Tunisia

Tunisia is a country in northern Africa. It extends farther north than any other country on the continent. Its northern tip is only 85 miles (137 kilometers) from Sicily, a part of Europe. Both northern and eastern Tunisia border the Mediterranean Sea.

Tunisia is part of the Arab world, the Mediterranean area, and Africa. Almost all Tunisians speak Arabic and follow an Arab way of life. For hundreds of years, trade routes have connected Tunisia to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa south of the Sahara. France controlled Tunisia from 1881 until Tunisia became independent in 1956. Tunisia shows many French influences. Tunis is its capital and largest city.

Government.

Tunisia is a republic headed by a president and a prime minister called the head of government. Tunisian voters elect the president and members of the country’s legislature, the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, to five-year terms. The president appoints the head of government and members of a cabinet known as the Council of Ministers.

People.

Life in Tunisia is more uniform than it is in most other African and Middle Eastern countries. This uniformity is chiefly due to the people’s similarity in language and religion, and to the fact that political and cultural life is centered in one city, Tunis.

Small groups of Europeans, Jews, and Berbers live in Tunisia. But almost all Tunisians are Arabs and Muslims. French culture has influenced several features of Tunisian life, including architecture and food. Many Tunisians speak French as a second language.

Most of Tunisia’s cities are divided into old and new sections. Narrow streets and covered markets characterize the old sections. Treelined avenues and European-style buildings are typical of the new sections. Many people in the cities wear Western-style clothes.

In the past, rural dwellings in Tunisia included many mud huts and tents. But today, most rural houses are made of stone or concrete. Many people in the rural areas continue to wear traditional Arab clothing—a turban or skullcap, and a long, loose gown, or a long coatlike garment with long sleeves.

Almost all primary school-age children and about one-third of secondary school-age children attend school. The country’s higher education system includes the University of Tunis and professional schools. Most of Tunisia’s adults can read and write.

Land.

The uniformity of Tunisian life is also partly due to the country’s geography. Two branches of the Atlas mountain range, which crosses northwestern Africa, extend into Tunisia. In Tunisia, the northern branch is called the Atlas Mountains, and the southern branch, the Tabassah Mountains. But the mountains are low. Few peaks reach more than 2,000 feet (610 meters), and the highest, Mount Chambi, is just 5,066 feet (1,544 meters) above sea level.

Hills and grassland lie between the mountain ranges. Much of Tunisia’s wheat is grown in the Majardah River valley in the north. The Majardah is the only river in Tunisia that does not dry up in summer.

From the Tabassah range, the land descends across a plateau to the Sahara in the south and to a coastal plain in the east. Coarse grass covers the plateau. The people raise cattle, sheep, and goats. The southern desert has great salt lakes and date palm oases. The fertile coastal plain extends along the east coast from Sfax to Tunis. Cereals, citrus fruits, and olives are grown there. This region also has Tunisia’s largest towns and cities.

Tunisia has hot, dry summers and warm, wet winters. The average coastal temperatures are 79 °F (26 °C) in summer and 52 °F (11 °C) in winter. In the southern desert, temperatures average 89 °F (32 °C) in the summer and 53 °F (12 °C) in the winter. In the north, most rain falls in winter, but it is irregular and droughts occur every three or four years. There is little rain in the south.

Economy.

Most of Tunisia’s major cities, industries, and fertile land lie in the north and east. These regions are richer than the dry, less developed south. Although Tunisia is not rich in natural resources, it does have a more balanced economy than many of its neighbors.

Tunisia’s chief crops include almonds, dates, grapes, olives, tomatoes, and wheat. Farmers also raise beef and dairy cattle, chickens, and sheep. Cement, chemicals, processed foods, and textiles account for much of Tunisia’s industrial production. The country is a leading producer of phosphates. It has petroleum resources that are used for its own needs and for export. The country also mines iron ore, natural gas, and salt. The millions of tourists who visit Tunisia each year from France, Libya, and other countries also contribute to the economy.

Tunisia has a good road and railroad system. The country’s chief ports include Bizerte, Sfax, Sousse, and Tunis. Tunis and other cities have international airports. Radio and television stations and newspapers operate under both private and state ownership.

History.

People and ideas have entered northwest Africa through Tunisia for centuries. According to tradition, the Phoenicians began to colonize the coast of Tunisia about 1100 B.C. and founded the famous city of Carthage near present-day Tunis about 814 B.C. The Romans defeated Carthage in 146 B.C. and ruled Tunisia for the next 600 years. In A.D. 439, the Vandals, a European tribe, invaded Tunisia, defeated the Romans, and captured Carthage. The Byzantines, from Constantinople (now Istanbul), ousted the Vandals in 534.

