Editing Tunisia

{{Short description|Country in North Africa}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Republic of Tunisia
| name                   = {{unbulleted list|{{native name|ar|الجمهورية التونسية}}<br />{{resize|80%|{{transliteration|ar|al-Jumhūriyyah at-Tūnisiyyah}}}}}}
| common_name            = Tunisia
| image_flag             = Flag of Tunisia.svg
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of Tunisia.svg
| coa_size               = 70
| symbol_type            = |Coat of arms of Tunisia
| national_motto         = {{lang|ar|حرية، نظام، عدالة|rtl=yes}}<br/>"{{transliteration|ar|Ḥurrīyah, Niẓām, 'Adālah}}"<br/>"[[Freedom, Order, Justice]]"
| national_anthem        = {{lang|ar|حماة الحمى|rtl=yes}}<br/>"[[Humat al-Hima]]"<br />({{langx|en|"Defenders of the Homeland"}})<br/>{{center|[[File:Humat al-Hima.ogg]]}}
| image_map              = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
| map_caption            = Location of Tunisia in [[North Africa]]
| image_map2             = Tunisia - Location Map (2013) - TUN - UNOCHA.svg
| capital                = [[Tunis]]
| largest_city           = capital
| coordinates            = {{Coord|36|49|N|10|11|E|type:city}}
| official_languages     = [[Modern Standard Arabic|Arabic]]<ref name="art1">{{cite web|title=Tunisian Constitution, Article 1 |url=http://www.anc.tn/site/main/AR/docs/constit_proj_26012014.pdf |date=26 January 2014 |access-date=10 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209234154/http://www.anc.tn/site/main/AR/docs/constit_proj_26012014.pdf |archive-date=9 February 2014 }} Translation by the University of Bern: "Tunisia is a free State, independent and sovereign; its religion is the Islam, its language is Arabic, and its form is the Republic."</ref>
| religion               = {{unbulleted list|99% [[Islam in Tunisia|Sunni Islam]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/tunisia/ | title=Tunisia | date=13 March 2024 }}</ref>|1% [[Demographics of Tunisia|Others]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/tunisia/|title = Tunisia, Religions|date = 22 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/new-survey-reveals-drop-religiousity-across-arab-world-especially-north-africa | title=New survey reveals drop-off in religiosity across Arab world, especially North Africa }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2018/06/13/young-adults-around-the-world-are-less-religious-by-several-measures/ | title=2. Young adults around the world are less religious by several measures | date=13 June 2018 }}</ref>}}
| languages_type         = Local vernacular
| languages              = [[Tunisian Arabic]]<ref>[http://www.ethnologue.com/language/aeb Arabic, Tunisian Spoken]. Ethnologue (19 February 1999). Retrieved on 5 September 2015.</ref>
| languages2_type        = Foreign languages
| languages2             = [[French language|French]] and [[English language|English]]{{efn|English is taught from fourth grade,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cnp.com.tn/arabic/PDF/CurriculumOFENGLISH.pdf|title=CurriculumOFENGLISH|date=2019}}</ref> and there is a notable increase in its usage among the youth and a growing demand in the workforce.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=English-medium instruction in Tunisia: Perspectives of students|date=2023|doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1112255 |doi-access=free |last1=Abdeljaoued |first1=Marii |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=14 |pmid=37008855 |pmc=10063842 }}</ref>}}
| ethnic_groups          = {{Tree list}}
* 98% [[Arabs]]<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/tunisia/|title = Tunisia - the World Factbook| date=22 December 2022 }}</ref>
* 1% [[Berbers]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3509799.stm|title=Berbers Populations Distribution|date=12 March 2004 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3509799.stm|title=Q&A: The Berbers|date=12 March 2004 }}</ref>
* 1% [[Jews]] and others<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pjvoice.com/v27/27006tunisia.aspx|title=The Jews of Tunisia|website=www.pjvoice.com}}</ref>
{{Tree list/end}}
| ethnic_groups_year     = 2021
| ethnic_groups_ref      = <ref name="auto"/>
| demonym                = [[Tunisians|Tunisian]]
| government_type        = Unitary [[presidential republic]]
| leader_title1          = [[President of Tunisia|President]]
| leader_name1           = [[Kais Saied]]
| leader_title2          = [[Prime Minister of Tunisia|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name2           = [[Sara Zaafarani]]
| legislature            = [[Parliament of Tunisia|Parliament]]
| upper_house            = [[National Council of Regions and Districts]]
| lower_house            = [[Assembly of the Representatives of the People]]
| sovereignty_type       = [[History of Tunisia|Establishment]]
| established_event1     = [[Ancient Carthage]]
| established_date1      = 814 BC
| established_event2     = [[Husainid dynasty|Husainids]]
| established_date2      = 15 July 1705
| established_event3     = [[Tunisian independence|Independence]] and [[Kingdom of Tunisia|Kingdom]]
| established_date3      = 20 March 1956
| established_event4     = [[History of modern Tunisia|Republic declaration]]
| established_date4      = 25 July 1957
| established_event5     = [[Tunisian Constitution of 2022|Current Constitution]]
| established_date5      = 25 July 2022
| area_km2               = 163610
| area_rank              = 91st <!-- Area rank should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]]-->
| area_sq_mi             = 63170
| percent_water          = 5.04
| population_estimate    = 11,887,412<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ins.tn/en | title=National Institute of Statistics}}</ref>
| population_census      = 
| population_estimate_year = 2024
| population_estimate_rank = 79th
| population_census_year = 
| population_density_km2 = 79 <!--pop est 2011 (164,418 sq km) / land area (155,360) = 96,536 sq mi-->
| population_density_sq_mi = 200
| population_density_rank = 134th
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $176.870 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.org">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/October/weo-report?c=512,914,612,171,614,311,213,911,314,193,122,91 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024 Edition|publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=IMF.org|access-date=1 April 2025}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2024
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 83rd
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}} $14,718<ref name="IMFWEO.org" />
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 111th
| GDP_nominal            = {{increase}} $52.636 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.org" />
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2024
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 93nd
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $4,396<ref name="IMFWEO.org" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 129th
| Gini                   = 33.7 <!-- number only -->
| Gini_year              = 2021
| Gini_change            = decrease <!-- increase/decrease/steady -->
| Gini_ref               = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI/ |title=GINI index |publisher=World Bank |access-date=19 January 2013}}</ref>
| HDI                    = 0.732 <!-- number only -->
| HDI_year               = 2022<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI_change             = increase <!-- increase/decrease/steady -->
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="UNHDR">{{cite web|url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2023-24reporten.pdf|title=Human Development Report 2023/24|language=en|publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]|date=13 March 2024|page=275|access-date=2024-05-09}}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 101st
| currency               = [[Tunisian dinar]]
| currency_code          = TND
| time_zone              = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset             = +1
| date_format            = dd/mm/yyyy
| drives_on              = right
| calling_code           = [[Telephone numbers in Tunisia|+216]]
| cctld                  = {{ublist |[[.tn]] |{{lang|ar|[[Internationalized country code top-level domain|.تونس]]}}<ref name="iana">{{cite web |url=https://www.iana.org/reports/2010/tunis-report-16jul2010.html |title=Report on the Delegation of تونس. |year=2010 |publisher=Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers |access-date=8 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531054928/https://www.iana.org/reports/2010/tunis-report-16jul2010.html |archive-date=31 May 2012 }}</ref>}}
}}
'''Tunisia''',{{efn|Pronunciation: {{IPAc-en|UK|tj|uː|ˈ|n|ɪ|z|i|ə|,_|-|ˈ|n|ɪ|s|-}}, {{IPAc-en|US|-|ˈ|n|iː|ʒ|ə|,_|-|ˈ|n|iː|ʃ|ə|,_|-|ˈ|n|ɪ|ʒ|ə|,_|-|ˈ|n|ɪ|ʃ|ə}};<ref>{{citation|last=Wells|first=John C.|year=2008|title=Longman Pronunciation Dictionary|edition=3rd|publisher=Longman|isbn=978-1-4058-8118-0}}</ref> {{langx|ar|تونس}} ''{{audio|help=no|tounes bel tounsi.wav|Tūnis}}'', {{IPA|ar|tuː.nɪs|pron}}}} officially the '''Republic of Tunisia''',{{efn|{{langx|ar|الجمهورية التونسية}} ''{{audio|help=no|tounesjmr.wav|al-Jumhūrīya at-Tūnisīya}}''; {{langx|fr|République tunisienne}}. The native Arabic official name translates more closely to "Tunisian Republic", as does the commonly used French translation, but the less-exact English translation "Republic of Tunisia" is used in English even by the Tunisian government for official purposes (e.g., the designation used by the Tunisian embassy in Washington, D.C.)}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=Embassy of the Republic of Tunisia|url=https://www.tunisianembassy.org/|access-date=2021-09-30|publisher=Embassy of the Republic of Tunisia|language=en-US}}</ref> is a country in the [[Maghreb]] region of [[North Africa]]. It is bordered by [[Algeria]] to the west and southwest, [[Libya]] to the southeast, and the [[Mediterranean Sea]] to the north and east. Tunisia also shares maritime borders with [[Italy]] through the islands of [[Sicily]] and [[Sardinia]] to the north and [[Malta]] to the east. It features the archaeological sites of [[Carthage]] dating back to the 9th century BC, as well as the Great Mosque of [[Kairouan]]. Known for its ancient architecture, [[Souks of Tunis|souks]], and blue coasts, it covers {{convert|163610|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, and has a population of 12.1 million. It contains the eastern end of the [[Atlas Mountains]] and the northern reaches of the [[Sahara]] desert; much of its remaining territory is [[arable land]]. Its {{convert|1300|km|mi|abbr=on}} of coastline includes the African conjunction of the western and eastern parts of the [[Mediterranean Basin]]. Tunisia is home to Africa's northernmost point, [[Cape Angela]]. Located on the northeastern coast, [[Tunis]] is the capital and [[List of cities in Tunisia|largest city]] of the country, which is itself named after Tunis. The official language of Tunisia is [[Modern Standard Arabic]]. The vast majority of Tunisia's population is [[Arabs|Arab]] and [[Muslims|Muslim]]. Vernacular [[Tunisian Arabic]] is the most spoken and [[French language|French]] serves as an administrative and educational language in some contexts, but it has no official status.

Beginning in early antiquity, Tunisia was inhabited by the indigenous [[Berbers]]. The [[Phoenicia]]ns, a [[Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples|Semitic people]], began to arrive in the 12th century BC, [[Phoenician settlement of North Africa|settling on the coast and establishing several settlements]], of which [[Carthage]] emerged as the most powerful by the 7th century BC. The descendants of the Phoenician settlers came to be known as the [[Punic people]]. [[Ancient Carthage]] was a major [[Trade|mercantile]] empire and a military rival to the [[Roman Republic]] until 146 BC when it was [[Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)|defeated]] by the Romans who occupied Tunisia for most of the next 800 years. The Romans introduced [[Christianity]] and left architectural legacies like the [[Amphitheatre of El Jem]]. In the 7th century AD, [[Muslim conquest of the Maghreb|Arab Muslims conquered]] Tunisia and [[Arab migrations to the Maghreb|settled with their tribes and families]], bringing [[Islam]] and [[Arab culture]]. A later large-scale [[Arab migrations to the Maghreb#Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym (11th century)|Arab migration]] of [[Banu Hilal]] and [[Banu Sulaym]] tribes in the 11th-12th centuries accelerated this process. By around the 15th century, the region of modern-day Tunisia had already been almost completely [[Arabization|Arabized]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holes |first=Clive |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pzRtDwAAQBAJ |title=Arabic Historical Dialectology: Linguistic and Sociolinguistic Approaches |date=2018-08-30 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-100506-0 |page=42 |language=en}}</ref> Then, in 1546, the [[Ottoman Empire]] established control, holding sway until 1881, when the [[French conquest of Tunisia|French conquered Tunisia]]. In 1956, [[Tunisian independence|Tunisia gained independence]] as the Tunisian Republic. Today, [[Culture of Tunisia|Tunisia's culture]] and identity are rooted in this centuries-long intersection of different cultures and ethnicities.

In 2011, the [[Tunisian Revolution]], which was triggered by dissatisfaction with the lack of freedom and [[democracy]] under the 24-year rule of President [[Zine El Abidine Ben Ali]], overthrew his regime and catalyzed the broader [[Arab Spring]] movement across the region. Free multiparty parliamentary [[2011 Tunisian Constituent Assembly election|elections]] were held shortly thereafter; the country again voted for parliament on 26 October 2014,<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.jeuneafrique.com/Article/ARTJAWEB20140625141745/ |title=Tunisie: les législatives fixées au 26 octobre et la présidentielle au 23 novembre |trans-title=Tunisia: legislative elections fixed for 26 October and presidential elections for 23 November|newspaper=Jeune Afrique |language=fr |date=25 June 2014}}</ref> and for president on 23 November 2014.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tunisia holds first post-revolution presidential poll|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30165471|work=BBC News|date=23 November 2014}}</ref> From 2014 to 2020, it was considered the only democratic state in the [[Arab world]], according to ''[[The Economist Democracy Index]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url =https://infographics.economist.com/2022/democracy-index-2021/index.html |title=Democracy Index 2021|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=22 February 2022}}</ref>{{efn|[[Lebanon]] and [[Iraq]] are [[Confessionalism (politics)|confessional democracies]].}} After a [[democratic backsliding]], Tunisia is rated a [[hybrid regime]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Democracy Index 2021: The China challenge |url=https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2021/ |website=Economist Intelligence Unit |access-date=2 March 2022 |pages=6–7 |archive-date=8 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108091515/https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2021/ }}</ref> It is one of the few countries in Africa ranking high on the [[Human Development Index]], with one of the [[List of African countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|highest per capita incomes]] on the continent, ranking 129th in [[List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita|GDP per capita]] income.

Tunisia is well integrated into the international community. It is a member of the [[United Nations]], {{Lang|fr|[[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie]]}}, the [[Arab League]], the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]], the [[African Union]], the [[Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa]], the [[Non-Aligned Movement]], the [[International Criminal Court]], the [[Group of 77]], among others. It maintains close economic and political relations with some European countries, particularly with [[France–Tunisia relations|France]] and [[Italy–Tunisia relations|Italy]],<ref>{{in lang|fr}} [http://www.jolpress.com/italie-matteo-renzi-tunisie-article-824677.html "Pourquoi l'Italie de Matteo Renzi se tourne vers la Tunisie avant l'Europe"]. JOL Journalism Online Press (28 February 2014). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810115035/http://www.jolpress.com/italie-matteo-renzi-tunisie-article-824677.html|date=10 August 2018}}. Retrieved on 5 September 2015.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ghanmi |first=Monia |date=12 September 2014 |url=http://magharebia.com/fr/articles/awi/articles/2014/09/12/feature-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914025940/http://magharebia.com/fr/articles/awi/articles/2014/09/12/feature-02 |archive-date=14 September 2014 |title=La Tunisie renforce ses relations avec l'Italie |language=fr |trans-title=Tunisia strengthens relations with Italy |work=Magharebia}}</ref> due to their geographical proximity. Tunisia also has an [[European Union Association Agreement|association agreement]] with the [[European Union]] and has attained the status of a [[major non-NATO ally]] of the [[United States]].

== Etymology ==
<!--Linked (from?)-->
{{see also|Tunis#Etymology}}
The word ''Tunisia'' is derived from [[Tunis]]; a central urban hub and the capital of modern-day Tunisia. The present form of the name, with its [[Latin]]ate suffix ''{{nowrap|-ia}}'', evolved from [[French language|French]] {{lang|fr|Tunisie}},<ref name="Adrian">{{cite book |last=Room |first=Adrian |title=Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features, and Historic Sites |entry=Tunisia |entry-url=https://archive.org/details/placenamesofworl02edroom/page/385/mode/1up |publisher=McFarland |year=2006 |page=385 |isbn=978-0-7864-2248-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Everett-Heath|first=John|title=The Concise Dictionary of World Place-names|entry=Tunisia|entry-url=https://archive.org/details/concisedictionar0000ever/page/534/mode/1up|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2005|page=534|isbn=978-0-19-860537-9}}</ref> in turn generally associated with the [[Berber languages|Berber]] root {{lang|ber|ⵜⵏⵙ}}, transcribed {{lang|ber-Latn|tns}}, which means "to lay down" or "encampment".<ref name="peter-ross">{{cite book |first1=Peter M. |last1=Rossi |first2=Wayne Edward |last2=White |title=Articles on the Middle East, 1947–1971: A Cumulation of the Bibliographies from the Middle East Journal |publisher=Pierian Press, [[University of Michigan]] |year=1980 |page=132}}</ref> It is sometimes also associated with the [[Carthaginian religion|Carthage goddess]] [[Tanit]]h (or Tunit),<ref name="Adrian"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Isaac |title=Names and Their Histories: A Handbook of Historical Geography and Topographical Nomenclature |publisher=BiblioBazaar, LLC |year=2008 |page=281 |isbn=978-0-559-29668-0 }}</ref> and the ancient city of Tynes.<ref name="ej-brill">{{cite book |last=Houtsma |first=Martijn Theodoor |title=E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936 |publisher=Brill |year=1987 |page=838 |isbn=978-90-04-08265-6 }}</ref><ref name="hann-war">{{cite book |title=[[Ab urbe condita (Livy)|History of Rome]]|volume=Hannibal's War: Books Twenty-one to Thirty |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2006 |page=705 |isbn=978-0-19-283159-0 |author=[[Livy]] |editor1-first=John |editor1-last=Yardley |editor2-last=Hoyos |editor2-first=Dexter |name-list-style=amp}}</ref>

The French derivative {{lang|fr|Tunisie}} was adopted in some European languages with slight modifications, introducing a distinctive name to designate the country. Other languages have left the name untouched, such as the [[Russian language|Russian]] {{lang|ru|Туни́с}} ({{transliteration|ru|Tunís}}) and [[Spanish language|Spanish]] {{lang|es|Túnez}}. In this case, the same name is used for both country and city, as with the [[Arabic]] {{lang|ar|تونس|rtl=yes}}, and only by context can one tell the difference.<ref name="Adrian" />

In English, Tunisia before independence was also often called simply "Tunis", a name that persisted until the 1940s;{{efn|The ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' reads "TUNIS, Regency of, formerly one of the Barbary states of north Africa, but since 1881 a dependency of France,..." in its 1875–1889 ninth edition,<ref>{{Cite EB9|wstitle=Tunis, Regency of|volume=XXIII|page=619}}</ref> but a 1902–1903 supplement (the tenth edition) and its celebrated eleventh edition (which reads "TUNISIA (Regency of Tunis), a country of North Africa, under the protection of France,..."<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Tunisia|volume=XXVII|page=393}}</ref>).

