,819 fit for military service; 88,619 reach military age (20) annually

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; fish catch of 99,200 metric tons (1987)

Budget

revenues $3.8 billion; expenditures $5.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $970 million (1992 est.)

Currency

Tunisian dinar (plural - dinars); 1 Tunisian dinar (TD) = 1,000 millimes

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $730 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $5.2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $684 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $410 million

Electricity

1,493,000 kW capacity; 4,210 million kWh produced, 530 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

Tunisian dinars (TD) per US$1 - 0.9272 (March 1992), 0.9246 (1991), 0.8783 (1990), 0.9493 (1989), 0.8578 (1988), 0.8287 (1987)

Exports

$3.7 billion (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: hydrocarbons, agricultural products, phosphates and chemicals partners: EC 74%, Middle East 11%, US 2%, Turkey, USSR

External debt

$8.6 billion (1991)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $10.9 billion, per capita $1,320; real growth rate 3.5% (1991)

Imports

$4.9 billion (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: industrial goods and equipment 57%, hydrocarbons 13%, food 12%, consumer goods partners: EC 67%, US 6%, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Turkey, Algeria

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)

8.2% (1991)

Overview

The economy depends primarily on petroleum, phosphates, tourism, and exports of light manufactures. Following two years of drought-induced economic decline, the economy made a strong recovery in 1990 as a result of a bountiful harvest, continued export growth, and higher domestic investment. Continued high inflation and unemployment have eroded popular support for the government, however, and forced Tunis to slow the pace of economic reform. Nonetheless, the government appears committed to implementing its IMF-supported structural adjustment program and to servicing its foreign debt.

Unemployment rate

15% (1991)

Climate

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

Coastline

1,148 km

Comparative area

slightly larger than Georgia

Disputes

maritime boundary dispute with Libya; land boundary disputes with Algeria under discussion

Environment

deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

Land area

155,360 km2

Land boundaries

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

Land use

arable land 20%; permanent crops 10%; meadows and pastures 19%; forest and woodland 4%; other 47%; includes irrigated 1%

Maritime claims

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

crude oil, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt

Note

strategic location in central Mediterranean; only 144 km from Italy across the Strait of Sicily; borders Libya on east

Terrain

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

Total area

163,610 km2

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

Constitution

1 June 1959

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Ismail KHELIL; Chancery at 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20005; telephone (202) 862-1850 US: Ambassador John T. McCARTHY; Embassy at 144 Avenue de la Liberte, 1002 Tunis-Belvedere; telephone [216] (1) 782-566; FAX [216] (1) 789-719

Elections

President: last held 2 April 1989 (next to be held NA April 1994); results - Gen. Zine el Abidine BEN ALI was reelected without opposition Chamber of Deputies: last held 2 April 1989 (next to be held NA April 1994); results - RCD 80.7%, independents/Islamists 13.7%, MDS 3.2%, other 2.4%; seats - (141 total) RCD 141

Executive branch

president, prime minister, Cabinet

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)

Leaders

Chief of State: President Gen. Zine el Abidine BEN ALI (since 7 November 1987) Head of Government: Prime Minister Hamed KAROUI (since 26 September 1989)

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 Chamber of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwaab)

Long-form name

Republic of Tunisia; note - may be changed to Tunisian Republic

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, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday

National Day, 20 March (1956)

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

universal at age 20

Type

republic

Birth rate

25 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate

5 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

38 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force

2,250,000; agriculture 32%; shortage of skilled labor

Languages

Arabic (official); Arabic and French (commerce)

Life expectancy at birth

70 years male, 74 years female (1992)

Literacy

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

Nationality

noun - Tunisian(s); adjective - Tunisian

Net migration rate

0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor

about 360,000 members claimed, roughly 20% of labor force; General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT), quasi-independent of Constitutional Democratic Party

Population

8,445,656 (July 1992), growth rate 2.0% (1992)

Religions

Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish less than 1%

Total fertility rate

3.2 children born/woman (1992)