Tunisia
| Tunisian Republic الجمهورية التونسية al-Jumhūriyya at-Tūnisiyya | ||||||
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| Motto: حرية، نظام، عدالة (Hurriya, Nidham, 'Adala) "Liberty, Order, Justice" | ||||||
| Anthem: Himat Al Hima | ||||||
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| Capital (and largest city) | Tunis 36°50′N 10°9′E / 36.833, 10.15 | |||||
| Official languages | Arabic | |||||
| Recognised regional languages | French | |||||
| Demonym | Tunisian | |||||
| Government | Republic | |||||
| - | President | Zine El Abidine Ben Ali | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Mohamed Ghannouchi | ||||
| Independence | ||||||
| - | from France | March 20, 1956 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 163,610 km2 (92nd) 63,170 sq mi | ||||
| - | Water (%) | 5.0 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | July 2005 estimate | 10,102,000 (78th) | ||||
| - | 1994 census | 8,785,711 | ||||
| - | Density | 62/km2 (133rd (2005)) 161/sq mi | ||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2008 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $83.076 billion[1] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $8,020[1] | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2008 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $41.768 billion[1] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $4,032[1] | ||||
| Gini (2000) | 39.8 (medium) | |||||
| HDI (2007) | ▲ 0.766 (medium) (91st) | |||||
| Currency | Tunisian dinar (TND) | |||||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||
| Internet TLD | .tn | |||||
| Calling code | 216 | |||||
Tunisia (Arabic: تونس Tūnis), officially the Tunisian Republic (الجمهورية التونسية al-Jumhūriyya at-Tūnisiyya), is a country located in North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast. It is the northernmost country on the African continent, and the smallest of the nations situated along the Atlas mountain range. Around forty percent of the country is composed of the Sahara desert, with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and a 1300 km coastline. Both played a prominent role in ancient times, first with the famous Phoenician city of Carthage, then as the Africa Province which became known as the bread basket of the Roman Empire, and then as the Maghreb region of various medieval Islamic states. Tunisia ranks high among Arab and African nations in reports released by The World Economic Forum.In the 2008-2009 version, it is first in Africa and 36th globally for economic competitiveness, well ahead of Portugal (43), Italy (49) and Greece (67). It currently lies at the penultimate stage of development: efficiency-driven economies.[3].
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History
At the beginning of recorded history, Tunisia was inhabited by Berber tribes. Its coast was settled by Phoenicians starting as early as the 10th century BC. The city of Carthage was founded in the 9th century B.C. by settlers from Tyre, now in modern day Lebanon. Legend says that Dido founded the city in 814 B.C., as retold in by the Greek writer Timaeus of Tauromenium. The settlers of Carthage brought their culture and religion from the Phoenicians and other Canaanites.
After a series of wars with Greek city-states of Sicily in the 5th century BC, Carthage rose to power and eventually became the dominant civilization in the Western Mediterranean. The people of Carthage worshipped a pantheon of Middle Eastern gods including Baal and Tanit. Tanit's symbol, a simple female figure with extended arms and long dress, is a popular icon found in ancient sites. The founders of Carthage also established a Tophet which was altered in Roman times.
Though the Romans referred to the new empire growing in the city of Carthage as Punic or Phoenician, the empire built around Carthage was an independent political entity from the other Phoenician settlements in the Western Mediterranean.
A Carthaginian invasion of Italy led by Hannibal during the Second Punic War, one of a series of wars with Rome, nearly crippled the rise of the Roman Empire. Carthage was eventually conquered by Rome in the 2nd century BC, a turning point which led to ancient Mediterranean civilization having been influenced mainly by European instead of African cultures. After the Roman conquest, the region became one of the granaries of Rome, and was Latinized and Christianized. It was conquered by the Vandals in the 5th century AD and reconquered by the commander Belisarius in the 6th century during the rule of Byzantine emperor Justinian.
In the 7th century the region was conquered by Arab Muslims, who founded the city of Kairouan. Successive Muslim dynasties ruled, interrupted by Berber rebellions. The reigns of the Aghlabids (9th century) and of the Zirids (from 972), Berber followers of the Fatimids, were especially prosperous. When the Zirids angered the Fatimids in Cairo (1050), the latter sent in the Banu Hilal tribe to ravage Tunisia.
The coasts were held briefly by the Normans of Sicily in the 12th century and the following Arab reconquest made the last Christians in Tunisia disappear. In 1159, Tunisia was conquered by the Almohad caliphs. They were succeeded by the Berber Hafsids (c.1230 – 1574), under whom Tunisia prospered. In the late 16th century the coast became a pirate stronghold (see: Barbary States). In the last years of the Hafsids, Spain seized many of the coastal cities, but these were recovered by the Ottoman Empire. Under its Turkish governors, the Beys, Tunisia attained virtual independence. The Hussein dynasty of Beys, established in 1705, lasted until 1957. From 1881 - 1956 the country was under french protectorate.
