Africa

Tunisia

Located on the northern coast of Africa, Tunisia has boundaries with Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east.

The Atlas Mountains divide the country into two regions, the well-watered north and the semi-arid south. The northern region, which contains the Kroumirie Forest, Bizerte, and the Medjerda River Valley, is further divided into three subregions: the northwest, with extensive cork forests; the north central, with its fertile grasslands, and the northeast from Tunis to Cap Bon, noted for its livestock, citrus fruits and garden produce...More Information on Tunisia.

Full country name: Republic of Tunisia
Area: 163,610 sq km (63,170 sq mi)
Population: 9.59 million
Capital City: Tunis (pop 1.5 million)
Language: Arabic, French, some English and German
Religion: Islam, Christianity, Judaism
Government: Republic
Head of State: Zine el-Abidine ben Ali
Head of Government: Mohamed Ghannouchi

Also Read: A Short Background of Tunisia

History of Tunisia

Tunisia was settled by the Phoenicians in the 12th century B.C. By the sixth and fifth centuries B.C., the great city-state of Carthage (derived from the Phoenician name for “new city”) dominated much of the western Mediterranean. The three Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage (the second was the most famous, pitting the Roman general Scipio Africanus against Carthage’s Hannibal) led to the complete destruction of Carthage by 146 B.C...More on Tunisia's History.

Overview of Tunisia's Economy

GDP: US$49 billion
GDP per capita: US$5200
Annual Growth: 5%
Inflation: 3.3%
Major Industries: Petroleum, mining, tourism, textiles, footwear, food, beverages
Major Trading Partners: Petroleum, mining, tourism, textiles, footwear, food, beverages
Member of EU: No

Also Read: A short note on Economy of Tunisia

Political System of Tunisia

- Government of Tunisia
- Foreign relations of Tunisia

Climate, Vegetation and Fauna

The fertile northern regions of Tunisia are characterized by flourishing vineyards and thick forests of softwoods like cork and hardwood forests of oak, pine, and juniper trees. The semiarid southern parts have a typical grassland type vegetation of wild grasses like the esparto grass and a wide variety of shrubs. In the arid regions of the extreme south, date palms flourish around the water holes in the oases. Among the wildlife found in the country are hyena, wild boar, jackal, gazelle and hare. Several varieties of poisonous snakes, including cobras and horned vipers, are also commonly found.


Envoirnment: Looking like a well-driven wedge cleaving Algeria and Libya, Tunisia is dwarfed...more.

Languages: Tunisia is virtually bilingual. Arabic is the language used in school and government...more.

Education: Education in Tunisia is free, and virtually all children attend primary school. Instruction is conducted mainly in Arabic, although French and English is also taught.

Culture: The Berbers were the original inhabitants of Tunisia, but waves of immigration over...more.

Religion of Tunisia: Islam is the main religion in Tunisia and about 90% of the population is Muslim; they belong to the Sunni sect of Islam. There are small numbers of Roman Catholics, Jews, Greek Orthodox, and Protestants.

People of Tunisia: Modern Tunisians are the descendents of indigenous Berbers and of people from numerous...more.


Facts for the Traveler

Visas: Most visitors do not require visas for stays of up to three or four months. Israeli nationals are not allowed into the country.
Health risks: Malaria, yellow fever
Time: GMT/UTC plus 1 hour
Electricity: 220/110V, 50Hz
Weights & measures: Metric

Also Read: Money & Costs | Public holidays in Tunisia | Special Events Of Tunisia

When to Go

The best time to travel to Tunisia is anytime between October to May when the average temperature ranges from 12-28° C. The spring months from March through May are great as visitors get to see riotous explosions of wild flowers throughout the countryside. October to December present warm seas and golden sunshine making coastal holidays perfect. The other months of the year (June, July, August and September) are the warmest as the summers gets really hot throughout the entire country nonetheless are still good for a visit as a number of special events like the Carthage festival and the Dougga festival take place during the summer.

Also Read: Getting Around in Tunisia | Getting There & Away

What to See in Tunisia

Other Tourist Attractions in Tunisia

more...

What to do in Tunisia

Tunisia’s best beaches are in the north around Ghar el-Melh, Tabarka and Bizerte - much better than the crowded ones at the resorts. The beaches farther south look good on paper, but they’re not so great for swimming. The best of that lot is at Aghir.

Tunisia is just waking up to the possibility of trekking. The forest of the Kroumirie Mountains around ‘Ain Draham have enormous potential, but decent maps have yet to be drawn. More popular right now, camel trekking is best arranged out of Zaafrane, 12km (8mi) south-west of Douz, where you can arrange anything from an hour’s ride to an eight-day oasis hop. If this hooks you on the desert’s charms, dune skiing and land yachting can be arranged in certain areas.

Bird watching is popular in Tunisia, although the country has relatively few resident species. It’s an important stopover for migratory birds, making spring and autumn the best times to go. Ichkeul National Park in the north is a prime site.

Ballooning and hydroplane flights are two relatively new options for getting above it all that can be arranged from Tozeur and Aghir, respectively.

The earliest inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Bantu tribes during a series of migrations. The southern part of the country was named Matabeleland after the Ndebele tribe who occupied the area in the early 1800’s under a loose confederation of Ndebele-speaking tribes headed by the Khumalo tribe under [...]
Countries in Africa Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Cote d’Ivoire Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Republic of the Congo Rwanda Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
Religion in Africa Africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs, with Christianity and Islam being the most widespread. Approximately 40% of all Africans are Christians and another 40% Muslims. Roughly 20% of Africans primarily follow indigenous African religions. A small number of Africans also have beliefs from the Judaic tradition, such as the Beta Israel [...]
Culture of Africa Africa has a number of overlapping cultures. The most conventional distinction is that between sub-Saharan Africa and the northern countries from Egypt to Morocco, who largely associate themselves with Arabic culture. In this comparison, the nations to the south of the Sahara are considered to consist of many cultural areas, in particular [...]
Demographics of Africa Africans may be grouped according to whether they live north or south of the Sahara Desert; these groups are called North Africans and Sub-Saharan Africans, respectively. Afro-Asiatic speaking peoples predominate in North Africa, while Sub-Saharan Africa is dominated by a number of disparate populations grouped according to their diverse languages–Niger-Congo predominantly in West [...]
Economy of Africa Africa is the world’s poorest inhabited continent: the United Nations’ Human Development Report 2003 (of 175 countries) found that positions 151 (Gambia) to 175 (Sierra Leone) were taken up entirely by African nations. It has had (and in some ways is still having) a shaky and uncertain transition from colonialism, with increases in corruption [...]
Politics in Africa Colonial Africa Colonialism had a destabilizing effect on what had been a number of ethnic groups that is still being felt in African politics. Prior to European influence, national borders were not much of a concern, with Africans generally following the practice of other areas of the world, such as the Arabian peninsula, where [...]
History of Africa Africa is home to the oldest inhabited territory on earth, with the human race originating from this continent. During the mid 20th century, anthropologists discovered many fossils and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as 7 million years ago. The famous Leakey family, with ties to both Britain and Africa, discovered fossil [...]
Geography of Africa Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the main mass of the Earth’s surface. It includes within its remarkably regular outline an area, of c. 30,360,288 km² (11,722,173 mi²), including the islands. Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea, it is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the [...]
Etymology of Africa The name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra - “land of the Afri” (plural, or “Afer” singular) - for the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, corresponding to modern-day Tunisia. The Afri were a tribe - possibly Berber [...]

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