The ''[[New International Encyclopedia]]'' 1905 and 1916 editions read "TUNIS (Fr. ''Tunisie''). A French protectorate in North Africa.",<ref>{{cite book|title=The New International Encyclopædia|volume=XIX|entry=Tunis|entry-url=https://archive.org/details/newinternational19gilm/page/535/mode/1up|publisher=Dodd, Mead and Company|date=1905|page=535}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The New International Encyclopædia|volume=XXII|entry=Tunis|entry-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101064517301&seq=617|publisher=Dodd, Mead and Company|date=1916|page=545}}</ref> while the 1928 supplement reads "TUNIS or {{Smallcaps|Tunisia}}. A French protectorate in North Africa..."<ref>{{cite book|title=The New International Encyclopædia|volume=XXV|entry=Tunis|entry-url=https://archive.org/details/newinternational008261mbp/page/n454/mode/1up|publisher=Dodd, Mead and Company|date=1928|page=1311}}</ref>}} under French influence, the neologism "Tunisia", adapted from ''Tunisie'', gradually took hold.<ref name="Adrian" /> The adjective "Tunisian" first appeared in English in 1825;<ref>{{Cite OED2|term=Tunisian|volume=18|page=674|isbn=0-19-861230-3|url=https://archive.org/details/OXD1989ENEN/18%20-%20Oxford%20English%20Dictionary%20%281989%29/page/674/mode/1up}}</ref> the previous adjectival form was "Tunisine".<ref>{{Cite OED2|term=Tunisine|volume=18|page=674|isbn=0-19-861230-3|url=https://archive.org/details/OXD1989ENEN/18%20-%20Oxford%20English%20Dictionary%20%281989%29/page/674/mode/1up}}</ref>

== History ==
{{main|History of Tunisia}}

=== Antiquity ===
{{main|Capsian culture|Ancient Carthage}}
Farming methods reached the [[Nile|Nile Valley]] from the [[Fertile Crescent]] region about 5000 BC, and spread to the [[Maghreb]] by about 4000 BC. Agricultural communities in the humid coastal plains of central Tunisia then were ancestors of today's [[Berber people|Berber]] tribes.
[[File:Carthaginianempire.PNG|left|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Punic people|Carthaginian]] dependencies and protectorates through the [[Punic Wars]]]]
It was believed in ancient times that Africa was originally populated by [[Gaetuli]]ans and Libyans, both nomadic peoples. According to the Roman historian [[Sallust]], the demigod Hercules died in Spain and his polyglot eastern army was left to settle the land, with some [[Human migration|migrating]] to Africa. Persians went to the West and intermarried with the Gaetulians and became the Numidians. The Medes settled and were known as Mauri, later Moors.<ref>Banjamin Isaac, ''The Invention of Racism in Classical Antiquity'', Princeton University Press, 2013 p.147</ref>

The Numidians and Moors belonged to the race from which the Berbers are descended. The translated meaning of Numidian is Nomad and indeed the people were semi-nomadic until the reign of [[Masinissa]] of the Massyli tribe.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hannibalbarca.webspace.virginmedia.com/carthage-numidians.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331154523/http://hannibalbarca.webspace.virginmedia.com/carthage-numidians.htm |archive-date=31 March 2012 |title=Carthage and the Numidians |publisher=Hannibalbarca.webspace.virginmedia.com |access-date=28 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://fanaticus.org/DBA/armies/II40-57.html |title=Numidians (DBA II/40) and Moors (DBA II/57) |publisher=Fanaticus.org |date=12 December 2001 |access-date=28 October 2011 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927024947/http://www.fanaticus.org/DBA/armies/II40-57.html |archive-date=27 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/422426/Numidia |title=Numidia (ancient region, Africa) |encyclopedia=Britannica Online Encyclopedia |access-date=28 October 2011}}</ref>

At the beginning of recorded history, Tunisia was inhabited by [[Berber people|Berber]] tribes. Its coast was settled by [[Phoenicia]]ns starting as early as the 12th century BC ([[Bizerte]], [[Utica, Tunisia|Utica]]). The city of [[Carthage]] was founded in the 9th century BC by Phoenicians. Legend says that [[Dido (Queen of Carthage)|Dido]] from Tyre, now in modern-day Lebanon, founded the city in 814 BC, as retold by the [[Greeks|Greek]] writer [[Timaeus (historian)|Timaeus of Tauromenium]]. The settlers of Carthage brought their culture and religion from Phoenicia, now present-day [[Lebanon]] and adjacent areas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shca.ed.ac.uk/Administration/Committees/documents/TheCityofCarthage.pdf |title=The City of Carthage: From Dido to the Arab Conquest |access-date=8 January 2013 |archive-date=10 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120810075556/http://www.shca.ed.ac.uk/Administration/Committees/documents/TheCityofCarthage.pdf }}</ref>
[[File:Mommsen p265.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue of the Carthaginian general [[Hannibal|Hannibal Barca]]]]
After the 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.

A Carthaginian invasion of Italy led by [[Hannibal]] during the [[Second Punic War]],  one of a series of wars with [[Roman Republic|Rome]], nearly crippled the rise of Roman power. From the conclusion of the Second Punic War in 202 BC, Carthage functioned as a client state of the Roman Republic for another 50 years.<ref>[[Appian]]. [https://www.livius.org/sources/content/appian/appian-the-punic-wars/ ''The Punic<!-- Foreign? --> Wars'']. livius.org</ref>
[[File:Temple du Capitole (Dougga).JPG|thumb|upright|left|Ruins of a 2nd-century temple in [[Dougga]], one of nine [[List of World Heritage Sites in Tunisia|World Heritage Sites in Tunia]]]]
Following the [[Battle of Carthage (c. 149 BC)|Battle of Carthage]] which began in 149 BC during the [[Third Punic War]], Carthage was conquered by Rome in 146 BC.{{sfn|Steel|2013|p=9–10}} Following its conquest, the Romans renamed Carthage to [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa]], incorporating it as a province.

During the Roman period, the area of what is now Tunisia enjoyed a huge development. The economy, mainly during the Empire, boomed: the prosperity of the area depended on agriculture. Called the ''Granary of the Empire'', the area of actual Tunisia and coastal [[Tripolitania]], according to one estimate, produced one million tons of cereals each year, one quarter of which was exported to the Empire. Additional crops included beans, figs, grapes, and other fruits.

By the 2nd century, olive oil rivaled cereals as an export item. In addition to the cultivations and the capture and transporting of exotic wild animals from the western mountains, the principal production and exports included textiles, marble, wine, timber, livestock, pottery such as [[African Red Slip]], and wool.

There was even a huge production of mosaics and ceramics, exported mainly to Italy, in the central area of [[El Djem]] (where there was the second biggest amphitheater in the Roman Empire).

Berber bishop [[Donatus Magnus]] was the founder of a Christian group known as the [[Donatist]]s.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia | url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/169009/Donatist | title = Donatist | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> During the 5th and 6th centuries (from 430 to 533 AD), the Germanic [[Vandals]] invaded and ruled over a kingdom in Northwest Africa that included present-day Tripoli. The region was easily reconquered in 533–534 AD, during the rule of Emperor [[Justinian I]], by the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Romans]] led by General [[Belisarius]],<ref>Bury, John Bagnell (1958) ''History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I. to the Death of Justinian'', Part 2, Courier Corporation. pp.124–148</ref> preluding a 165-year era of [[Byzantine North Africa|Byzantine rule]].

=== Middle Ages ===
{{main|History of medieval Tunisia}}
[[File:Statue de Okba ibn Nafi al Fihri en Algérie.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Uqba ibn Nafi]] led the [[Umayyad]] conquest of Tunisia in the late 7th century.]]
Sometime between the second half of the 7th century and the early part of the 8th century, [[Arab]] [[Muslim conquest of the Maghreb|Muslim conquest occurred in the region]]. They founded the first Islamic city in Northwest Africa, [[Kairouan]]. It was there in 670 AD that the [[Mosque of Uqba]], or the Great Mosque of Kairouan, was constructed.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Davidson |first1=Linda Kay |last2=Gitlitz |first2=David Martin |title=Pilgrimage: From the Ganges to Graceland: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YVYkrNhPMQkC&pg=PA302|date=2002|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-004-8|page=302}}</ref> This mosque is the oldest and most prestigious sanctuary in the Muslim West with the oldest standing [[minaret]] in the world;<ref>{{cite book|last=Bosworth |first=Clifford Edmund |title=Historic Cities of the Islamic World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UB4uSVt3ulUC&pg=PA264|year=2007|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-15388-2|page=264}}</ref> it is also considered a masterpiece of Islamic art and architecture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kairouan.org/en/culture/unesco.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422091651/http://www.kairouan.org/en/culture/unesco.htm |archive-date=22 April 2012 |title=Kairouan inscription as World Heritage |publisher=Kairouan.org |access-date=2 May 2010 }}</ref> The [[Arab migration to the Maghreb]] began during this time.

The region in its entirety was taken in 695, retaken by the Byzantine Eastern Romans in 697, but lost permanently in 698. The transition from a Latin-speaking Christian Berber society to a Muslim and mostly Arabic-speaking society took over 400 years (the equivalent process in Egypt and the Fertile Crescent took 600 years) and resulted in the final disappearance of Christianity and Latin in the 12th or 13th century. The majority of the population were not Muslim until quite late in the 9th century; a vast majority were during the 10th. Also, some Tunisian Christians emigrated; some richer members of society did so after the conquest in 698 and others were welcomed by Norman rulers to Sicily or Italy in the 11th and 12th centuries – the logical destination because of the 1200 year close connection between the two regions.<ref>Jonathan Conant (2012). ''Staying Roman, Conquest and Identity in Africa and the Mediterranean, 439–700''. Cambridge University Press. pp. 358–378. {{ISBN|978-1-107-53072-0}}</ref>

The Arab governors of Tunis founded the [[Aghlabids|Aghlabid dynasty]], which ruled Tunisia, [[Tripolitania]] and eastern Algeria from 800 to 909.<ref name="lapidus"/> Tunisia flourished under Arab rule when extensive systems were constructed to supply towns with water for household use and irrigation that promoted agriculture (especially olive production).<ref name="lapidus">{{cite book|last=Lapidus|first=Ira M.|title=A History of Islamic Societies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I3mVUEzm8xMC&pg=302|date= 2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-77933-3|pages=302–303}}</ref><ref name="tunisia-lp">{{cite book | last1 = Ham | first1 = Anthony | last2 = Hole | first2 = Abigail | last3 = Willett | first3 = David. | title = Tunisia | publisher = [[Lonely Planet]] | year = 2004 | edition = 3 | page = 65 | isbn = 978-1-74104-189-7}}</ref> This prosperity permitted luxurious court life and was marked by the construction of new palace cities such as al-Abbasiya (809) and Raq Adda (877).<ref name="lapidus"/>
[[File:Panorama of the courtyard of the Great Mosque of Kairouan.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.25|Domes of the [[Mosque of Uqba|Great Mosque of Kairouan]]. Founded in 670, it dates in its present form largely from the Aghlabid period (9th century). It is the oldest mosque in the [[Maghreb]].]]
After conquering [[Cairo]], the [[Fatimids]] abandoned Tunisia and parts of Eastern Algeria to the local [[Zirids]] (972–1148).<ref name="stearns">{{cite book | last1 = Stearns | first1 = Peter N. | last2 = Leonard Langer | first2 = William | title = The Encyclopedia of World History: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern, Chronologically Arranged | publisher = [[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]] | year = 2001 | edition = 6 | pages = 129–131 | isbn = 978-0-395-65237-4}}</ref> Zirid Tunisia flourished in many areas: agriculture, industry, trade, and religious and secular learning.<ref name="locfatamids">{{cite book|last=Houtsma |first=M. Th. |title=E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wpM3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA852|year=1987|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-08265-6|page=852}}</ref> Management by the later Zirid [[emirs]] was neglectful though, and political instability was connected to the decline of Tunisian trade and agriculture.<ref name="lapidus"/><ref name="islamic-dynasties">{{cite book | last = Singh | first = Nagendra Kr | title = International encyclopaedia of islamic dynasties | volume = 4: A Continuing Series | publisher = Anmol | year = 2000 | pages = 105–112 | isbn = 978-81-261-0403-1}}</ref><ref name="history-of-africa">{{cite book | title = General history of Africa | publisher = James Currey Publishers | pages = 171–173 | isbn = 978-0-85255-093-9 |last1=Ki-Zerbo |first1=J. |last2=Mokhtar |first2=G. |last3=Boahen |first3=A. Adu |last4=Hrbek |first4=I. | year = 1992 }}</ref>

The depredation of the Tunisian campaigns by the [[Banu Hilal]], a warlike Arab tribe encouraged by the Fatimids of Egypt to seize Northwest Africa, sent the region's rural and urban economic life into further decline.<ref name="stearns"/> Consequently, the region underwent rapid urbanisation as famines depopulated the countryside and industry shifted from agriculture to manufactures.<ref>Abulafia, ''The Norman Kingdom of Africa'', 27.</ref> The Arab historian [[Ibn Khaldun]] wrote that the lands ravaged by Banu Hilal invaders had become completely arid desert.<ref name="islamic-dynasties"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.galtoninstitute.org.uk/Newsletters/GINL9603/PopCrises3.htm |title=Populations Crises and Population Cycles, Claire Russell and W.M.S. Russell |publisher=Galtoninstitute.org.uk |access-date=19 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527170154/http://www.galtoninstitute.org.uk/Newsletters/GINL9603/PopCrises3.htm |archive-date=27 May 2013 }}</ref>

The main Tunisian cities were conquered by the [[Normans]] of [[Sicily]] under the [[Kingdom of Africa]] in the 12th century, but following [[Almohad conquest of Ifriqiya|the conquest of Tunisia]] in 1159–1160 by the [[Almohads]] the Normans were evacuated to Sicily. Communities of Tunisian Christians would still exist in [[Nefzaoua]] up to the 14th century.<ref name="hrbek">{{cite book |last1=Hrbek |first1=Ivan |title=Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century |date=1992 |publisher=UNESCO. International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa. J. Currey |isbn=0-85255-093-6 |page=34 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDFcD0BuekQC&pg=PA34}}</ref> The Almohads initially ruled over Tunisia through a governor, usually a near relative of the Caliph. Despite the prestige of the new masters, the country was still unruly, with continuous rioting and fighting between the townsfolk and wandering Arabs and Turks, the latter being subjects of the Muslim Armenian adventurer Karakush. Also, Tunisia was occupied by [[Ayyubids]] between 1182 and 1183 and again between 1184 and 1187.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.3989/alqantara.2013.010|title=Saladin and the Ayyubid Campaigns in the Maghrib|journal=Al-Qanṭara|volume=34|issue=2|pages=267–295|year=2013|last1=Baadj|first1=Amar|doi-access= | issn = 0211-3589}}</ref>

The greatest threat to Almohad rule in Tunisia was the [[Banu Ghaniya]], relatives of the [[Almoravids]], who from their base in [[Mallorca]] tried to restore Almoravid rule over the Maghreb. Around 1200 they succeeded in extending their rule over the whole of Tunisia until they were crushed by Almohad troops in 1207. After this success, the Almohads installed Walid Abu Hafs as the governor of Tunisia. Tunisia remained part of the Almohad state, until 1230 when the son of Abu Hafs declared himself independent.

During the reign of the [[Hafsid dynasty]] from their capital Tunis, fruitful commercial relationships were established with several Christian Mediterranean states.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bosworth |first= Clifford Edmund |title=The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mKpz_2CkoWEC&pg=PA46 |year=2004 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-0-7486-2137-8|page=46}}</ref> In the late 16th century the coast became a [[pirate]] stronghold.

=== Ottoman Tunisia ===
{{main|Ottoman Tunisia}}
[[File:Frans Hogenberg battle of Tunis.jpg|left|thumb|[[Conquest of Tunis (1535)|Conquest of Tunis]] by [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] and liberation of Christian [[galley slave]]s in 1535]]
In the last years of the [[Hafsid dynasty]], Spain seized many of the coastal cities, but these were recovered by the [[Ottoman Empire]].

The [[Conquest of Tunis (1534)|first Ottoman conquest of Tunis]] took place in 1534 under the command of [[Hayreddin Barbarossa|Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha]], the younger brother of Oruç Reis, who was the [[Kapudan Pasha]] of the [[Ottoman Navy|Ottoman Fleet]] during the reign of [[Suleiman the Magnificent]]. However, it was not until the [[Conquest of Tunis (1574)|final Ottoman reconquest of Tunis from Spain]] in 1574 under Kapudan Pasha [[Uluç Ali Reis]] that the Ottomans permanently acquired the former [[History of medieval Tunisia#Hafsid dynasty of Tunis|Hafsid Tunisia]], retaining it until the [[French conquest of Tunisia]] in 1881.

