People:
Population: 9,380,404 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 32% (male 1,526,743; female 1,433,503)
15-64 years: 63% (male 2,933,487; female 2,947,189)
65 years and over: 5% (male 275,411; female 264,071) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.43% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 20.07 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 5.06 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 32.64 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.1 years
male: 71.72 years
female: 74.58 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.44 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Tunisian(s)
adjective: Tunisian
Ethnic groups: Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1%
Religions: Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish and other 1%
Languages: Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 66.7%
male: 78.6%
female: 54.6% (1995 est.)
Tunisians are descendants of indigenous Berber and Arab tribes that
migrated to North Africa during the seventh century. Recorded history
in Tunisia begins with the arrival of Phoenicians, who founded Carthage
and other North African settlements. Carthage was captured by the Romans
in AD 146, and the Romans continued to rule North Africa until they
were defeated by tribesmen from Europe in the fifth century. The Muslim
conquest in the seventh century transformed North Africa. Tunisia became
a center of Arab culture until its assimilation into the Turkish Ottoman
Empire in the 16th century.
France established a protectorate in Tunisia in 1881. The rise of nationalism
led to Tunisia's independence in 1956. Independence leader Habib Bourguiba
became Tunisia's first president in 1956 and held the office until 1987,
when Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali was elected.
Post-independence tensions between France and Tunisia decreased in 1962 when France withdrew from its Bizerte naval base. But when Tunisia nationalized foreign interests in 1964, relations with France again suffered. Cooperation with France improved in 1968, and France has extended important economic credits and technical assistance since then.