World War II
In 1942 – 1943 Tunisia was the scene of the first major operations by the Allied Forces (the British Commonwealth and the United States) against the Axis Powers (Italy and Germany) during World War II. The main body of the British army, advancing from their victory in Battle of el-Alamein under the command of British Field Marshal Montgomery, pushed into Tunisia from the south. The US and other allies, following their invasions of Algeria and Morocco in Operation Torch, invaded from the west.
General Rommel, commander of the Axis forces in North Africa, had hoped to inflict a similar defeat on the allies in Tunisia as German forces did in the Battle of France in 1940. Before the battle for El-alemin, the allied forces had been forced to retreat toward Egypt. As such the battle for Tunisia was a major test for the allies. They figured out that in order to defeat Axis forces they would have to coordinate their actions and quickly recover from the inevitable setbacks the German-Italian forces would inflict.
On February 19, 1943, General Rommel launched an attack on the American forces in the Kasserine Pass region of Western Tunisia, hoping to inflict the kind of demoralizing and alliance-shattering defeat the Germans had dealt to Poland and France. The initial results were a disaster for the United States; the area around the Kasserine Pass is the site of many US war graves from that time.
However, the American forces were ultimately able to reverse their retreat. Having known a critical strategy in tank warfare, the Allies broke through the Mareth line on March 20, 1943. The allies subsequently linked up on April 8 and on May 2, 1943 the German-Italian Army in Tunisia surrendered. Thus, the United States, United Kingdom, Free French, and Polish (as well as other forces) were able to win a major battle as an allied army.
The battle, though often overshadowed by Stalingrad, represented a major allied victory of World War II largely because it forged the Alliance which would one day liberate Western Europe.
Present-day politics
Tunisia is a republic presidential system characterized by bicameral parliamentary system, including the Chamber of Representatives and the Chamber of Advisors . President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has been in office since 1987, the year he acceded to the executive office Habib Bourguiba after a team of medical experts judged Bourguiba unfit to exercise the functions of the office. At the time, Tunisia was on the verge of upheaval as Ennahdha's (banned Islamic party) supporters were attempting to seize power. Since his accession to power, also known as the Change, president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali launched a series of reform meant to introduce political pluralism and boost the economy.
In Tunisia, the President is elected to 5-year terms. He appoints a Prime Minister and cabinet, who play a strong role in the execution of policy. Regional governors and local administrators also are appointed by the central government. Largely consultative mayors and municipal councils are elected. There is a bicameral legislative body, the Chamber of Deputies, which has 182 seats, 20% of which are reserved for the opposition parties and the Chamber of Advisors which is composed of representatives from political parties, from professional organisations and by personalities appointed by the president of the Republic. Both chambers are composed of more than 20% of women, making it one of the rare countries in the Arab world where women enjoy equal rights. Incidentally, it is also the only country in the Arab world where polygamy is forbidden by law. This as part of a provision of the country’s Code of Personal Status which was introduced by the former president Bourguiba in 1956.
The judiciary is independent. The military is professional and does not play a role in politics.
Since 1987, Tunisia has gradually reformed its political system, it has abolished life presidency and opened up parliament to opposition parties. There are currently nine political parties in Tunisia, six of whom are represented in parliament. The majority party known as the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) in French, is composed of about 2 million members and more than 6000 representations throughout the country; although the party was renamed (in Bourguiba’s days it used to be known as the Socialist Destourian Party), its policies are still considered to be largely secular. Since 2007, all political parties represented in parliament benefit from state subsidies to cover the rising cost of paper and to expand their publication.
In July 2008, new constitutional provisions have been voted by the country’s parliament. These provisions which include lowering the age of voting to 18, as well as easing the conditions for eligibility for the presidency, also allow for any head of political party , whether represented in parliament or not to present their candidacy, to run for president.
The state has also abolished the ‘depot legal’, which required prior authorization before sending to print, and issued legislation meant to bring amendments to the press code which provides journalists with greater freedom to express their ideas. Recently, the election of a syndicate of journalists met with a positive reaction from journalists. There are currently about 300 publications in Tunisia, most of them are financially and editorially independent. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), as well as other press freedom groups have regularly led fact finding missions and issued reports calling on Tunisia to free what they consider as detained journalists, however Tunisian authorities have reacted by saying that there are no journalists currently held for having expressed their ideas. The recent case in point was provided by the ‘Slim Boukhdir case’, a journalist (since then released before serving his term), who was sentenced to a year in jail for having insulted a police officer on duty, according to the version given by the authorities. CPJ denies this version, arguing he was convicted for having written articles critical of the president.
Tunisian authorities maintain that only pornographic material and articles inciting to hate, are banned by law. This is the case of both the printed press and the internet which has witnessed a considerable development with more than 1,1 million users and hundreds of internet cafes, known as ‘publinet.’
Human rights are also the subject of controversy between human rights groups such as Amnesty International that argue that rights are not respected and Tunisian authorities that make the point that in recent international fora such as the United Nations - based New York Human Rights Commission and the Human Rights Committee in Geneva (2008), where all of the countries of the world go through a ‘periodic review’, Tunisia's efforts to promote a comprehensive system of human rights were officially acknowledged.
Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, has consistently expressed his opposition to the presence of religious parties in parliament. While Tunisia cannot boast the natural resources its neighbors have, standards of living are among the best in the developing world.[2] This can be evidenced by two compelling economic observations: the level to which Tunisia has become self-sufficient in material goods, and the extent of real estate development in the cities and major towns of the country. Put simply, the mid-level retail outlet will typically offer goods more than 90% of which are home produced. As to the rise of the building and construction industry, a fleeting visit to any of Tunisia's smaller towns (let alone the cities) will confirm that development is rampant: many projects, especially hotels, are newly opened, and many more stand as skeleton buildings, ready to be developed as soon as demand - and capital funds - are available to bring them to completion. Poverty has significantly been reduced thanks to a national solidarity policy and strong social commitment from the government and now stands at 3,8%, instead of some 50% in 1956.
- See also: Foreign relations of Tunisia
The following is an excerpt from the The World Factbook about Tunisia;
Following independence from France in 1956, President Habib BOURGUIBA established a strict one-party state. He dominated the country for 31 years, repressing Islamic fundamentalism and establishing rights for women unmatched by any other Arab nation. In recent years, Tunisia has taken a moderate, non-aligned stance in its foreign relations. Domestically, it has sought to defuse rising pressure for a more open political society.
Religion
Tunisia enjoys a significant degree of religious freedom, a right enshrined and protected in its constitution. The majority of Tunisia's population (94%) practices Islam, while (5%) follows Christianity and, (<1%) id="cite_ref-2" class="reference">[3]
Tunisia has a sizable Christian community of around 560,000 adherents; it is roughly equally divided between Catholics and Protestants (320,000 Protestants, 240,000 Roman Catholics).
Djerba, (El Ghriba,) Wish, located in the south of Tunisia, is a Jewish enclave. Its El Ghriba synagogue is one of the oldest synagogues in the world; many Jews celebrate a pilgrimage once a year to Djerba.
Tunisia has a culture that encourages acceptance of other religions; religious freedom is widely practiced and the government is tolerant of religious freedom as long as it does not threaten national unity. Individual Tunisians are also tolerant of religious freedom and generally do not inquire about a person's personal beliefs.
Tunisia is one of the very few North African countries where synagogues and churches are open to worshippers.
| Religion in Tunisia | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| religion | percent | |||
| Islam | 98% | |||
| Christian | 1% | |||
| Other | 1% | |||
Governorates
Tunisia is subdivided into 24 governorates, they are:
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The governorates are divided into 262 "delegations" or "districts" (mutamadiyat), and further subdivided into municipalities (shaykhats).[5]
Geography
Tunisia is a country situated on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Nile Valley. It is bordered by Algeria in the west and Libya in the south-east. An abrupt southern turn of its shoreline gives Tunisia two faces on the Mediterranean.
Despite its relatively small size, Tunisia has great geographical and climactic diversity. The Dorsal, an extension of the Atlas Mountains, traverses Tunisia in a northeasterly direction from the Algerian border in the west to the Cape Bon peninsula. North of the Dorsal is the Tell, a region characterized by low, rolling hills and plains, although in the northwestern corner of Tunisia, the land reaches elevations of 1,050 meters. The Sahil is a plain along Tunisia's eastern Mediterranean coast famous for its olive monoculture. Inland from the Sahil, between the Dorsal and a range of hills south of Gafsa, are the Steppes. Much of the southern region is semi-arid and desert.
- See also: List of cities in Tunisia
Demographics
The majority of modern Tunisians are Arabic speaking. However, there is also a small population of Berber speakers located in the Jabal Dahar mountains in the South East and on the island of Jerba. The Berbers primarily speak Berber languages, often called Shelha. The other long-established community in the country is Jewish (today mainly in the capital Tunis and on Jerba), much reduced in number since independence from France.
Religion in Tunisia is dominated by Islam, to which a majority of Tunisians (98%) adhere.[6] One of the most ancient Jewish communities in the world resides in Jerba, where religious diversity thrives. The southern Tunisian island is home to 39 synagogues.
Language
Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is Tunisia's official language. However, as is the case in the rest of the Arab world, a vernacular form of Arabic is used by the public. In Tunisia, the dialect is Tunisian Arabic, which is closely related to the Maltese language.[7] There is also a small minority of speakers of Shelha, a Berber language.[8]
French also plays a major role in the country, despite having no official status. It is widely used in education (e.g. as the language of instruction in the sciences in secondary school), the press, and in business. Most educated Tunisians are able to speak it. Many Tunisians, particularly those residing in large urban areas, readily mix Tunisian Arabic with French.
Education
Education is given a high priority and accounts for 6% of GNP. A basic education for children between the ages of 6 and 16 has been compulsory since 1991. Tunisia ranked 11th in the category of "quality of the educational systems" in The Global Competitivness Report 2007, released by The World Economic Forum.
While children generally acquire Tunisian Arabic at home, when they enter school at age 6, they are taught to read and write in Standard Arabic. From the age of 8, they are taught French while English is introduced at the age of 12.
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