Initially under Turkish rule from Algiers, soon the [[Ottoman Porte]] appointed directly for [[Tunis]] a governor called the [[Pasha]] supported by [[janissary]] forces. Before long, however, Tunisia became in effect an autonomous province, under the local [[bey]]. Under its [[Turkish People|Turkish]] governors, the beys, Tunisia attained virtual independence. The [[Husainid Dynasty|Hussein dynasty]] of beys, established in 1705, lasted until 1957.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bosworth |first=Clifford Edmund |title=The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mKpz_2CkoWEC&pg=PA55|year=2004 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=978-0-7486-2137-8 |page=55}}</ref> This evolution of status was from time to time challenged without success by Algiers. During this era, the governing councils controlling Tunisia remained largely composed of a foreign elite who continued to conduct state business in the [[Turkish language]].

[[File:St Louis Cathedral - Carthage - Tunisia - 1899.jpg|thumb|St Louis Cathedral - Carthage - Tunisia - 1899]]
Attacks on European shipping were made by [[Barbary corsairs|corsairs]], primarily from Algiers, but also from Tunis and [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]], yet after a long period of declining raids the growing power of the European states finally forced its termination.

The [[Second plague pandemic|plague epidemics]] ravaged Tunisia in 1784–1785, 1796–1797 and 1818–1820.<ref>{{cite book|last=Panzac |first= Daniel |title=Barbary Corsairs: The End of a Legend, 1800–1820|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_dyeFP5Hyc4C&pg=PA309|year=2005|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-12594-0|page=309}}</ref>

In the 19th century, the rulers of Tunisia became aware of the ongoing efforts at political and social [[Tanzimat|reform in the Ottoman capital]]. The Bey of Tunis then, by his own lights but informed by the Turkish example, attempted to effect a modernizing reform of institutions and the economy.<ref name="Clancy-Smith1997">{{cite book|last=Clancy-Smith |first= Julia A. |title=Rebel and Saint: Muslim Notables, Populist Protest, Colonial Encounters (Algeria and Tunisia, 1800–1904) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ApCtcGPHOxIC&pg=PA157 |year=1997 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-92037-8 |page=157}}</ref> Tunisian international debt grew unmanageable. This was the reason or pretext for French forces to establish a [[History of French era Tunisia|protectorate]] in 1881.

=== French Protectorate of Tunisia (1881–1956) ===
{{main|French protectorate of Tunisia}}
[[File:A Churchill tank and other vehicles parade through Tunis, 8 May 1943. NA2880.jpg|thumb|upright=0.95|British tank moves through Tunis after the city was taken from Axis troops, 8 May 1943.]]
In 1869, Tunisia declared itself bankrupt and an international financial commission took control over its economy. In 1881, using the pretext of a Tunisian incursion into [[Algeria]], the French invaded with an army of about 36,000 and forced the Bey of Tunis, [[Muhammad III as-Sadiq]], to agree to the terms of the 1881 [[Treaty of Bardo]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Gearon |first= Eamonn |title=The Sahara: A Cultural History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TKh_21ZERH4C&pg=PA117 |year=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-986195-8 |page=117}}</ref> With this treaty, Tunisia was officially made a [[French occupation of Tunisia|French protectorate]], over the objections of Italy. European settlements in the country were actively encouraged; the number of [[French people|French]] colonists grew from 34,000 in 1906 to 144,000 in 1945. In 1910 there were also 105,000 [[Italian Tunisians|Italians in Tunisia]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Ion Smeaton Munro|title=Through fascism to world power: a history of the revolution in Italy|year=1933|publisher=A. Maclehose & co.|page=221}}</ref>

During the [[World War II|Second World War]], the protectorate of Tunisia was controlled by the collaborationist [[Vichy France|Vichy]] government in Metropolitan France. The antisemitic [[Vichy anti-Jewish legislation|Statute on Jews]] enacted by the Vichy government was also implemented in Vichy-controlled Northwest Africa and other overseas French territories. Thus, the persecution and murder of the Jews from 1940 to 1943 was part of [[the Holocaust]] in France.

From November 1942 until May 1943, Vichy-controlled Tunisia was occupied by Germany. [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] Commander [[Walter Rauff]] continued to implement the "Final Solution" there. From 1942 to 1943, Tunisia was the scene of the [[Tunisia Campaign]], a series of battles between the [[Axis powers|Axis]] and [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] forces. The battle opened with initial success by the German and Italian forces, but the massive supply and numerical superiority of the Allies led to the [[Tunisian Campaign|Axis surrender]] on 13 May 1943.<ref>{{cite book|first=Gordon|last=Williamson|author-link=Gordon Williamson (writer)|title=Afrikakorps 1941–43|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h1c44ccxC_sC&pg=PA24|year= 1991|publisher=Osprey |isbn=978-1-85532-130-4|page=24}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Palmer |first=Michael A. |title=The German Wars: A Concise History, 1859–1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4eHKE9NIwbMC&pg=PA199|year=2010|publisher=Zenith Imprint|isbn=978-0-7603-3780-6|page=199}}</ref> The six-month campaign of Tunisia's liberation from Axis occupation signalled the end of the war in Africa.

=== Struggle for independence (1943–1956) ===

After the liberation of Tunisia from the Germans, the French regained control over the government and made participation in a nationalist party illegal once more.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Rivlin |first=Benjamin |date=1952 |title=The Tunisian Nationalist Movement: Four Decades of Evolution |journal=Middle East Journal |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=167–193 |jstor=4322381 |issn=0026-3141}}</ref> [[Moncef Bey]], who was popular amongst Tunisians, was deposed by the French.<ref name=":02" /> The French claimed that his removal was due to him being sympathetic to the Axis countries during German occupation, but the real reason is up for debate.<ref name=":02" />

In 1945 after escaping French surveillance, Tunisian nationalist [[Habib Bourguiba]] arrived in [[Cairo]].<ref name=":02" /> While there, he was able to make contact with the [[Arab League]].<ref name=":02" /> Later in 1946, after traveling to other Middle Eastern countries, he made his way to the United States to speak to both the [[United Nations]] at their headquarters at [[Lake Success, New York|Lake Success]] and [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]] officials in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington D.C.]], pleading the case of the Tunisian nationalists.<ref name=":02" />

As part of postwar Tunisia, a new all-Tunisian labor organization was formed, the [[Tunisian General Labour Union|Union Générale des Travailleurs (UGTT)]].<ref name=":02" /> This was one of the stronger components of the nationalist group [[Neo-Destour]].<ref name=":02" />

Habib Bourguiba made his way to the United States on 13 September 1949.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last=Houssi |first=Leila El |date=2017 |title=The History and Evolution of Independence Movements in Tunisia |journal=Oriente Moderno |volume=97 |issue=1 |pages=67–88 |doi=10.1163/22138617-12340139 |jstor=48572291 |issn=0030-5472}}</ref> He attended the [[American Federation of Labor]] meeting in [[San Francisco]], California.<ref name=":12" /> The French were opposed to his presence there, and the US feared political change in North Africa due to the looming presence of possible [[Soviet Union]] communist expansion.<ref name=":12" />

Bourguiba continued to plead to foreign leaders when he traveled to Italy on 6 November 1951.<ref name=":12" /> His contacts included [[Alberto Mellini Ponce De León]], [[Mario Toscano]], and [[Licinio Vestri]].<ref name=":12" /> De León was an old friend of Bourguiba who had helped free him from German captivity, Toscano was the head of the ''Ufficio Studi e Documentazione'' in the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Italy)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]], and Vestri was an [[Africanist (discipline)|Africanist]] scholar.<ref name=":12" /> Despite his best efforts, the Italians remained neutral as they did not want to ruin relations with [[NATO]] ally France, nor did they want to hamper any possibility of future relations with Tunisia as it served as a key part of the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]].<ref name=":12" />

The French Resident General in Tunisia, {{ill|Jean de Hautecloque|de|Jean de Hauteclocque|fr}} left Tunis to go to Paris on 25 August 1953, when he was replaced by [[Pierre Voizard]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Levy |first=Henry L. |date=1955 |title=TUNISIA |journal=The American Jewish Year Book |volume=56 |pages=435–445 |jstor=23604900 |issn=0065-8987}}</ref> Voizard had previously been the French Minister to [[Monaco]].<ref name=":2" /> A month after his arrival in Tunis on 26 September 1953, Voizard made many changes to ease tensions in Tunisia.<ref name=":2" /> He lifted press censorship and freed several political prisoners.<ref name=":2" /> He also restored the full powers of civil authorities and raised the state of siege in the [[Sahel, Tunisia|Sahel]].<ref name=":2" />

On 26 January 1954, Voizard announced that there would soon be new reforms in favor of granting more sovereignty to Tunisians while insuring the interests of the French and French citizens in Tunisia, at the Cercle Republicain d'outre Mer in Paris.<ref name=":2" /> The Neo-Destour group was not in favor of these reforms if they themselves were not involved in their creation.<ref name=":2" /> They also demanded the freedom of Bourguiba who was imprisoned on the Isle of Galete.<ref name=":2" />

=== Post-independence (1956–2011) ===
{{main|History of modern Tunisia}}
[[File:Habib Bourguiba portrait4.jpg|thumb|[[Habib Bourguiba]] was the first president of Tunisia, from 1957 to 1987.|192x192px]]
Tunisia achieved independence from France on 20 March 1956 with [[Habib Bourguiba]] as Prime Minister.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14107720|title=Tunisia profile|date=2017-11-01|work=BBC News|access-date=2020-04-05|language=en-GB}}</ref> 20 March is celebrated annually as Tunisian Independence Day.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://allafrica.com/view/group/main/main/id/00016135.html|title=Tunisia Celebrates Independence Day|date=20 March 2012|access-date=19 March 2019|website=[[AllAfrica.com]]}}</ref> A year later, Tunisia was declared a republic, with Bourguiba as [[List of Presidents of Tunisia|the first President]].<ref name = BBC>{{cite news | title = Habib Bourguiba: Father of Tunisia | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/obituaries/703907.stm | publisher = BBC | date = 6 April 2000}}</ref> From independence in 1956 until the 2011 revolution, the government and the [[Constitutional Democratic Rally]] (RCD), formerly [[Neo Destour]] and the [[Socialist Destourian Party]], were effectively one. Following a report by [[Amnesty International]], ''[[The Guardian]]'' called Tunisia "one of the most modern but repressive countries in the Arab world".<ref>{{cite news|last=Black |first= Ian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/13/amnesty-criticises-tunisia-human-rights |title=Amnesty International censures Tunisia over human rights |work=The Guardian |date= 13 July 2010|access-date=19 January 2013 |location=London}}</ref> On 12 May 1964, Tunisia nationalized foreign farmlands.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |date=23 May 1964 |title=Tunisia Will Seek Loan From Public |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/115791987|id={{ProQuest|115791987}} }}</ref> Immediately after, France canceled all financial assistance for the country, which was to amount to more than $40 million.<ref name=":1" /> This led to the Tunisian National Assembly passing a bill that required all residents of the country to subscribe to a "popular loan" in proportion to their income.<ref name=":1" /> From 1977 until 2005, Tunisia was a shooting location for five films of the ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' film franchise.

In 1982, Tunisia became the center of the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]], based in the capital Tunis.
[[File:Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.jpg|thumb|[[Zine El Abidine Ben Ali]], president of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011|209x209px]]
In November 1987, doctors declared Bourguiba unfit to rule<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/obituaries/703907.stm|title=Habib Bourguiba: Father of Tunisia|type=obituary|website=BBC News|access-date=20 July 2018}}</ref> and, in a bloodless coup d'état, Prime Minister [[Zine El Abidine Ben Ali]] assumed the presidency<ref name = BBC/> in accordance with Article 57 of the [[Tunisian constitution]].<ref>{{cite news|author=AP |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/07/world/a-coup-is-reported-in-tunisia.html?pagewanted=1 |title=A Coup Is Reported in Tunisia |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=7 November 1987 |access-date=2 May 2010}}</ref> The anniversary of Ben Ali's succession, 7 November, was celebrated as a national holiday. He was consistently re-elected with enormous majorities every five years (well over 80 percent of the vote), the last being 25 October 2009,<ref>{{cite web|last=Vely |first= Yannick |url=http://www.parismatch.com/Actu/International/Ben-Ali-tunisie-election-143751 |title=Ben Ali, sans discussion |publisher=ParisMatch.com |date=23 November 2009 |access-date=2 May 2010}}</ref> until he fled the country amid popular unrest in January 2011.

Ben Ali and his family were accused of corruption<ref name="sandiegounion-tribune.com">{{cite web|last1=Ganley |first1=Elaine |last2=Barchfield |first2=Jenny |url=http://www.sandiegounion-tribune.com/news/2011/jan/17/tunisians-hail-fall-of-ex-leaders-corrupt-family/ |title=Tunisians hail fall of ex-leader's corrupt family |publisher=Sandiegounion-tribune.com |date=17 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716003853/http://www.sandiegounion-tribune.com/news/2011/jan/17/tunisians-hail-fall-of-ex-leaders-corrupt-family/ |archive-date=16 July 2011 }}</ref> and plundering the country's money. Economic liberalisation provided further opportunities for financial mismanagement,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tsourapas|first=Gerasimos|s2cid=154822868|date=2013|title=The Other Side of a Neoliberal Miracle: Economic Reform and Political De-Liberalization in Ben Ali's Tunisia|journal=Mediterranean Politics|volume=18|issue=1|pages=23–41|doi=10.1080/13629395.2012.761475}}</ref> while corrupt members of the Trabelsi family, most notably in the cases of [[Imed Trabelsi]] and [[Belhassen Trabelsi]], controlled much of the business sector in the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radicalparty.org/it/node/5065065 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008174858/http://www.radicalparty.org/it/node/5065065 |archive-date=8 October 2010 |title=Tunisie: comment s'enrichit le clan Ben Ali? |trans-title=Tunisia: how did the Ben Ali clan get rich? |language=fr|publisher=RadicalParty.org |access-date=2 May 2010}}</ref> The First Lady [[Leila Ben Ali]] was described as an "unabashed [[Oniomania|shopaholic]]" who used the state airplane to make frequent unofficial trips to Europe's fashion capitals.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Caught in the Net: Tunisia's First Lady|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2007/12/13/caught_in_the_net_tunisias_first_lady|magazine=Foreign Policy|date=13 December 2007}}</ref> Tunisia refused a French request for the extradition of two of the President's nephews, from Leila's side, who were accused by the French State prosecutor of having stolen two mega-yachts from a French marina.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lci.tf1.fr/france/justice/2009-09/un-trafic-de-yachts-entre-la-france-et-la-tunisie-en-proces-4865862.html|title=Ajaccio – Un trafic de yachts entre la France et la Tunisie en procès|date=30 September 2009|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204309/http://lci.tf1.fr/france/justice/2009-09/un-trafic-de-yachts-entre-la-france-et-la-tunisie-en-proces-4865862.html|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref> According to ''[[Le Monde]]'', Ben Ali's son-in-law was being primed to eventually take over the country.<ref>{{cite web|author=Florence Beaugé |url=http://www.tunisiawatch.com/?p=1141 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110121043720/http://www.tunisiawatch.com/?p=1141 |archive-date=21 January 2011 |title=Le parcours fulgurant de Sakhr El-Materi, gendre du président tunisien Ben Ali |language=fr |trans-title=The meteoric career of Sakhr El-Materi, son-in-law of Tunisian President Ben Ali |work=Le Monde |date=24 October 2009 |access-date=2 May 2010 }}</ref>

Independent human rights groups, such as [[Amnesty International]], [[Freedom House]], and Protection International, documented that basic human and political rights were not respected.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/region/tunisia |title=Tunisia |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=2 May 2010 |archive-date=9 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100509172440/http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/tunisia }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.protectionline.org/Kamel-Jendoubi-Sihem-Bensedrine.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429093617/http://www.protectionline.org/Kamel-Jendoubi-Sihem-Bensedrine.html |archive-date=29 April 2011 |title=Protectionline.org |publisher=Protectionline.org |date=18 January 2010 |access-date=2 May 2010 }}</ref> The regime obstructed in any way possible the work of local human rights organizations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/053/article_27950.asp |title=Droits de l'Homme: après le harcèlement, l'asphyxie |language=fr |trans-title=Human rights: after harassment, asphyxiation |publisher=RFI.fr |date=16 December 2004 |access-date=2 May 2010 |archive-date=5 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130505125306/http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/053/article_27950.asp }}</ref> In 2008, in terms of [[press freedom]], Tunisia was ranked 143rd out of 173.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fr.rsf.org/dans-le-monde-de-l-apres-11-22-10-2008,28879 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110114230027/http://fr.rsf.org/dans-le-monde-de-l-apres-11-22-10-2008,28879 |archive-date=14 January 2011 |title=Dans le monde de l'après-11 septembre, seule la paix protège les libertés |publisher=RSF.org |date=22 October 2008 |access-date=2 May 2010 }}</ref>