The Byzantines had loose control over Tunisia when Muslim Arabs from the Middle East invaded in the mid-600’s. The Arab invasion was a turning point in Tunisia’s history. Tunisia began to slowly become a part of Arab-Muslim civilization. The Ottoman Empire, which was centered in Asia Minor (now part of Turkey), won control of Tunisia in 1574. The Ottoman rulers appointed a bey (ruler) to govern Tunisia from Tunis. Tunisia was technically part of the Ottoman Empire until after World War I ended in 1918, but by the 1700’s the beys in Tunis had achieved a large measure of independence.

In 1881, France imposed a protectorate over Tunisia. It controlled Tunisia’s financial, foreign, and military affairs, leaving the bey only minor authority.

A Tunisian independence movement began before World War I started in 1914, but the most successful movement did not begin until 1934. In that year, Habib Bourguiba founded the Neo-Destour (New Constitution) Party—later called the Socialist Destour Party and now known as the Democratic Constitutional Rally. Bourguiba led the independence struggle for more than 20 years. France finally granted Tunisia internal self-government in 1955, and full independence in 1956. However, France kept troops and military bases in Tunisia after independence. During the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, France, at Tunisia’s demand, finally withdrew its troops and gave up its Tunisian bases.

Tunisia became a republic in 1957, and the people elected Bourguiba president. Bourguiba was reelected in 1959, 1964, and 1969. In 1975, he was named president for life. His government introduced many social and economic reforms. It gave voting rights to women and set up a national school system.

Tunisia experienced enormous changes after gaining independence. But some of its successes created new problems. The number of Tunisians who received an education increased greatly, but many of the educated people could not find jobs that required their skills. Tourism provided income and jobs, but some people feared that contact with tourists might cause the country to lose its Arab-Muslim heritage.

Many Tunisians admired the work of President Bourguiba and his party, but a growing number became dissatisfied with Bourguiba’s domination of politics. From 1963 to 1981, Bourguiba’s party was Tunisia’s only legal political party. In 1987, Prime Minister Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali removed Bourguiba from office. Ben Ali, a member of Bourguiba’s party, claimed Bourguiba had become incapable of handling the presidency. Ben Ali then became president. He went on to win several presidential elections against little or no opposition.

In 2011, after weeks of violent protests, Ben Ali stepped down as president and fled to Saudi Arabia. That same year, Tunisia held elections for a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution. Among more than 100 political parties on the ballot, the moderate Islamist party Ennahda won the greatest share of votes. Tunisia adopted a new constitution in 2014. Also in 2014, Tunisia held legislative and presidential elections. The secular party Nidaa Tounes (Tunisia’s Call) won the most seats in the legislature. The Nidaa Tounes politician Beji Caid Essebsi won Tunisia’s first free presidential election.

In March 2015, two Islamic terrorists killed at least 21 people in an attack on the Bardo Museum in central Tunis. Most of the victims were tourists. The terrorist group Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack. Security forces killed both terrorists. In June, an Islamic State gunman killed 38 tourists near the resort city of Sousse. Police killed the gunman at the scene.

Later in 2015, the National Dialogue Quartet won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping build and maintain democracy following the ousting of Ben Ali in 2011. The quartet is a coalition of Tunisian businesses, human rights activists, labor unions, and lawyers.

In late 2015 and early 2016, a number of Nidaa Tounes members resigned over party differences, thus returning the legislative majority to Ennahda. President Essebsi died in July 2019. Later in the year, Tunisia held presidential and legislative elections. Kaïs Saïed, a law professor who ran as an independent with Ennahda’s backing, was elected as president. Ennahda retained control of the legislature.

In July 2021, Saïed suspended the legislature, claiming the move was necessary to save the country from collapse. Tunisia’s Western allies, as well as many Tunisians, expressed concern over Saïed’s actions. In August, Saïed named Najla Bouden Romdhane as prime minister. She became the first woman to hold that role in Tunisia. In March 2022, lawmakers held an online session to vote against the emergency powers that Saïed had given himself when he suspended the legislature. In response, Saïed dissolved the legislature. In a July referendum (popular vote), Tunisians approved a new constitution that increased the power of the president.

In 2022 and 2023, economic decline in Tunisia left many people unhappy with Saïed’s policies. In January 2023, Tunisia held elections for a new legislature, but only 11 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot. Many Tunisians expressed a lack of interest in a governmental system that they felt was not working. In the months after the election, the government arrested critics and political opposition leaders. In addition, Saïed was widely criticized for his comments about immigrants. He had claimed that immigration from sub-Saharan Africa was part of a conspiracy to change Tunisia’s ethnic and religious identity. In March, nearly two years after Saïed suspended the legislature in 2021, Tunisia’s new legislature met for the first time.