Airports [time series]

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 [time series]

19 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

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

Merchant marine [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Ports [time series]

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

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

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

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

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

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

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

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

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

Manpower availability [time series]

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

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

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

Economic aid [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Exchange rates [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$8.6 billion (1991)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

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

Imports [time series]

$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 (Industrial production) [time series]

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

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

8.2% (1991)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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 [time series]

15% (1991)

Climate [time series]

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

Coastline [time series]

1,148 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly larger than Georgia

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

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

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

Area (Land area) [time series]

155,360 km2

Land boundaries [time series]

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

Land use [time series]

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

Maritime claims [time series]

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources [time series]

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

Note [time series]

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

Terrain [time series]

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

Area (Total area) [time series]

163,610 km2

Administrative divisions [time series]

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 [time series]

Tunis

Constitution [time series]

1 June 1959

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

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

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

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 [time series]

president, prime minister, Cabinet

Flag [time series]

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 [time series]

20 March 1956 (from France)

Judicial branch [time series]

Court of Cassation (Cour de Cassation)

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral Chamber of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwaab)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

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

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

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 [time series]

National Day, 20 March (1956)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

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 [time series]

universal at age 20

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

Birth rate [time series]

25 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate [time series]

5 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

38 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force [time series]

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

Languages [time series]

Arabic (official); Arabic and French (commerce)

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

70 years male, 74 years female (1992)

Literacy [time series]

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

Nationality [time series]

noun - Tunisian(s); adjective - Tunisian

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor [time series]

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

Population [time series]

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

Religions [time series]

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

Total fertility rate [time series]

3.2 children born/woman (1992)