=== Post-revolution (since 2011) ===
{{see also|Tunisian Revolution}}
[[File:Tunisia Unrest - VOA - Tunis 14 Jan 2011 (2).jpg|thumb|Tunis on 14 January 2011 during the [[Tunisian Revolution]]|242x242px|left]]
The Tunisian Revolution<ref>{{cite web|author=[[Yasmine Ryan]] |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/01/2011126121815985483.html |title=How Tunisia's revolution began |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date=26 January 2011 |access-date=13 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/01/15/133592.html |title=Wikileaks might have triggered Tunis' revolution |work=Alarabiya |date=15 January 2011|access-date=13 February 2011}}</ref> was an intensive campaign of [[civil resistance]] that was precipitated by high [[unemployment]], [[food inflation]], [[corruption]],<ref>{{Cite news|last=Spencer |first=Richard |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/tunisia/8258077/Tunisia-riots-US-warns-Middle-East-to-reform-or-be-overthrown.html |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171010045358/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/tunisia/8258077/Tunisia-riots-Reform-or-be-overthrown-US-tells-Arab-states-amid-fresh-riots.html |archive-date=10 October 2017 |title=Tunisia riots: Reform or be overthrown, US tells Arab states amid fresh riots |work=The Telegraph|date= 13 January 2011|access-date=14 January 2011 |location=London}}</ref> a lack of [[freedom of speech]] and other [[political freedom]]s<ref>{{cite web|last=Ryan|first=Yasmine |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/01/20111614145839362.html |title=Tunisia's bitter cyberwar |work=Al Jazeera English |access-date=16 January 2011|date=14 January 2011}}</ref> and poor [[living conditions]]. Labour unions were said to be an integral part of the protests.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defenddemocracy.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11792083&Itemid=347 |title=Trade unions: the revolutionary social network at play in Egypt and Tunisia |publisher=Defenddemocracy.org |access-date=11 February 2011}}</ref> The protests inspired the [[Arab Spring]], a wave of similar actions throughout the Arab world. The catalyst for mass demonstrations was the death of [[Mohamed Bouazizi]], a 26-year-old Tunisian street vendor, who set himself afire on 17 December 2010 in protest at the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation inflicted on him by a municipal official named [[Faida Hamdy]]. Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizi's death on 4 January 2011, ultimately leading longtime [[President of Tunisia|President]] [[Zine El Abidine Ben Ali]] to resign and flee the country on 14 January 2011, after 23 years in power.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The power and the people: paths of resistance in the Middle East|first=Charles|last=Tripp|date=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-80965-8|location=New York|oclc=780063882}}</ref>

Protests continued for banning of the ruling party and the eviction of all its members from the transitional government formed by [[Mohamed Ghannouchi|Mohammed Ghannouchi]]. Eventually the new government gave in to the demands. A Tunis court banned the ex-ruling party RCD and confiscated all its resources. A decree by the minister of the interior banned the "political police", special forces which were used to intimidate and persecute political activists.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2011/01/137_80292.html |title=When fleeing Tunisia, don't forget the gold |newspaper=Korea Times |date=25 January 2011 |access-date=19 January 2013}}</ref>

On 3 March 2011, the interim president announced that [[Tunisian Constituent Assembly election, 2011|elections to a Constituent Assembly]] would be held on 24 July 2011.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Interim President Announces Election of National Constituent Assembly on July 24|date=3 March 2011|work=Tunis Afrique Presse|via=ProQuest}}</ref> On 9 June 2011, the prime minister announced the election would be postponed until 23 October 2011.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Tunisian PM Announces October Date for Elections|date=9 June 2011|work=BBC Monitoring Middle East|via=ProQuest}}</ref> International and internal observers declared the vote free and fair. The [[Ennahda Movement]], formerly banned under the Ben Ali regime, came out of the election as the largest party, with 89 seats out of a total of 217.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tunisia Moves to the Next Stage|last1=El Amrani|first1=Issandr|last2=Lindsey|first2=Ursula|work=Middle East Report|publisher=[[Middle East Research and Information Project]]|date=8 November 2011|url=http://merip.org/mero/mero110811|access-date=1 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915101944/https://www.merip.org/mero/mero110811|archive-date=15 September 2018}}</ref> On 12 December 2011, former dissident and veteran human rights activist [[Moncef Marzouki]] was elected president.<ref>{{cite news|last=Zavis|first=Alexandra|title=Former dissident sworn in as Tunisia's president|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/12/tunisia-president-moncef-marzouki.html|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=13 December 2011|date=13 December 2011}}</ref> In March 2012, Ennahda declared it will not support making sharia the main source of legislation in the new constitution, maintaining the secular nature of the state. Ennahda's stance on the issue was criticized by hardline Islamists, who wanted strict sharia, but was welcomed by secular parties.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tunisia's constitution will not be based on Sharia: Islamist party|date=27 March 2012|url=http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/03/27/203529.html|publisher=Al Arabiya|access-date=18 February 2013}}</ref> On 6 February 2013, [[Chokri Belaid]], the leader of the leftist opposition and prominent critic of Ennahda, was assassinated.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid shot dead outside his home|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/la-fg-wn-tunisian-leader-assassinated-20130206,0,4371497.story|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=18 February 2013|first=Jeffrey|last=Fleishman|date=6 February 2013}}</ref> In 2014, President [[Moncef Marzouki]] established Tunisia's [[Truth and Dignity Commission (Tunisia)|Truth and Dignity Commission]], as a key part of creating a national reconciliation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/articles/2014/06/09/tunisia-launches-truth-and-dignity-commission.html|title=Tunisia launches Truth and Dignity Commission|website=UNDP|date=9 June 2014|access-date=22 December 2016|archive-date=1 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401030751/https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/articles/2014/06/09/tunisia-launches-truth-and-dignity-commission.html}}</ref>

Tunisia was hit by two terror attacks on foreign tourists in 2015, [[Bardo National Museum attack|first killing 22 people]] at the [[Bardo National Museum (Tunis)|Bardo National Museum]], and [[2015 Sousse attacks|later killing 38 people]] at the [[Sousse]] beachfront. Tunisian president [[Beji Caid Essebsi]] renewed the state of emergency in October for three more months.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/10/why-is-the-state-of-emergency-renewed-three-times-tunisia.html|title=The real reason Tunisia renewed its state of emergency|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220140248/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/10/why-is-the-state-of-emergency-renewed-three-times-tunisia.html|archive-date=20 December 2016}}</ref> The [[Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet]] won the 2015 [[Nobel Peace Prize]] for its work in building a peaceful, pluralistic political order in Tunisia.<ref>"The Nobel Peace Prize 2015". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 15 December 2016.</ref>

==== Presidency of Kais Saied (2019–present) ====
Tunisia's first democratically elected president [[Beji Caid Essebsi]] died in July 2019.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi dies aged 92 |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20190725-tunisia-president-essebsi-dies-aged-92 |work=France 24 |date=25 July 2019 |language=en}}</ref> Following him, [[Kais Saied]] became Tunisia's president after a landslide victory in the [[2019 Tunisian presidential election]]s in October.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2019-10-14|title=Tunisia election: Kais Saied to become president|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-50032460|access-date=2021-03-26}}</ref> On 23 October 2019, Saied was sworn in as Tunisia's new president.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tunisia's new president sworn in after surprise election win |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20191023-tunisia-s-new-president-sworn-in-after-surprise-election-win |work=France 24 |date=23 October 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

On 25 July 2021, amid ongoing demonstrations concerning government dysfunction and corruption and rises in [[COVID-19]] cases, Kais Saied unilaterally [[2021 Tunisian political crisis|suspended parliament, dismissed the prime minister and withdrew immunity of parliament members]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Yee|first=Vivian|date=2021-07-26|title=Tunisia's Democracy Verges on Dissolution as President Moves to Take Control|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/world/middleeast/tunisia-government-dismissed-protests.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/world/middleeast/tunisia-government-dismissed-protests.html |archive-date=2021-12-28 |url-access=limited|access-date=2021-07-26|issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-07-25|title=Tunisian president sacks PM, suspends parliament after violent protests|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210725-tunisian-president-saied-sacks-prime-minister-mechichi-suspends-parliament|access-date=2021-07-26|website=France 24|language=en}}</ref> In September 2021, Saied said he would appoint a committee to help draft new constitutional amendments.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tunisian president moves to cement one-man rule |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/23/africa/tunisian-president-reforms-political-system-intl/index.html |access-date=24 September 2021 |work=CNN |agency=Reuters |date=23 September 2021}}</ref>{{Efn|The new constitution, which increased presidential powers, was passed in a [[2022 Tunisian constitutional referendum|referendum]] the following year with a turnout of only around 30%, amidst a widespread boycott.}} On 29 September, he named [[Najla Bouden]] as the new prime minister and tasked her with forming a [[Bouden Cabinet|cabinet]], which was sworn in on 11 October.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Amara|first1=Tarek|last2=Mcdowall|first2=Angus|date=2021-09-29|title=Tunisian leader names new PM with little experience at crisis moment|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/tunisian-president-names-romdhane-prime-minister-2021-09-29/|access-date=2021-10-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-10-11|title=New Tunisian government sworn in|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/new-tunisian-government-sworn-in/2388732|access-date=2021-10-13|website=Anadolu Agency|location=Tunis}}</ref> On 3 February 2022, Tunisia was voted to the African Union's (AU) Peace and Security Council for the term 2022–2024, according to the Tunisian Foreign Ministry. The poll took place on the fringes of the AU Executive Council's 40th ordinary session, which was held in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, according to the ministry.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tunisia elected member of African Union security council |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/africa/20220204/6e6021e10aa54258a50dc2edf902b6ad/c.html |access-date=4 February 2022 |publisher=Xinhua |date=4 February 2022}}</ref>

In February 2022, Tunisia and the International Monetary Fund held preliminary negotiations in the hopes of securing a multibillion-dollar bailout for an economy beset by recession, public debt, inflation, and unemployment.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tunisia's talks with the IMF: What's at stake? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/18/tunisias-talks-with-the-imf-whats-at-stake |access-date=20 February 2022 |work=Al Jazeera |agency=AFP |date=18 February 2022}}</ref>

In April 2023, the Tunisian government closed the headquarters of the [[Ennahda]] party and arrested its leader [[Rached Ghannouchi]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-17 |title=Tunisia closes offices of opposition party Ennahdha after arresting leader |url=https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20230417-ennahda-leader-ghannouchi-detained-by-tunisian-police-party-says |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref> In October 2023 [[Abir Moussi]], head of the [[Free Destourian Party|Free Destourian Party (FDL)]], became the latest prominent opponent of president Saied to have been detained or imprisoned.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tunisia arrests opposition figure as crackdown escalates – DW – 10/04/2023 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/tunisia-arrests-opposition-figure-as-crackdown-escalates/a-66994968 |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-10-04 |title=En Tunisie, l'opposante Abir Moussi placée en détention |language=fr |work=Le Monde.fr |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2023/10/04/en-tunisie-l-opposante-abir-moussi-placee-en-detention_6192365_3212.html |access-date=2023-10-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-04 |title=Tunisia detains Abir Moussi, prominent opponent of president |url=https://arab.news/222h9 |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=Arab News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=red |first=ORF at/Agenturen |date=2023-10-04 |title=Tunesien: Erneut Oppositionspolitikerin festgenommen |url=https://orf.at/stories/3333468/ |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=news.ORF.at |language=de}}</ref> The FDL had emerged from the [[Democratic Constitutional Rally|Democratic Constitutional Assembly]].

In September 2023 Saied had asked to postpone a visit by a delegation of the [[European Commission|EU commission]] to discuss migration<ref>{{Cite web |title=EU, Tunisia sign €1 billion deal to fight illegal migration – DW – 07/16/2023 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/eu-tunisia-sign-1-billion-deal-to-fight-illegal-migration/a-66249005 |access-date=2023-09-30 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref> according to [[Ministry of the Interior (Tunisia)|Minister of the Interior]] [[Kamel Feki]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=red |first=ORF at/Agenturen |date=2023-09-30 |title=Tunesien verschiebt Besuch von EU-Delegation zu Migration |url=https://orf.at/stories/3333060/ |access-date=2023-09-30 |website=news.ORF.at |language=de}}</ref> Meanwhile, human rights organisations were criticizing the July migration agreement.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-28 |title=EU Commission Should Stop Ignoring Tunisia's Abuses Against Migrants {{!}} Human Rights Watch |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/09/28/eu-commission-should-stop-ignoring-tunisias-abuses-against-migrants |access-date=2023-09-30 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Migration as a weapon: Is Tunisia blackmailing the EU? – DW – 09/20/2023 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/migration-as-a-weapon-is-tunisia-blackmailing-the-eu/a-66874950 |access-date=2023-09-30 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref> Feki said that Tunisia, which is one of the most important transit countries for people on their way to Europe,<ref name=":4" /> cannot act as a border guard for other countries.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Redazione |date=2023-10-01 |title=La Tunisia: non possiamo proteggere le frontiere di altri paesi |url=https://askanews.it/2023/10/01/la-tunisia-non-possiamo-proteggere-le-frontiere-di-altri-paesi |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=Il Domani d'Italia |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=red |first=ORF at/Agenturen |date=2023-10-01 |title=Tunesien will nicht Grenzen anderer Länder überwachen |url=https://orf.at/stories/3333136/ |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=news.ORF.at |language=de}}</ref> In October 2023 Saied turned down 127 million in EU aid<ref>{{Cite web |last=red |first=ORF at/Agenturen |date=2023-10-03 |title=Tunesien lehnt EU-Finanzhilfe wegen Migrationsabkommens ab |url=https://orf.at/stories/3333324/ |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=news.ORF.at |language=de}}</ref> saying that the amount was small and doesn't square with a deal signed three months ago.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Amara |first=Tarek |date=2023-10-02 |title=Tunisia rejects EU financial aid, casting doubt on an immigration deal |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/tunisia-rejects-eu-financial-aid-casting-doubt-an-immigration-deal-2023-10-02/ |access-date=2023-10-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=AfricaNews |date=2023-10-03 |title=Tunisia: President Kais Saied rejects EU financial aid on immigration |url=https://www.africanews.com/2023/10/03/tunisia-president-kais-saied-rejects-eu-financial-aid-on-immigration-deal/ |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=Africanews |language=en}}</ref> This in turn caused surprise in Brussels.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-05 |title=Tunisia can 'wire back' EU money if it doesn't want it: Commissioner |url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2023/10/05/tunisia-is-free-to-wire-back-eu-money-if-it-doesnt-want-it-says-european-commissioner |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=euronews |language=en}}</ref> In April 2025, Tunisia dismantled dozens of makeshift camps housing African migrants, displacing as many as 7,000 people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tunisian Authorities Raze Refugee Camps That Housed 7,000 |url=https://www.democracynow.org/2025/4/25/headlines/tunisian_authorities_raze_refugee_camps_that_housed_7_000 |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=Democracy Now! |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-10 |title=Tunisia dismantles encampments housing migrants stranded en route to Europe |url=https://apnews.com/article/migrants-tunisia-coast-camps-d92fe18ebf792ae8ff8dacd6256a05c2 |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref>

On 6 October 2024, President Kais Saied won a second term with more than 90% of the vote in a [[2024 Tunisian presidential election|presidential election]] with a 28.8% turnout. Five political parties had urged people to boycott the elections.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tunisia election: Kais Saied secures second term with 91% of votes |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx25ree1g18o |work=www.bbc.com}}</ref>

== Geography ==
{{main|Geography of Tunisia}}
[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map TUN present.svg|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Köppen climate classification]] in Tunisia. The climate is Mediterranean towards the coast in the north, while most of the country is desert.]]

Tunisia is situated on the [[Mediterranean]] coast of Northwest Africa, midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the [[Nile Delta]]. It is bordered by [[Algeria]] on the west (965&nbsp;km) and southwest and [[Libya]] on the south east (459&nbsp;km).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2002 |title=Présentation générale du pays |url=https://scid.tn/fr/profil-environnemental/presentation-generale-du-pays.html |access-date=6 November 2022}}</ref> It lies between latitudes [[30th parallel north|30°]] and [[38th parallel north|38°N]], and longitudes [[7th meridian east|7°]] and [[12th meridian east|12°E]]. An abrupt southward turn of the Mediterranean coast in northern Tunisia gives the country two distinctive Mediterranean coasts, west–east in the north, and north–south in the east.

Though it is relatively small in size, Tunisia has great environmental diversity due to its north–south extent. Its east–west extent is limited. Differences in Tunisia, like the rest of the Maghreb, are largely north–south environmental differences defined by sharply decreasing rainfall southward from any point. The Dorsal, the eastern extension of the Atlas Mountains, runs across Tunisia in a northeasterly direction from the Algerian border in the west to the Cape Bon peninsula in the east. North of the Dorsal is the Tell, a region characterized by low, rolling hills and plains, again an extension of mountains to the west in Algeria. In the [[Khroumire|Khroumerie]], the northwestern corner of the Tunisian Tell, elevations reach {{convert|1050|m|ft}} and snow occurs in winter.

The [[Sahel, Tunisia|Sahel]], a broadening coastal plain along Tunisia's eastern Mediterranean coast, is among the world's premier areas of olive cultivation. Inland from the Sahel, between the Dorsal and a range of hills south of Gafsa, are the [[Steppes]]. Much of the southern region is [[semi-arid]] and [[desert]].

Tunisia has a coastline {{convert|1148|km|mi|}} long. In maritime terms, the country claims a contiguous zone of {{convert|24|nmi|km|0|abbr=off}}, and a territorial sea of {{convert|12|nmi|km|0|abbr=off}}.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ewan W.|first=Anderson|title=International Boundaries: Geopolitical Atlas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E7-menNPxREC&pg=PA816|year=2003|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-1-57958-375-0|page=816}}</ref> The city of Tunis is built on a hill slope down to the lake of Tunis. These hills contain places such as Notre-Dame de Tunis, Ras Tabia, La Rabta, La Kasbah, Montfleury and La Manoubia with altitudes just above 50 metres (160 feet). The city is located at the crossroads of a narrow strip of land between Lake Tunis and Séjoumi.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Visit Tunis, Tunisia|url=https://visitafrica.site/tunis.html|access-date=2021-04-13|website=visitafrica.site|language=en-GB|archive-date=18 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418193746/https://visitafrica.site/tunis.html}}</ref>

[[File:Water_Stress,_Top_Countries_(2020).svg|thumb|Tunisia is the eighteenth most water stressed country in the world.]]
[[Climate in Tunisia|Tunisia's climate]] is [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean]] in the north, with mild rainy winters and hot, dry summers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/country_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT000720 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209110533/http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/country_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT000720 |archive-date= 9 February 2011 |title=Climate of Tunisia |publisher=BBC |access-date=2 May 2010 }}</ref> The south of the country is desert. The terrain in the north is mountainous, which, moving south, gives way to a hot, dry central [[plain]]. The south is [[semiarid]], and merges into the [[Sahara]]. A series of [[Tunisian salt lakes|salt lakes]], known as ''chotts'' or ''shatts'', lie in an east–west line at the northern edge of the Sahara, extending from the [[Gulf of Gabes]] into [[Algeria]]. The lowest point is [[Chott el Djerid]] at {{convert|17|m|ft}} below sea level and the highest is [[Jebel ech Chambi]] at {{convert|1544|m|ft}}.<ref>{{cite book|last=Aldosari |first= Ali |title=Middle East, western Asia, and northern Africa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j894miuOqc4C&pg=PA1270 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=978-0-7614-7571-2|year=2006 |pages=1270–}}</ref>

Tunisia is home to five terrestrial ecoregions: [[Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests]], [[Saharan halophytics]], [[Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe]], [[Mediterranean woodlands and forests]], and [[North Saharan steppe and woodlands]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|display-authors=1|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287|doi-access=free}}</ref>

== Government and politics ==
{{main|Politics of Tunisia}}
[[File:Kais Saied 2023.jpg|left|thumb|upright|[[Kais Saied]], [[President of Tunisia|President]] since 2019]]
Tunisia is a [[presidential system|presidential republic]] with a [[President of Tunisia|president]] serving as [[head of state]], a [[Prime Minister of the Republic of Tunisia|prime minister]] as [[head of government]], a [[bicameralism|bicameral]] [[parliament of Tunisia|parliament]], and a [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law court system]]. The [[Constitution of Tunisia]], adopted 26 January 2014, guarantees rights for women and states that the President's religion "shall be Islam". In October 2014 Tunisia held its first elections under the new constitution following the Arab Spring.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29771109 |title=Tunisia holds first election under new constitution |date= 26 October 2014 |access-date=26 October 2014|work=BBC News }}</ref> Tunisia was the only [[Democracy in Africa|democracy in North Africa]] until 2021. After a [[democratic backsliding]], the country now classifies as "hybrid regime" in the [[Democracy Index|Democracy Index (The Economist)]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://infographics.economist.com/2019/DemocracyIndex/|title=EIU Democracy Index 2019|website=infographics.economist.com}}</ref> Between 2020 and 2022 the [[V-Dem Democracy indices]] score for electoral democracy dropped from 0.727 to 0.307.<ref name="vdem_dataset">Coppedge, Michael, John Gerring, Carl Henrik Knutsen, Staffan I. Lindberg, Jan Teorell, Nazifa Alizada, David Altman, Michael Bernhard, Agnes Cornell, M. Steven Fish, Lisa Gastaldi, Haakon Gjerløw, Adam Glynn, Allen Hicken, Garry Hindle, Nina Ilchenko, Joshua Krusell, Anna Lührmann, Seraphine F. Maerz, Kyle L. Marquardt, Kelly McMann, Valeriya Mechkova, Juraj Medzihorsky, Pamela Paxton, Daniel Pemstein, Josefine Pernes, Johannes von Römer, Brigitte Seim, Rachel Sigman, Svend-Erik Skaaning, Jeffrey Staton, Aksel Sundström, Eitan Tzelgov, Yi-ting Wang, Tore Wig, Steven Wilson and Daniel Ziblatt. 2021. "V-Dem [Country–Year/Country–Date] Dataset v11.1" Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project. https://doi.org/10.23696/vdemds21.</ref> After the [[2022 Tunisian constitutional referendum|2022 constitutional referendum]], Tunisia became a [[Unitary state|unitary]] [[presidential republic|presidential]] [[republic]].

The number of legalized [[political parties in Tunisia]] has grown considerably since the revolution. There are now over 100 legal parties, including several that existed under the former regime. During the rule of Ben Ali, only three functioned as independent opposition parties: the [[Progressive Democratic Party (Tunisia)|PDP]], [[Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties|FDTL]], and [[Ettajdid Movement|Tajdid]]. While some older parties are well-established and can draw on previous party structures, many of the 100-plus parties extant as of February 2012 are small.<ref name=cnsd>{{citation-attribution|1={{cite web|title=Tunisia (03/09/12)|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/tunisia/196390.htm|publisher=US Department of State|date=9 March 2012}} }}</ref>

Rare for the Arab world, women held more than 20% of seats in the country's pre-revolution bicameral parliament.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ipu.org/parline/reports/2321_E.htm |title=TUNISIA. Majlis Al-Nuwab (Chamber of Deputies) |publisher=Inter-Parliamentary Union |access-date=19 January 2013}}</ref> In the 2011 constituent assembly, women held between 24% and 31% of all seats.<ref>{{cite news |title=49 femmes élues à l'assemblée constituante: 24% des 217 sièges |url=http://www.leaders.com.tn/article/49-femmes-elues-a-l-assemblee-constituante-24-des-217-sieges |newspaper=Leaders |date=28 October 2011 |access-date=27 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ben Hamadi |first=Monia |date=29 April 2014 |title=Tunisie: Selma Znaidi, une femme de plus à l'Assemblée |url=http://www.huffpostmaghreb.com/2014/04/29/tunisie-femme-assemblee_n_5233556.html |newspaper=Al Huffington Post |access-date=27 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028103854/http://www.huffpostmaghreb.com/2014/04/29/tunisie-femme-assemblee_n_5233556.html |archive-date=28 October 2014 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> Tunisia is included in the European Union's [[European Neighbourhood Policy]] (ENP), which aims at bringing the [[European Union|EU]] and its neighbours closer. On 23 November 2014, Tunisia held its first presidential election following the Arab Spring in 2011.<ref>{{cite news |date=23 November 2014 |title=Tunisia holds first post-revolution presidential poll |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30165471 |newspaper=BBC News |access-date=23 November 2014 }}</ref> The Tunisian legal system is heavily influenced by [[French civil law]], while the law of personal status is based on Islamic law.<ref name="ri-law">{{cite web|title=Tunisia|url=http://www.reunite.org/edit/files/Islamic%20Resource/Tunisia%20Text.pdf|publisher=Reunite International|access-date=18 February 2013|archive-date=29 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429215144/http://www.reunite.org/edit/files/Islamic%20Resource/Tunisia%20Text.pdf}}</ref> [[Sharia]] courts were abolished in 1956.<ref name="ri-law" />

A [[Code of Personal Status (Tunisia)|Code of Personal Status]] was adopted shortly after independence in 1956, which, among other things, gave women full legal status (allowing them to run and own businesses, have bank accounts, and seek passports under their own authority). The code outlawed the practices of polygamy and repudiation and a husband's right to unilaterally divorce his wife.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5439.htm |title=State Department page on Tunisia |publisher=US Department of State |date=19 March 2009 |access-date=2 May 2010}}</ref> Further reforms in 1993 included a provision to allow Tunisian women to transmit citizenship even if they are married to a foreigner and living abroad.<ref>{{cite book|title=Major Trends Affecting Families: A Background Document|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hZEip6FAiWYC&pg=PA190|access-date=10 February 2013|year=2003|publisher=United Nations Publications|isbn=978-92-1-130252-3|page=190}}</ref> The Law of Personal Status is applied to all Tunisians regardless of their religion.<ref name="ri-law" /> The Code of Personal Status remains one of the most progressive civil codes in North Africa and the Muslim world.<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Tamanna | first = Nowrin | s2cid = 144717130 | title = Personal status laws in Morocco and Tunisia: a comparative exploration of the possibilities for equality-enhancing reform in Bangladesh | journal = [[Feminist Legal Studies]] | volume = 16 | issue = 3 | pages = 323–343| doi = 10.1007/s10691-008-9099-9 | date = December 2008}}</ref> On 25 May 2022, President Kais Saied issued a decree for change of constitution by 25 July.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Amara |first=Tarek |date=2022-05-25 |title=Tunisian president decrees a referendum for new constitution |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/tunisian-president-decrees-referendum-new-constitution-2022-05-25/ |access-date=2022-05-26}}</ref> The [[2022 Tunisian constitutional referendum|referendum]] was held that day to a low turnout of 30% of voters, the overwhelming majority of whom accepted the new constitution, strengthening significantly the presidential powers.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tunisia referendum: Voters give president near unchecked power |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-62314305 |work=BBC News |date=27 July 2022}}</ref> Maghreb countries have toughened their tone towards Europe recently.<ref>{{Cite web |title=EU-Maghreb ties: Reversing the old power asymmetry – DW – 10/07/2023 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/eu-maghreb-relations-reversing-the-old-power-asymmetry/a-67021970 |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Foreign relations ===
{{main|Foreign relations of Tunisia}}
Tunisia maintains diplomatic relations with over 160+ countries. Former President [[Zine El Abidine Ben Ali]] has maintained its long-time policy of seeking good relations with the West, while playing an active role in [[Arab]] and [[Africa]]n regional bodies. President [[Habib Bourguiba]] took a nonaligned stance but emphasized close relations with the European Union, [[Pakistan]], and the [[United States]].

=== Military ===
{{main|Tunisian Armed Forces}}
[[File:DM-SD-01-05601.jpg|thumb|Tunisian military force]]
{{As of|2008}}, Tunisia had an army of 27,000 personnel equipped with 84 main battle tanks and 48 light tanks. The navy had 4,800 personnel operating 25 patrol boats and 6 other craft. The [[Tunisian Air Force]] has 154 aircraft and 4 UAVs. Paramilitary forces consisted of a 12,000-member national guard.<ref>{{cite book|author=International Institute for Strategic Studies|title=The Military Balance 2008|date=February 2008|publisher=Taylor & Francis Group|isbn=978-1-85743-461-3}}</ref> Tunisia's military spending was 1.6% of GDP {{As of|2006|lc=y}}. The army is responsible for national defence and also internal security. Tunisia has participated in peacekeeping efforts in the DROC and Ethiopia/Eritrea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Tunisia-ARMED-FORCES.html |title=Tunisia – Armed forces |publisher=Nationsencyclopedia.com |date=18 January 2011 |access-date=8 January 2013}}</ref> [[United Nations]] peacekeeping deployments for the Tunisian armed forces have been in Cambodia ([[UNTAC]]), Namibia ([[UNTAG]]), Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, Western Sahara ([[MINURSO]]) and the 1960s mission in the Congo, [[ONUC]].

The military has historically played a professional, apolitical role in defending the country from external threats. Since January 2011 and at the direction of the executive branch, the military has taken on increasing responsibility for domestic security and humanitarian crisis response.<ref name=cnsd/>

Tunisia is the 73rd most peaceful country in the world, according to the 2024 [[Global Peace Index]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2024 Global Peace Index |url=https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf}}</ref>

=== Administrative divisions ===
{{main|Subdivisions of Tunisia|Governorates of Tunisia|Delegations of Tunisia}}
{{Labelled map of Tunisia|float=right}}
Tunisia is subdivided into 24 [[governorate]]s (''Wilaya''), which are further divided into 264 "[[Delegations of Tunisia|delegations]]" or "[[district]]s" (''mutamadiyat''), and further subdivided into [[municipality|municipalities]] (''baladiyats'')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statoids.org/en/tn/admin-levels/l1/map/tunisia/governates |title=Tunisia Governorates |publisher=Statoids.com |access-date=2 May 2010}}</ref> and sectors (''imadats'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tunisieindustrie.nat.tn/fr/doc.asp?mcat=12&mrub=105&msrub=204&dev=true |title=Portail de l'industrie Tunisienne |language=fr |publisher=Tunisieindustrie.nat.tn |access-date=19 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106172919/http://www.tunisieindustrie.nat.tn/Fr/doc.asp?mcat=12&mrub=105&msrub=204&dev=true |archive-date= 6 January 2013 }}</ref>
{{clear}}

== Economy ==
{{main|Economy of Tunisia}}
[[File:GDP_per_capita_development_of_Tunisia.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|GDP per capita development of Tunisia]]
Ranked the most competitive economy in Africa by the [[World Economic Forum]] in 2009,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weforum.org/pdf/GCR09/GCR20092010fullrankings.pdf |title=The Global Competitiveness Index 2009–2010 rankings |access-date=16 September 2009 |work=weforum.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101030003958/http://www.weforum.org/pdf/GCR09/GCR20092010fullrankings.pdf |archive-date=30 October 2010 }}</ref> Tunisia is an export-oriented country in the process of liberalizing and privatizing an economy that, while averaging 5% GDP growth since the early 1990s, has suffered from corruption benefiting politically connected elites.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gtz.de/en/weltweit/maghreb-naher-osten/681.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511202245/http://www.gtz.de/en/weltweit/maghreb-naher-osten/681.htm |archive-date=11 May 2011 |title=GTZ in Tunisia |work=gtz.de |publisher=GTZ |access-date=20 October 2010 }}</ref> Tunisia's Penal Code criminalises several forms of corruption, including active and passive bribery, abuse of office, extortion and conflicts of interest, but the anti-corruption framework is not effectively enforced.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tunisia Corruption Profile|url=http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/middle-east-north-africa/tunisia/show-all.aspx|website=Business Anti-Corruption Portal|access-date=14 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714162225/http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/middle-east-north-africa/tunisia/show-all.aspx|archive-date=14 July 2015}}</ref> However, according to the [[Corruption Perceptions Index]] published annually by [[Transparency International]], Tunisia was ranked the least corrupt North African country in 2016, with a score of 41. Tunisia has a diverse economy, ranging from agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and petroleum products, to [[Tourism in Tunisia|tourism]], which accounted for 7% of the total GDP and 370,000 jobs in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mobile.france24.com/en/20110111-tunisia-protests-tourism-trouble-paradise-unmasked-tunisian-economic-miracle |title=Trouble in paradise: How one vendor unmasked the 'economic miracle' |publisher=France24 |date= 11 January 2011|access-date=28 October 2011}}</ref> In 2008 it had an economy of US$41 billion in nominal terms, and $82 billion in [[purchasing power parity|PPP]].<ref name=CIA>{{cite web |title=Tunisia|date=19 October 2021 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/tunisia/ |publisher=CIA World Factbook }}</ref>

The agricultural sector accounts for 11.6% of the GDP, industry 25.7%, and services 62.8%. The industrial sector is mainly made up of clothing and footwear manufacturing, production of car parts, and electric machinery. Although Tunisia managed an average 5% growth over the last decade, it continues to suffer from a high unemployment rate, especially among youth.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Haouas|first1=Ilham|last2=Sayre|first2=Edward|last3=Yagoubi|first3=Mahmoud|url=https://meea.sites.luc.edu/volume14/PDFS/Youth_employment_in_Tunisia.pdf|title=Youth Unemployment in Tunisia: Characteristics and Policy Responses|journal=Topics in Middle Eastern and African Economies|volume=14|date=September 2012|access-date=10 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|url=https://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/MNA/tunisia/breaking_the_barriers_to_youth_inclusion_eng_chap3.pdf|title=Tunisia: Breaking the Barriers to Youth Inclusion |chapter=Youth Inactivity and Unemployment|publisher=[[World Bank]]|date=1 November 2014|access-date=10 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Arous|first=Mohamed|url=https://www.usip.org/blog/2022/09/support-youth-tunisia-needs-new-approach-development|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220915104450/https://www.usip.org/blog/2022/09/support-youth-tunisia-needs-new-approach-development|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 September 2022|title=To Support Youth, Tunisia Needs a New Approach to Development|publisher=[[United States Institute of Peace]]|date=14 September 2022|access-date=10 January 2024}}</ref>

The European Union remains Tunisia's first trading partner, currently accounting for 72.5% of Tunisian imports and 75% of Tunisian exports. Tunisia is one of the European Union's most established trading partners in the [[Mediterranean region]] and ranks as the EU's 30th largest trading partner. Tunisia was the first Mediterranean country to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union, in July 1995, although even before the date of entry came into force, Tunisia started dismantling tariffs on bilateral EU trade. Tunisia finalised the tariffs dismantling for industrial products in 2008 and therefore was the first non-EU Mediterranean country to enter in a free trade area with the EU.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/trade/issues/bilateral/countries/tunisia/index_en.htm|access-date=16 September 2009 |title=Bilateral relations Tunisia EU |work=europa.eu}}</ref>

The consequences of the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] for the global [[food supply]] are being felt particularly strongly in Tunisia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-11 |title=Tunesien: Was Saïed mit der rassistischen Gewalt zu tun hat |url=https://www.zdf.de/uri/cb376837-8d43-4d52-b3ea-c25a5bd6d183 |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=www.zdf.de |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the Tunisian food system - Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung |url=https://rosaluxna.org/publications/the-impact-of-the-russian-ukrainian-war-on-the-tunisian-food-system/ |access-date=2023-10-02 |language=en-US}}</ref>

In June 2023 the [[World Bank Group]] lent Tunisia $268.4 million to finance [[ELMED interconnector|ELMED]], an electrical interconnection project with [[Italy]] to import electricity generated from [[Energy transition|renewable energy sources]] to [[Sicily]] and the EU via a 600 [[MegaWatt|Megawatt]] [[undersea cable]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-06-22 |title=World Bank lends Tunisia $268 million for power line with Italy |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/world-bank-lends-tunisia-268-mln-power-line-with-italy-2023-06-22/ |access-date=2023-10-01}}</ref>

Tunisia was ranked 81st in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2024.<ref>{{Cite book |author=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]] |year=2024 |title=Global Innovation Index 2024: Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/en/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=www.wipo.int |page=18 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.50062 |isbn=978-92-805-3681-2}}</ref>

=== Tourism ===
{{main|Tourism in Tunisia}}
[[File:Tunezja, Sidi Bou Said - panoramio (10).jpg|thumb|upright|Sidi Bou Said]]
Among Tunisia's tourist attractions are its cosmopolitan capital city of [[Tunis]], the ancient ruins of [[Carthage]], the Muslim and Jewish quarters of [[Djerba]], coastal resorts outside of [[Monastir, Tunisia|Monastir]], and the night life-driven city of [[Hammamet, Tunisia|Hammamet]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=HAMMAMET |url=https://www.tunisiatourism.info/en/destination/hammamet |access-date=2022-08-25 |website=TunisiaTourism.info |language=fr}}</ref> According to ''The New York Times'', Tunisia is "known for its golden beaches, sunny weather and affordable luxuries".<ref>{{cite news |title=A Night, and Day, In Tunisia at a New Resort |last=Glusac |first=Elaine |newspaper=The New York Times |date=22 November 2009 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0DE4D81538F931A15752C1A96F9C8B63}}</ref>

=== Energy ===
{{Main|Energy in Tunisia}}{{Pie chart
|thumb   = right
|caption = '''Sources of electricity production in Tunisia'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.steg.com.tn/journee_sidi_salem/maitrise_energie.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716055823/http://www.steg.com.tn/journee_sidi_salem/maitrise_energie.pdf |archive-date=16 July 2011 |title=Effort national de maitrise de l'energie: contribution de la steg |access-date=12 November 2009 |last=Arfa |first= M. Othman Ben |work=steg.com.tn }}</ref>
|other   =
|label1  = Thermal steam
|value1  = 44
|color1  = #DD1100
|label2  = Combined cycle
|value2  = 43
|color2  = #0088DD
|label3  = Gas turbine
|value3  = 11
|color3  = #115500
|label4  = Wind, hydroelectric, solar
|value4  = 2
|color4  = #FFFF00
}}
Tunisia's current power production capacity is estimated at 5,944 [[Mega watt|MW]] installed in 25 power plants as of 2024. Tunisia produced 19,520 [[Gigawatt-hour|GWh]] in 2022. State owned power utility company [[Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas|STEG]] (Société Tunisienne d'Electricité et de Gas) controls 92.1% of the country's installed power production capacity and produces 83.5% of the electricity.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-15 |title=Tunisia - Electrical Power Systems and Renewable Energy |url=https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/tunisia-electrical-power-systems-and-renewable-energy#:~:text=Tunisia%20has%20a%20current%20power,produces%2083.5%25%20of%20the%20electricity. |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=International Trade Administration |language=en}}</ref>

Oil production of Tunisia is about {{convert|97600|oilbbl/d}}. The main field is El Bourma.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mbendi.com/indy/oilg/af/tu/p0005.htm|title=Oil and Gas in Tunisia|access-date=9 October 2009|work=mbendi.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060513163641/http://www.mbendi.com/indy/oilg/af/tu/p0005.htm|archive-date=13 May 2006}}</ref>

Oil production began in 1966 in Tunisia. Currently there are 12 oil fields.<ref name="MBendi economical information">{{cite web|url=http://www.mbendi.com/indy/oilg/af/tu/p0005.htm|title=MBendi oilfields in Tunisia|access-date=31 October 2009|work=mbendi.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060513163641/http://www.mbendi.com/indy/oilg/af/tu/p0005.htm|archive-date=13 May 2006}}</ref>

Tunisia had [[Energy in Tunisia|plans for two nuclear power stations]], to be operational by 2020. Both facilities are projected to produce 900–1000 [[Watt#Megawatt|MW]]. France is set to become an important partner in Tunisia's nuclear power plans, having signed an agreement, along with other partners, to deliver training and technology.<ref name=Reuters>{{cite news |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLN941296|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101182904/http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLN941296|archive-date=1 January 2016|title= Tunisias nuclear plans|work=Reuters| date=23 April 2009}}</ref><ref name="African manager">{{cite web|url=http://www.africanmanager.com/site_eng/detail_article.php?art_id=12263|title=Tunisia: A civil nuclear station of 1000 Megawatt and two sites are selected|access-date=4 November 2009|work=africanmanager.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514052549/http://www.africanmanager.com/site_eng/detail_article.php?art_id=12263|archive-date=14 May 2011}}</ref> {{As of|2015}}, Tunisia has abandoned these plans. Instead, Tunisia is considering other options to diversify its energy mix, such as renewable energies, coal, shale gas, liquified natural gas and constructing a submarine power interconnection with Italy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tunisieindustrie.gov.tn/debat-national-energie/debat-energie.html |title=Débat national sur l'Énergie |access-date=15 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915080856/http://www.tunisieindustrie.gov.tn/debat-national-energie/debat-energie.html |archive-date=15 September 2015 }}</ref>

According to the Tunisian Solar Plan (which is Tunisia's Renewable Energy Strategy not limited to solar, contrary to what its title may suggest), proposed by the [http://www.anme.nat.tn/index.php?id=3 National Agency for Energy Conservation] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151021061924/http://www.anme.nat.tn/index.php?id=3 |date=21 October 2015 }}), Tunisia's objective is to reach a share of 30% of renewable energies in the electricity mix by 2030, most of which should be accounted for by wind power and photovoltaics.<ref>[http://www.anme.nat.tn/fileadmin/user1/doc/DEP/Rapport_final__PST.pdf Nouvelle version du plan solaire tunisien] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504032751/http://www.anme.nat.tn/index.php?id=3 |date=4 May 2018 }}. anme.nat.tn (April 2012)</ref> {{As of|2015}}, Tunisia had a total renewable capacity of 312 MW (245 MW wind, 62 MW hydropower, 15 MW photovoltaics.)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://energypedia.info/wiki/Tunisia_Energy_Situation|title=Tunisia Energy Situation - energypedia|website=energypedia.info}}</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20190808035301/http://www.oitsfax.org/files/AApresentationHDR20140323.pdf Production de l'électricité en Tunisie]}}. oitsfax.org</ref>

=== Transport ===
{{main|Transport in Tunisia}}
The country maintains {{convert|19232|km|mi}} of roads,<ref name=CIA/> with three highways: the [[A1 motorway (Tunisia)|A1]] from Tunis to Sfax (works ongoing for Sfax-Libya), [[A3 motorway (Tunisia)|A3]] Tunis-Beja (works ongoing Beja – Boussalem, studies ongoing Boussalem – Algeria) and [[A4 motorway (Tunisia)|A4]] Tunis – Bizerte. There are 29 airports in Tunisia, with [[Tunis Carthage International Airport]] and [[Djerba–Zarzis International Airport]] being the most important ones. A new airport, [[Enfidha – Hammamet International Airport]] opened in 2011. The airport is located north of Sousse at Enfidha and is to mainly serve the resorts of Hamammet and Port El Kantaoui, together with inland cities such as Kairouan. Five airlines are headquartered in Tunisia: [[Tunisair]], [[Syphax Airlines]], [[Karthago Airlines]], [[Nouvelair]], and [[Tunisair Express]]. The railway network is operated by [[SNCFT]] and amounts to {{convert|2135|km|mi}} in total.<ref name=CIA/> The Tunis area is served by a [[Light rail]] network named ''Metro Leger'' which is managed by Transtu.

=== Water supply and sanitation ===
{{Main|Water supply and sanitation in Tunisia}}
Tunisia has achieved the highest access rates to water supply and sanitation
services in the Middle East and North Africa. {{As of|2011}}, access to
safe drinking water became close to universal approaching 100% in urban
areas and 90% in rural areas.<ref name="JMP">{{cite web|last = World Health Organization|author-link = World Health Organization|author2 = UNICEF|title = Joint Monitoring Programme for Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation|url = http://www.wssinfo.org|access-date = 27 December 2012|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080216075751/http://www.wssinfo.org/|archive-date = 16 February 2008}}</ref> Tunisia provides good quality drinking water throughout the year.<ref name="PSP">{{in lang|fr}} Ministère du Developpement et de la Cooperation Internationale, Banque Mondiale et Programme "Participation Privee dans les infrastructures mediterreeanees" (PPMI): [http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&theSitePK=523679&entityID=000012009_20041201140320&searchMenuPK=64187283&theSitePK=523679 "Étude sur la participation privée dans les infrastructures en Tunisie"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305195148/http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&theSitePK=523679&entityID=000012009_20041201140320&searchMenuPK=64187283&theSitePK=523679 |date=5 March 2012 }}, Volume III, 2004, accessed on 21 March 2010</ref>

Responsibility for the water supply systems in urban areas and large rural centers is assigned to the ''Sociéte Nationale d'Exploitation et de Distribution des Eaux'' (SONEDE), a national water supply authority that is an autonomous public entity under the Ministry of Agriculture. Planning, design, and supervision of small and medium water supplies in the remaining rural areas are the responsibility of the ''Direction Générale du Génie Rurale'' (DGGR).

In 1974, ONAS was established to manage the sanitation sector. Since 1993, ONAS has had the status of a main operator for the protection of the water environment and combating pollution. The rate of non-revenue water is the lowest in the region at 21% in 2012.<ref name="SONEDE Chiffres">{{cite web|title = Chiffres clés|url = http://www.sonede.com.tn/index.php?id=43|publisher = SONEDE|access-date = 27 December 2013|archive-date = 2 December 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131202193502/http://www.sonede.com.tn/index.php?id=43}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Tunisians|Demographics of Tunisia}}
{{Largest cities of Tunisia}}
[[File:Bevölkerungspyramide Tunesien 2016.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Population pyramid]]
[[File:Arabs leaving mosque, Tunis, Tunisia-LCCN2001699400.jpg|thumb|Arabs leaving mosque in Tunis c. 1899]]
[[File:World Book Day in Tunisia 2012.jpg|thumb|upright|Tunisian students]]
According to the CIA, as of 2021, Tunisia has a population of 11,811,335 inhabitants.<ref name=CIA/> The government has supported a successful [[family planning]] program that has reduced the population growth rate to just over 1% per annum, contributing to Tunisia's economic and social stability.<ref name=cnsd/>

=== Ethnic groups ===
According to the [[CIA]] [[The World Factbook|World Factbook]], [[ethnic groups]] in Tunisia are: Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1%.<ref name=CIA/>

According to the 1956 Tunisian census, Tunisia had a population at the time of 3,783,000 residents, 95% consisting of [[Arabs]] and [[Berbers]], 256,000 Europeans and 105,000 Jews. Speakers of [[Berber languages|Berber dialects]] were 2% of the population.<ref>{{cite book|title=Owen's Commerce & Travel and International Register|date=1964|publisher=Owen's Commerce & Travel Limited|page=273|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EkYjAQAAMAAJ|access-date=7 January 2018}}</ref> According to another source, the population of Arabs is estimated to be 98%,<ref name=CIA/><ref>{{cite journal |pmid=19414164 |year=2009 |last1=Turchi |first1=C. |last2=Buscemi |first2=L |last3=Giacchino |first3=E. |last4=Onofri |first4=V. |last5=Fendt |first5=L |last6=Parson |first6=W. |last7=Tagliabracci |first7=A. |title=Polymorphisms of mtDNA control region in Tunisian and Moroccan populations: An enrichment of forensic mtDNA databases with Northern Africa data|volume=3|issue=3|pages=166–172|doi=10.1016/j.fsigen.2009.01.014 |journal=Forensic Science International: Genetics}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lapresse.tn/24032011/593/le-tunisien-une-dimension-mediterraneenne-quatteste-la-genetique.html |title=Le Tunisien: une dimension méditerranéenne qu'atteste la génétique |publisher=Lapresse.tn |language=fr |date=28 January 2010 |last=Bouhadib |first=M. A. |access-date=19 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722114506/http://www.lapresse.tn/24032011/593/le-tunisien-une-dimension-mediterraneenne-quatteste-la-genetique.html |archive-date=22 July 2012 }}</ref> and that of Berbers at 1%.<ref name="Popber1p">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3509799.stm |title=Q&A: The Berbers |work=BBC News |date=12 March 2004 |access-date=19 January 2013}}</ref>

Black Tunisians make up 10–15% of the population<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018|title=Tunisia 'needs a cultural revolution' to combat racism|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/10/15/tunisia-needs-a-cultural-revolution-to-combat-racism|website=[[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-11-07|title=What's in a name? How the legacy of slavery endures in Tunisia|url=http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/nov/07/whats-in-a-name-how-the-legacy-of-slavery-endures-in-tunisia|access-date=2021-10-29|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref> and are mostly descended from [[sub-Saharan Africa]]ns brought to Tunisia as part of the [[Slavery in Tunisia|slave trade]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-10-19 |title=Tunisia court rules that 81-year-old can drop slave name |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tunisia-rights-race-trfn-idUSKBN2741GY |access-date=2021-10-29}}</ref>

Amazighs are generally concentrated in the [[Jebel Dahar|Dahar mountains]] and on the island of [[Djerba]] in the southeast, and in the [[Khroumire]] mountainous region in the north-west. An important number of genetic and other historical studies point to the predominance of the Amazighs in Tunisia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iwgia.org/en/tunesia/1016-indigenous-peoples-in-tunisia|title=Indigenous Peoples in Tunisia|website=www.iwgia.org|access-date=25 February 2019}}</ref>

An [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] influence has been particularly significant in forming the [[Turks in Tunisia|Turco-Tunisian]] community. Other peoples have also migrated to Tunisia during different time periods, including West Africans, [[Greeks]], [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], [[Vandals]], [[Phoenicians]] ([[Punic]]s), [[Jews]], and French and Italian settlers.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Tunisia/Land#toc46604|title=Tunisia – Land {{!}} history – geography|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=7 July 2017}}</ref> By 1870, the distinction between the Arabic-speaking population and the Turkish elite had blurred.<ref>{{citation|last=Green|first=Arnold H.|year=1978|title=The Tunisian Ulama 1873–1915: Social Structure and Response to Ideological Currents|publisher=Brill|page=69|isbn=978-90-04-05687-9}}</ref>

From the late 19th century to the period after World War II, Tunisia was home to large populations of [[French people|French]] and [[Italian Tunisians|Italians]] (255,000 [[European Tunisians|Europeans]] in 1956),<ref>{{cite book |first=Angus |last=Maddison |title=Contours of the World Economy 1–2030 AD: Essays in Macro-Economic History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EeWy7a6nAHcC&pg=PA214 |access-date=26 January 2013 |date=2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-922721-1|page=214}}</ref> although nearly all of them, along with the Jewish population, left after Tunisia became independent. The [[history of the Jews in Tunisia]] goes back some 2,000 years. In 1948, the Jewish population was estimated at 105,000, but by 2013 only about 1000 remained.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/tunisjews.html |title=The Jews of Tunisia |encyclopedia=Jewish Virtual Library |access-date=11 July 2014}}</ref>

The first people known to history in what is now Tunisia were the [[Berber people|Berber]]s. Numerous civilizations and peoples have invaded, migrated to, or have been assimilated into the population over the millennia, with influences of population from [[Phoenicians]]/[[Carthaginians]], [[Roman Republic|Roman]]s, [[Vandal]]s, [[Arabs]], [[Spaniard]]s, [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turks]] and [[Janissaries]], and [[French people|French]]. There was a continuing inflow of nomadic [[Banu Hilal|Arab tribes]] from the [[Arabian Peninsula]].<ref name="stearns"/>

After the [[Reconquista]] and expulsion of non-Christians and [[Morisco]]s from Spain, many Spanish [[Muslims]] and Jews arrived in Tunisia. According to Matthew Carr, "As many as eighty thousand Moriscos settled in Tunisia, most of them in and around the capital, Tunis, which still contains a quarter known as Zuqaq al-Andalus, or Andalusia Alley."<ref>{{Cite book | last = Carr | first =  Matthew | title = Blood and faith: the purging of Muslim Spain | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=netlOtzI6R8C&pg=PA290| publisher = The New Press | year = 2009 | page = 290 | isbn = 978-1-59558-361-1 }}</ref>

=== Languages ===
{{main|Languages of Tunisia}}
[[Arabic]] is the [[official language]] of Tunisia. [[Tunisian Arabic]], known as Tounsi,<ref name="sayahi">{{Cite book|title = Diglossia and Language Contact: Language Variation and Change in North Africa|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ygFeAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA227|publisher = Cambridge University Press|date = 2014|isbn = 978-1-139-86707-8|first = Lotfi|last = Sayahi|page=227}}</ref> is the national, vernacular [[varieties of Arabic|variety of Arabic]] used by the public.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Albert J. Borg|author2=Marie Azzopardi-Alexander|title=Maltese|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=igAOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR13|access-date=24 February 2013|year=1997|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-02243-9|page=13|quote=The immediate source for the Arabic vernacular spoken in Malta was Muslim Sicily, but its ultimate origin appears to have been Tunisia. In fact, Maltese displays some areal traits typical of Maghrebine Arabic, although during the past eight hundred years of independent evolution it has drifted apart from Tunisian Arabic.}}</ref> There is also a small minority of speakers of [[Berber language]]s known collectively as Jebbali or Shelha in the country. Actively spoken Berber languages are [[Jerba Berber]] on the island of [[Djerba]] and [[Matmata Berber]] in the city of [[Matmata, Tunisia|Matmata]]. The [[Sened language]] is extinct.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.uws.edu.au/adt-NUWS/public/adt-NUWS20040707.092709/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526135310/http://library.uws.edu.au/adt-NUWS/public/adt-NUWS20040707.092709/ |archive-date=26 May 2008 |title=An outline of the Shilha (Berber) vernacular of Douiret (Southern Tunisia) |publisher=Australian Digital Theses Program |date=26 May 2008 |access-date=19 January 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iK-gBgAAQBAJ&q=shelha+in+tunisia&pg=PT473|title=The Middle East in the World: An Introduction|last=Volk|first=Lucia|date=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-50173-2|page=473}}</ref>

[[French language|French]] also plays a major role in Tunisian society, 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 business. In 2010, there were 6,639,000 French-speakers in Tunisia, or about 64% of the population.<ref>{{cite web|title=Le dénombrement des francophones|language=fr|trans-title=The count of francophones|url=http://www.francophonie.org/IMG/pdf/1e.pdf|publisher=Organisation internationale de la Francophonie|access-date=8 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012052949/http://www.francophonie.org/IMG/pdf/1e.pdf|archive-date=12 October 2013}}</ref> [[Italian language|Italian]] is understood and spoken by a small part of the [[Tunisian people|Tunisian]] population.<ref>{{cite book|last=McGuinness |first=Justin |title=Footprint Tunisia Handbook: The Travel Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f5r2KD61loIC|access-date=26 January 2013|year=2002|publisher=Globe Pequot Press|isbn=978-1-903471-28-9}}</ref> Shop signs, menus and road signs in Tunisia are generally written in both Arabic and French.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tunisia-tourism.org/tunisian-languages/|title=Tunisian Languages|publisher=Tunisia-tourism.org|access-date=13 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605221847/http://www.tunisia-tourism.org/tunisian-languages/|archive-date=5 June 2013}}</ref>

=== Religion ===
{{main|Religion in Tunisia}}
[[File:Mosquée Zitouna Kassus-2.jpg|thumb|[[Al-Zaytuna Mosque]] in Tunis]]
Tunisia's constitution declares [[Islam]] as the official [[state religion]]—and the absolute majority of its population, or around 98%, report to be [[Muslims]], while some 2% follow predominantly [[Christianity]] or [[Judaism]].<ref name=CIA/> According to a 2018 survey conducted by the [[Arab Barometer]], the vast majority of Tunisians (99.4%) continue to identify as Muslim.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Data Analysis Tool – Arab Barometer |url=https://www.arabbarometer.org/survey-data/data-analysis-tool/ |access-date=2022-11-13 |language=en-US}}</ref> The survey also found that more than one third of Tunisians identify as non-religious. The percentage of Tunisians identifying themselves as non-religious has recently increased from around 12% in 2013 to around 33% in 2018, making Tunisia the least religious country in the Arab world.<ref name=":The Arab world in seven charts">{{Cite news |date=23 June 2019 |title=The Arab world in seven charts: Are Arabs turning their backs on religion? |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-48703377 |access-date=3 April 2021}}</ref> Nearly half of young Tunisians described themselves as non-religious, according to that same survey.<ref name="arabbarometer.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www.arabbarometer.org/media-news/young-arabs-are-changing-their-beliefs-and-perceptions-new-survey/|title=Young Arabs are Changing their Beliefs and Perceptions: New Survey|access-date=3 April 2021}}</ref> However, as of July 2022, new surveys by the Arab Barometer say otherwise, particularly BBC's programme, ''The Newsroom'' journalists highlighting that the previously noted wave of those saying they were not religious has been, in fact, "reversed".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Newsroom: The Arab World Survey 2021-2022 – Arab Barometer |url=https://www.arabbarometer.org/media-news/the-newsroom-the-arab-world-survey-2021-2022/ |access-date=2023-02-05 |language=en-US}}</ref> The most recent 2021 Arab Barometer survey reported that 44% of Tunisians consider themselves religious, 37% somewhat religious, and 19% non-religious.<ref name=":0" />

Tunisians enjoy a significant degree of religious freedom, a right enshrined and protected in its constitution, which guarantees the freedom of thoughts, beliefs and to practice one's religion.<ref name="irfrtun">{{Cite book | author = ((Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor)) | contribution = Report on Tunisia | title = International Religious Freedom Report 2008 | publisher = US State Department | url = https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108494.htm | year = 2008}}</ref> The country has a secular culture where religion is separated from not only political, but also public life. Individual Tunisians are tolerant of religious freedom and generally do not inquire about a person's personal beliefs.<ref name="irfrtun" />

The bulk of Tunisians belong to the [[Maliki|Maliki school]] of [[Sunni Islam]], and their [[mosques]] are easily recognizable by square minarets. However, the [[Turkish people|Turks]] brought with them the teaching of the [[Hanafi|Hanafi school]] during [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman rule]], which still survives among [[Turks in Tunisia|families of Turkish descent]] today; their mosques traditionally have octagonal minarets.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Jacobs|first1=Daniel|last2=Morris|first2=Peter|year=2002|title=The Rough Guide to Tunisia|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=978-1-85828-748-5|page=460}}</ref> Sunnis form the majority, with [[non-denominational Muslims]] being the second largest group of Muslims,<ref>[http://www.pewforum.org/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-1-religious-affiliation/#identity Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation] retrieved 4 September 2013</ref>{{full citation needed|date=June 2022}} followed by [[Ibadite]] [[Amazigh]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://boa.unimib.it/bitstream/10281/2954/3/BerberIbaditePoem.pdf |journal=Studi Magrebini |volume=3 |year=2005 |pages=131–142 |title=Studi berberi e mediterranei. Miscellanea offerta in onore di Luigi Serra, a cura di A.M. Di Tolla |trans-title=A new Berber Ibadite poem |last=Brugnatelli |first=Vermondo }}</ref><ref>[http://remmm.revues.org/6253 "Les mosquées ibadites du Maghreb"] [The Ibadi mosques of the Maghreb]. Remmm.revues.org. Retrieved on 5 September 2015.</ref>

[[File:Catedral de Tunis (2413055515).jpg|thumb|[[Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul]], [[Tunis]]]]
The [[Church of Carthage]], in particular, became significant in the [[history of Christianity]], playing a key role in the development of [[Christian philosophy]] and [[theology]], and producing many prominent religious scholars and theologians.<ref>{{cite book |last=Trombley |first=Frank |title=The Cambridge History of Christianity |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2006 |editor1-last=Mitchell |editor1-first=Margaret M. |editor2-last=Young |editor2-first=Francis M. |chapter=Overview: the geographical spread of Christianity |volume=1 |pages=302–313 |isbn=978-1-139-05413-3 |doi=10.1017/CHOL9780521812443}}</ref> Prior to independence, Tunisia was home to more than [[European Tunisians|250,000 Christians]] (mostly of Italian and Maltese ancestry).<ref name="Decolonization">{{cite book|last1=Greenberg|first1=Udi|last2= A. Foster|first2=Elizabeth|title=Decolonization and the Remaking of Christianity|year=2023|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|location=Pennsylvania|isbn=9781512824971|pages=105}}</ref> Many Christian Italian settlers left to Italy or France after independence from France.<ref>{{cite book|title=Area Handbook for Morocco|first=Richard |last=F. Nyrop|year= 1972| isbn= 978-0-8108-8493-9| page =97|publisher=University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign|quote=}}</ref> Today, Tunisia's sizable [[Christians|Christian]] community of something over 35,000<ref>{{cite web| url = https://en.qantara.de/content/christians-in-tunisia-cause-for-concern| title = Christians in Tunisia: Cause for Concern| date = 9 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/TUNISIA-2018-INTERNATIONAL-RELIGIOUS-FREEDOM-REPORT.pdf| title = Tunisia 2018 International Religious Freedom Report}}</ref> is composed mainly of [[Catholics]] (22,000), and to a lesser degree [[Protestantism|Protestants]]. [[Berber Christians]] continued to live in some [[Nefzaoua]] villages up until the early fifteenth century,<ref>{{cite web|author=Fr Andrew Phillips |url=http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/maghreb.htm |title=The Last Christians of North-West Africa: Some Lessons For Orthodox Today |publisher=Orthodox England |access-date=8 January 2013}}</ref> and the community of [[Christianity in Africa|Tunisian Christians]] existed in the town of [[Tozeur]] up to the 18th century.<ref name="hrbek"/> The International Religious Freedom Report for 2007 estimates that thousands of Tunisian Muslims have [[Conversion to Christianity|converted to Christianity]].<ref name=report>{{citation-attribution|1=[https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90222.htm "International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Tunisia"]. United States [[Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor]] (14 September 2007). }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Johnstone|first1=Patrick|last2=Miller|first2=Duane Alexander|title=Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census|journal=Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion|date=2015|volume=11|page=8|url=https://www.academia.edu/16338087|access-date=30 October 2015}}</ref>

[[Judaism]] is the third largest religion, with between 1,000 and 1,400 members.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tunisia|url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom/tunisia/|access-date=2020-12-19|publisher=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Jews of Tunisia|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jews-of-tunisia#1|access-date=2020-12-19|website=Jewish Virtual Library}}</ref> One third of the Jewish population lives in and around the capital. The remainder lives on the island of [[Djerba]] with 39 synagogues where the Jewish community dates back 2,600 years,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thearabweekly.com/pilgrims-flock-tunisias-djerba-jewish-festival|title=Pilgrims flock to Tunisia's Djerba Jewish festival {{!}} Lamine Ghanmi|website=Arab Weekly|language=en|access-date=2020-03-17}}</ref> in Sfax, and in Hammam-Lif.<ref name="irfrtun"/> Djerba, an island in the [[Gulf of Gabès]], is home to [[El Ghriba synagogue]], which is one of the [[Oldest synagogues in the World|oldest synagogues in the world]] and the oldest continuously used. Many Jews consider it a pilgrimage site, with celebrations taking place there once a year due to its age and the legend that the synagogue was built using stones from [[Solomon's temple]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Synagogues|last=Gruber |first=Samuel |publisher= Metro Books|date= 1 May 1999}}</ref> Although [[Antisemitism in Tunisia|antisemitic]] violence has been reported,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tunisia: Jewish population determined to stay despite anti-Semitic violence |date=11 January 2018|url=https://www.dw.com/en/tunisia-jewish-population-determined-to-stay-despite-anti-semitic-violence/a-42105135|website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref> Tunisia and [[Morocco]] are said to be the Arab countries most accepting of their Jewish populations.<ref>{{cite web |last=Harris |first=David A. |url=http://www.aish.com/jw/me/87098057.html |title=Usurping History |publisher=Aish.com |date=13 March 2010 |access-date=2 May 2010 |archive-date=20 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420093318/http://www.aish.com/jw/me/87098057.html }}</ref>

There is also a [[Bahá'í]] community.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.bahai.org/story/1584/ |title=United in our diversity |date=22 February 2022 |publisher=Bahai.org |access-date=10 May 2023 }}</ref>

=== Education ===
{{Main|Education in Tunisia}}

[[File:Collège Sadiki-Kassus.jpg|thumb|[[Sadiki College]] in [[Tunis]]]]
[[File:UIS Literacy Rate Tunisia population plus15 1985 2015.png|thumb|Literacy rate of Tunisia population, 15 years and older, 1985–2015. UNESCO Institute of Statistics]]
The total adult literacy rate in 2008 was 78%<ref name=unescolit>{{cite web|title=National adult literacy rates (15+), youth literacy rates (15–24) and elderly literacy rates (65+)|url=http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=210|publisher=UNESCO Institute for Statistics|access-date=18 January 2013|archive-date=29 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029183908/http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=210}}</ref> and this rate goes up to 97.3% when considering only people from 15 to 24 years old.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/tunisia/literacy-rate|title=Tunisia - Literacy rate|website=www.indexmundi.com}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=June 2022}} Education is given a high priority and accounts for 6% of [[Gross national product|GNP]]. A basic education for children between the ages of 6 and 16 has been compulsory since 1991. Tunisia ranked 17th in the category of "quality of the [higher] educational system" and 21st in the category of "quality of primary education" in [[The Global Competitiveness Report]] 2008–09, released by the World Economic Forum.<ref name="Weforum.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/Global%20Competitiveness%20Report/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080619083349/http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/Global%2BCompetitiveness%2BReport/index.htm |archive-date=19 June 2008 |title=The Global Competitiveness Report 2008–2009 |publisher=World Economic Forum |access-date=2 May 2010 }}</ref>

While children generally acquire [[Tunisian Arabic]] at home, when they enter school at age six, 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 11.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Tunisia K-12 Education System – Basic and Secondary Education|url=https://www.tunisiaeducation.info/k12/tunisia-k-12-education-system.html|access-date=2021-03-16|website=www.tunisiaeducation.info}}</ref>

The four years of secondary education are open to all holders of {{lang|fr|italic=no|Diplôme de Fin d'Études de l'Enseignement de Base}} where the students focus on entering university level or join the workforce after completion. The Enseignement secondaire is divided into two stages: general academic and specialized. The higher education system in Tunisia has experienced a rapid expansion and the number of students has more than tripled over the past 10 years from approximately 102,000 in 1995 to 365,000 in 2005. The gross enrollment rate at the tertiary level in 2007 was 31 percent, with gender parity index of GER of 1.5.<ref name="Weforum.org"/>

=== Health ===
{{main|Health in Tunisia}}
In 2010, spending on healthcare accounted for 3.37% of the country's GDP. In 2009, there were 12.02 physicians and 33.12 nurses per 10,000 inhabitants.<ref>{{cite web|title=Health|url=http://www.sesrtcic.org/oic-member-countries-infigures.php?c_code=53&cat_code=8|publisher=SESRIC|access-date=26 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530142801/http://www.sesrtcic.org/oic-member-countries-infigures.php?c_code=53&cat_code=8|archive-date=30 May 2013|url-status=usurped}}</ref> The life expectancy at birth was 75.73 years in 2016, or 73.72 years for males and 77.78 years for females.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?locations=TN&year_high_desc=true|title=Life expectancy at birth, total (years) {{!}} Data|publisher=World Bank|access-date=25 August 2018}}</ref> Infant mortality in 2016 was 11.7 per 1,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.IMRT.IN?locations=TN&year_high_desc=true|title=Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) {{!}} Data|website=World Bank|access-date=25 August 2018}}</ref>

== Culture ==
{{main|Culture of Tunisia}}
[[File:Le théâtre de Tunis (3301451272).jpg|thumb|Municipal Theatre]]
The culture of Tunisia is mixed due to its long established history of outside influence from people – such as Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Siculo-Normans, Turks, Italians, Maltese and the French – who all left their mark on the country.<ref name="Rombaldi">''Encyclopédie 360'', éd. Rombaldi / Paris Match, 1970, vol. 12, p. 161–2</ref>

=== Painting ===
The birth of Tunisian contemporary painting is strongly linked to the School of Tunis, established by a group of artists from Tunisia united by the desire to incorporate native themes and rejecting the influence of Orientalist colonial painting. It was founded in 1949 and brings together French and Tunisian Muslims, Christians and Jews. Pierre Boucherle was its main instigator, along with [[Yahia Turki]], [[Abdelaziz Gorgi]], Moses Levy, Ammar Farhat, and Jules Lellouche. Given its doctrine, some members have therefore turned to the sources of aesthetic Arab-Muslim art, such as miniature Islamic architecture, etc. Expressionist paintings by Amara Debbache, Jellal Ben Abdallah, and Ali Ben Salem are recognized while abstract art captures the imagination of painters like Edgar Naccache, Nello Levy, and [[Hedi Turki]].<ref name="tangka3">{{cite web|url=http://guides.tangka.com/tunisie/Chapt8Sub1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007040510/http://guides.tangka.com/tunisie/Chapt8Sub1.htm |archive-date= 7 October 2011 |title=Un pays pour les peintres |language=fr |trans-title=A country for painters |publisher=Guide Tangka |date=7 October 2011 |access-date=26 January 2013 }}</ref>

After independence in 1956, the art movement in Tunisia was propelled by the dynamics of nation building and by artists serving the state. A Ministry of Culture was established, under the leadership of ministers such as [[Habib Boularès]] who oversaw art and education and power.<ref name="tangka3"/> Artists gained international recognition such as [[Hatem El Mekki]] or [[Zoubeir Turki]] and influenced a generation of new young painters. Sadok Gmech draws his inspiration from national wealth while Moncef Ben Amor turns to fantasy. In another development, Youssef Rekik reused the technique of painting on glass and founded [[Nja Mahdaoui]] calligraphy with its mystical dimension.<ref name="tangka3"/>

There are currently fifty art galleries housing exhibitions of Tunisian and international artists.<ref name="tunisia online">{{cite web|url=http://www.tunisiaonline.com/culture/culture1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010210043336/http://www.tunisiaonline.com/culture/culture1.html |archive-date=10 February 2001 |title=Culture de la Tunisie |publisher=Tunisia Online |date=10 February 2001 |access-date=19 January 2013 }}</ref> These galleries include Gallery Yahia in Tunis and Carthage Essaadi gallery.<ref name="tunisia online"/>

A new exposition opened in an old monarchal palace in Bardo dubbed the "awakening of a nation". The exposition boasts documents and artifacts from the Tunisian reformist monarchial rule in mid-19th century.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2016/12/09/a-tunis-une-exposition-reveille-l-histoire-precoloniale-du-pays_5046481_3212.html|title=A Tunis, une exposition réveille l'histoire précoloniale du pays |language=fr |trans-title=In Tunis, an exhibition awakens the precolonial history of thecountry}}</ref>

=== Literature ===
{{main|Tunisian literature}}
[[File:Abdelwahab Meddeb - Comédie du Livre 2011 - Montpellier - P1150907.jpg|thumb|[[Abdelwahab Meddeb]], a Tunisian French-language poet and novelist]]
Tunisian literature exists in two forms: Arabic and French. Arabic literature dates back to the 7th century with the arrival of Arab civilization in the region. It is more important in both volume and value than French literature, which was introduced during the French protectorate from 1881.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.francophonie.philo.ulg.ac.be/TUN.Lettres |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224065850/http://www.francophonie.philo.ulg.ac.be/TUN.Lettres |archive-date=24 December 2007 |title=La littérature tunisienne de langue française (Mémoire vive) |date=24 December 2007 |access-date=26 January 2013 }}</ref>

Among the literary figures include [[Ali Douagi]], who has produced more than 150 radio stories, over 500 poems and folk songs and nearly 15 plays,<ref name="tangka2">{{cite web|url=http://guides.tangka.com/tunisie/Chapt8Sub1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007040510/http://guides.tangka.com/tunisie/Chapt8Sub1.htm |archive-date= 7 October 2011 |title=Fantaisie arabe et poésie |publisher=Guide Tangka |date=7 October 2011 |access-date=26 January 2013 }}</ref> Khraief Bashir, an Arabic novelist who published many notable books in the 1930s and which caused a scandal because the dialogues were written in Tunisian dialect,<ref name="tangka2"/> and others such as Moncef Ghachem, [[Mohamed Salah Ben Mrad]], or [[Mahmoud Messadi]].

As for poetry, Tunisian poetry typically opts for nonconformity and innovation with poets such as [[Aboul-Qacem Echebbi]].

As for literature in French, it is characterized by its critical approach. Contrary to the pessimism of [[Albert Memmi]], who predicted that Tunisian literature was sentenced to die young,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://guides.tangka.com/tunisie/Chapt8Sub1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007040510/http://guides.tangka.com/tunisie/Chapt8Sub1.htm |archive-date= 7 October 2011 |title=Littérature francophone |publisher=Guide Tangka |date=7 October 2011 |access-date=26 January 2013 }}</ref> a high number of Tunisian writers are abroad including [[Abdelwahab Meddeb]], Bakri Tahar, [[Mustapha Tlili]], Hele Beji, or Mellah Fawzi. Themes of wandering, exile, heartbreak, disconnection, memory, and representation are often focuses of Tunisian literature.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Omri|first=Mohamed-Salah|url=https://www.academia.edu/11655649|title=Memory and Representation in the Novels of Fawzi Mellah|journal=[[International Journal of Francophone Studies]]|volume=3|number=1|pages=33–41|issn=1368-2679|access-date=10 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Pardey|first=Charlotte|title=Oscillating Bodies: Understanding Tunisian Society through its Novels (1956–2011)|series=Literatures in Context|volume=47: Oscillating Bodies|publisher=[[:de:Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag|Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag]]|date=2022|isbn=978-3-95490-380-1|doi=10.29091/9783752005028}}</ref>

The [[national bibliography]] lists 1249 non-school books published in 2002 in Tunisia, with 885 titles in Arabic.<ref name="littérature">{{cite web|url=http://www.culture.tn/culture/HTML/pagedentree/livre.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051229022530/http://www.culture.tn/culture/HTML/pagedentree/livre.htm |archive-date=29 December 2005 |title=Littérature tunisienne |publisher=Ministère de la Culture et de la Sauvegarde du patrimoine |date=29 December 2005 |access-date=19 January 2013 }}</ref> In 2006 this figure had increased to 1,500 and 1,700 in 2007.<ref name="hzreal">[http://www.realites.com.tn/home/Realites-Lire-Article?=&a=1085258 "2009, l'année des rendez-vous culturels importants"], ''Réalités'', 18 November 2008 {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Nearly a third of the books are published for children.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Badri|first1=Balghis|title=Women's Activism in Africa: Struggles for Rights and Representation|publisher=Zed Books|isbn=978-1-78360-911-6|page=8|date=15 February 2017}}</ref>

=== Music ===
{{main|Music of Tunisia}}
[[File:Zied Gharsa et la Rachidia.jpg|thumb|Rachidia orchestra playing traditional music in Tunis Theater]]

At the beginning of the 20th century, musical activity was dominated by the liturgical repertoire associated with different religious brotherhoods and secular repertoire which consisted of instrumental pieces and songs in different Andalusian forms and styles of origins, essentially borrowing characteristics of musical language. In 1930 [[The Rachidia]] was founded, well known thanks to artists from the Jewish community. The founding in 1934 of a musical school helped revive Arab Andalusian music largely to a social and cultural revival led by the elite of the time who became aware of the risks of loss of the musical heritage and which they believed threatened the foundations of Tunisian national identity. The institution did not take long to assemble a group of musicians, poets, scholars. The creation of [[Radio Tunis]] in 1938 allowed musicians a greater opportunity to disseminate their works, with the station employing a policy of promoting Tunisian musicians exclusively.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Davis|first=Ruth|title=The art/popular music paradigm and the Tunisian ''Ma'lūf''|journal=Popular Music|volume=15|issue=3|date=October 1996|pages=313–323|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|doi=10.1017/S0261143000008308 |jstor=931332 |s2cid=193235351}}</ref>

Notable Tunisian musicians include [[Saber Rebaï]], [[Dhafer Youssef]], [[Belgacem Bouguenna]], [[Sonia M'barek]], [[Latifa (singer)|Latifa]], [[Salah El Mahdi]], [[Anouar Brahem]], [[Emel Mathlouthi]] and [[Lotfi Bouchnak]].

=== Festivals ===
{{Main|List of festivals in Tunisia}}
Hundreds of international festivals, national, regional or local punctuate the calendar year. Music and theatrical festivals dominate the national cultural scene.

Several festivals take place annually in summer: the [[International Festival of Carthage]] in July, the International Festival of Arts of Mahr from late July to early August, and the International Festival of Hammamet in July and August.

The [[Carthage Film Festival]] is held in October and November of every other year, alternating with the Carthage Theatre Festival. It was created in 1966<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2008/10/20/feature-02|title=Carthage Film Festival prepares to launch|publisher=Magharebia|date=20 October 2008|access-date=11 September 2009}}</ref> by the Tunisian Minister of Culture to showcase films from the [[Maghreb]], Africa and the Middle East. In order to be eligible for the competition, a film must have a director of African or Middle Eastern nationality, and have been produced at least two years before entry. The grand prize is the ''[[Tanit d'or]]'', or "Golden Tanit", named for the [[Tanit|lunar goddess]] of ancient [[Carthage]]; the award is in the shape of her symbol, a trapezium surmounted by a horizontal line and a circle.

The [[International Festival of the Sahara]], celebrated annually at the end of December, honors the cultural traditions associated with the Tunisian desert. This attracts many tourists and musicians from all around the world, as well as horsemen who flaunt their saddles and local fabrics and skills.

There are also a number of musical festivals; some honor traditional Tunisian music, while others, including the [[Tabarka Jazz Festival]], focus on other genres.

In the city of Sousse, the [[Carnival of Awussu]] is an annual festive and cultural event that unfolds each 24 July.  It is a parade of symbolic chariots, [[fanfare]]s and folk groups from Tunisia and elsewhere which takes place near the beach of Boujaafar, at the eve of the beginning of '''Awussu'' (The word designating the [[heat wave]] of the month of August according to the [[Berber calendar]]). Originally it was a [[Pagan]] feast ([[Neptunalia]]) celebrating the god of the seas, [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]] in the [[Roman province of Africa]], and might even go back to [[Phoenicia]]n times : the appellation Awussu is a possible deformation of [[Oceanus]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.voyage-tunisie.info/carnaval-daoussou-a-sousse-tunisie/ | title=Le Carnaval d'Aoussou à Sousse, Tunisie | date=2 July 2017 }}</ref>

[[Omek Tannou]] is an ancient Tunisian [[rainmaking (ritual)|rainmaking festival]] which was inherited from [[Punic]] and [[Berbers|Berber]] traditions involving invocations of the goddess [[Tanit]]. It features the ritual use of the [[Sculpture|sculpted]] head of a woman (somewhat resembling the head of a girl's [[doll]]), which is carried in procession between the houses of a village during periods of [[drought]] by children singing the refrain {{lang|aeb|أمك طانقو يا نساء طلبت ربي عالشتاء}} (transliteration: ''amk ṭangu ya nsaʾ tlbt rbi ʿalshta'a''), "Amek tango, o women, ask God to rain". This song varies according to the region because the term ''shta'' designates rain only in certain urban areas. Each housewife then pours a little water on the statuette, invoking rain.

=== Media ===
{{main|Media of Tunisia}}
[[File:BatimentTelevisionTunisienneAvril2012.jpg|thumb|Headquarters of [[Télévision Tunisienne]] since March 2010]]
The TV media has long remained under the domination of the [[ERTT|Establishment of the Broadcasting Authority Tunisia]] (ERTT) and its predecessor, the Tunisian Radio and Television, founded in 1957. On 7 November 2006, President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali announced the demerger of the business into two separate companies, which became effective on 31 August 2007. Until then, ERTT managed all public television stations ([[Télévision Tunisienne 1]] as well as Télévision Tunisienne 2 which had replaced the defunct RTT 2) and four national radio stations ([[Radio Tunis]], Tunisia Radio Culture, Youth and [[Radio Tunis Chaîne Internationale|RTCI]]) and five regional stations in Sfax, Monastir, Gafsa, Le Kef and Tataouine. Most programs are in Arabic, but some are in French. Growth in private sector radio and television broadcasting has seen the creation of numerous operations including Radio Mosaique FM, Jawhara FM, Zaytuna FM, [[Hannibal TV]], Ettounsiya TV, and [[Nessma TV]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/10/05/feature-02 |title=Shems FM hits Tunisia airwaves |author=Houda Trabelsi |publisher=Magharebia.com |date=5 October 2010 |access-date=19 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tunispro.net/tunisia/tv-in-tunisia.htm |title=Television TV in Tunisia |publisher=TunisPro |access-date=19 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030143827/http://www.tunispro.net/tunisia/tv-in-tunisia.htm |archive-date=30 October 2012 }}</ref>

In 2007, some 245 newspapers and magazines (compared to only 91 in 1987) are 90% owned by private groups and independents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tunisie.com/media/ |title=Presse et communication en Tunisie |publisher=Tunisie.com |language=fr |access-date=19 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319175508/http://www.tunisie.com/media/ |archive-date=19 March 2012 }}</ref> The Tunisian political parties have the right to publish their own newspapers, but those of the opposition parties have very limited editions (like Al Mawkif or Mouwatinoun). Before the recent democratic transition, although freedom of the press was formally guaranteed by the constitution, almost all newspapers have in practice followed the government line report. Critical approach to the activities of the president, government and the Constitutional Democratic Rally Party (then in power) were suppressed. In essence, the media was dominated by state authorities through the [[Agence Tunis Afrique Presse]]. This has changed since, as the media censorship by the authorities have been largely abolished, and self-censorship has significantly decreased.<ref name="freedomhouse.org">{{cite web|url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/tunisia|title=Tunisia|date=23 April 2015|access-date=24 December 2015|archive-date=21 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421134753/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/tunisia}}</ref> Nonetheless, the current regulatory framework and social and political culture mean that the future of press and media freedom is still unclear.<ref name="freedomhouse.org"/> In September 2022 Tunisian president Kais Saied signed [[Decree Law 54 (Tunisia)|Decree Law 54]], which purported to combat "[[Fake news|false information and rumours]]" on the Internet. Article 24 of the decree gives up to five years imprisonment and a fine of up to 50,000 [[Tunisian dinar|dinar]] for anyone found to be spreading such information. This is doubled if the offending statement is made about a state official.<ref>{{cite news |title=تونس: مرسوم رئاسي يقضي بالسجن 5 سنوات لكل من ينشر "أخبارا كاذبة" أو "إشاعات"|trans-title=Tunisia: Presidential Decree Imposing a Five-Year Imprisonment for Anyone Who Spreads "False News" or "Rumours" |url=https://www.france24.com/ar/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9/20220917-%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%86%D8%B3-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%85-%D8%B1%D8%A6%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D9%82%D8%B6%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%AC%D9%86-5-%D8%B3%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%84%D9%83%D9%84-%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%B1-%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D9%83%D8%A7%D8%B0%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8%A3%D9%88-%D8%A5%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%AA |access-date=18 July 2023 |work=فرانس 24 / [[France 24]] |date=17 September 2022 |language=ar}}</ref>

=== Sports ===
{{main|Sport in Tunisia}}
[[File:CA - Radès.jpg|thumb|[[Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi|Stade Hammadi Agrebi]] in [[Radès]]]]
[[Association football|Football]] is the most popular sport in Tunisia. The [[Tunisia national football team]], also known as "The Eagles of Carthage", won the [[2004 African Cup of Nations]] ([[Africa Cup of Nations|ACN]]) as hosts.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/3485991.stm |title=Tunisia win Cup of Nations |work=BBC News |date=14 February 2004 |access-date=19 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.napit.co.uk/viewus/infobank/football/africiannationscup.php |title=Previous winners of major international cups And tournaments: the African Cup of Nations |publisher=Napit.co.uk |access-date=8 January 2013}}</ref> They also represented Africa in the [[2005 FIFA Confederations Cup|2005 FIFA Cup of Confederations]], which was held in Germany, but they could not go beyond the first round.

Their premier football league is the [[Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1]]. The main clubs are [[Espérance Sportive de Tunis]], [[Étoile Sportive du Sahel]], [[Club Africain]], [[Club Sportif Sfaxien]], [[US Monastir (football)|Union Sportive Monastirienne]], [[Stade Tunisien]], and [[CA Bizertin]].

The [[Tunisia men's national handball team]] has participated in several handball world championships. In 2005, Tunisia came fourth. The [[Tunisian Handball League|national league]] consists of about 12 teams, with [[Club Africain (handball)|Club Africain]] and [[Espérance Sportive de Tunis (handball)|Espérance]] dominating. The most famous Tunisian handball player is [[Wissem Hmam]]. In the [[2005 World Men's Handball Championship|2005 Handball Championship in Tunis]], Wissem Hmam was ranked as the top scorer of the tournament. The Tunisian national handball team won the African Cup ten times, being the team dominating this competition. The Tunisians won the 2018 African Cup in Gabon by defeating Egypt.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tunisiadaily.com/2010/02/20/tunisian-handball-team-wins-2010-african-cup-of-nations-tunisia-online-news.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130205102833/http://www.tunisiadaily.com/2010/02/20/tunisian-handball-team-wins-2010-african-cup-of-nations-tunisia-online-news.html |archive-date=5 February 2013 |title=Tunisian handball team wins 2010 African Cup of Nations |publisher=Tunisia Daily |date=20 February 2010 |access-date=8 January 2013 }}</ref>

[[Tunisia's national basketball team]] has emerged as a top side in Africa. The team won the [[2011 Afrobasket]] and hosted Africa's top basketball event in 1965, 1987 and 2015. Tunisia was one of the continent's pioneers in basketball as it established one of Africa's first competitive leagues.<ref>{{cite news |first=Lee |last=Nxumalo |title=Basketball's next frontier is Africa |url=https://www.newframe.com/basketballs-next-frontier-is-africa/ |access-date=11 January 2021 |work=New Frame |date=20 December 2020 |archive-date=16 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116062357/https://www.newframe.com/basketballs-next-frontier-is-africa/ }}</ref>

In [[boxing]], [[Victor Perez (Tunisian boxer)|Victor "Young" Perez]] was world champion in the flyweight weight class in 1931 and 1932.<ref>{{cite book|author=Gilbert E. Odd|title=Encyclopedia of Boxing|year=1989|publisher=Book Sales|isbn=978-1-55521-395-4|page=108}}</ref>

In the [[2008 Summer Olympics]], Tunisian [[Oussama Mellouli]] won a gold medal in 1500 meter freestyle.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lohn |first=John |title=Historical Dictionary of Competitive Swimming |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RWLKhp7HEkMC&pg=PA95|date=2010 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-6775-8 |page=95}}</ref> In the [[2012 Summer Olympics]], he won a bronze medal in the 1500 meter freestyle and a gold medal in the [[Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon 10 kilometre|men's marathon swim]] at a distance of 10 kilometers.

In 2012, Tunisia participated for the seventh time in its history in the [[Summer Paralympic Games]]. Their national team finished the competition with 19 medals; 9 golds, 5 silvers and 5 bronzes. Tunisia was classified 14th on the [[2012 Summer Paralympics medal table|Paralympics medal table]] and 5th in [[2012 Summer Paralympics medal table|Athletics]].

Throughout the years 2021 to 2023, tennis saw a spike of popularity in Tunisia and other Arabic countries as tennis player [[Ons Jabeur]] rapidly moved up the rankings reaching a career high ranking of number 3, and making 3 grand slam finals, including 2 at [[2023 Wimbledon Championships|Wimbledon]].

== See also ==
* [[Index of Tunisia-related articles]]
* [[Outline of Tunisia]]
* [[Architecture of Tunisia]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Steel|first=Catherine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X9iqBgAAQBAJ|title=The End of the Roman Republic 146 to 44 BC|publisher=[[Edinburgh University Press]]|isbn=978-0-7486-2902-2|date=5 March 2013|access-date=21 November 2022}}

== External links ==
{{Library resources box}}
* [https://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=TN Key Development Forecasts for Tunisia] from [[International Futures]] 

=== Government ===
* [http://www.tunisie.gov.tn Tunisia Government Portal] – gateway to government sites 
* [https://www.carthage.tn Presidency] – official website of the president of Tunisia
* [https://pm.gov.tn Prime Minister] – official website of the prime minister of Tunisia
* [https://www.ins.tn Statistics] – official website of National Institute of Statistics 

=== History ===
* [https://www.inp2020.tn/ar/inp_tunisie/les-traces-de-lhomme-en-tunisie/ "History"] – Tunisian History at National Heritage Institute 

=== Tourism ===
* [https://www.discovertunisia.com/en Discover Tunisia] – Tunisia's official tourism portal 

=== Maps ===
* {{Wikiatlas}}
* {{Osmrelation-inline|192757}}

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