Marshall Islands (2001) | Tunisia (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 33 municipalities; Ailinginae, Ailinglaplap, Ailuk, Arno, Aur, Bikar, Bikini, Bokak, Ebon, Enewetak, Erikub, Jabat, Jaluit, Jemo, Kili, Kwajalein, Lae, Lib, Likiep, Majuro, Maloelap, Mejit, Mili, Namorik, Namu, Rongelap, Rongrik, Toke, Ujae, Ujelang, Utirik, Wotho, Wotje | 23 governorates; Ariana (Aryanah), Beja (Bajah), Ben Arous (Bin 'Arus), Bizerte (Banzart), El Kef (Al Kaf), Gabes (Qabis), Gafsa (Qafsah), Jendouba (Jundubah), Kairouan (Al Qayrawan), Kasserine (Al Qasrayn), Kebili (Qibili), Mahdia (Al Mahdiyah), Medenine (Madanin), Monastir (Al Munastir), Nabeul (Nabul), Sfax (Safaqis), Sidi Bou Zid (Sidi Bu Zayd), Siliana (Silyanah), Sousse (Susah), Tataouine (Tatawin), Tozeur (Tawzar), Tunis, Zaghouan (Zaghwan) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
49.29% (male 17,808; female 17,101) 15-64 years: 48.61% (male 17,573; female 16,853) 65 years and over: 2.1% (male 707; female 780) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 27.8% (male 1,412,625; female 1,320,729)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 3,234,770; female 3,233,149) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 303,093; female 311,278) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, tomatoes, melons, cacao, taro, breadfruit, fruits; pigs, chickens | olives, olive oil, grain, dairy products, tomatoes, citrus fruit, beef, sugar beets, dates, almonds |
Airports | 16 (2000 est.) | 30 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 14
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
12 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 7 (2002) |
Area | total:
181.3 sq km land: 181.3 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the atolls of Bikini, Enewetak, and Kwajalein |
total: 163,610 sq km
land: 155,360 sq km water: 8,250 sq km |
Area - comparative | about the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Georgia |
Background | After almost four decades under US administration as the easternmost part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Marshall Islands attained independence in 1986 under a Compact of Free Association. Compensation claims continue as a result of US nuclear testing on some of the islands between 1947 and 1962. | Following independence from France in 1956, President Habib BOURGUIBA established a strict one-party state. He dominated the country for 31 years, repressing Islamic fundamentalism and establishing rights for women unmatched by any other Arab nation. In recent years, Tunisia has taken a moderate, non-aligned stance in its foreign relations. Domestically, it has sought to diffuse rising pressure for a more open political society. |
Birth rate | 45.07 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.83 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$80.1 million expenditures: $77.4 million, including capital expenditures of $19.5 million (FY95/96 est.) |
revenues: $5.7 billion
expenditures: $6.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.5 billion (2001 est.) |
Capital | Majuro | Tunis |
Climate | wet season from May to November; hot and humid; islands border typhoon belt | temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south |
Coastline | 370.4 km | 1,148 km |
Constitution | 1 May 1979 | 1 June 1959; amended 12 July 1988 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of the Marshall Islands conventional short form: Marshall Islands former: Marshall Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
conventional long form: Tunisian Republic
conventional short form: Tunisia local long form: Al Jumhuriyah at Tunisiyah local short form: Tunis |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | Tunisian dinar (TND) |
Death rate | 6.23 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $125 million (FY96/97 est.) | $11.5 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joan M. PLAISTED embassy: Oceanside, Mejen Weto, Long Island, Majuro mailing address: P. O. Box 1379, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands 96960-1379 telephone: [692] 247-4011 FAX: [692] 247-4012 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Rust M. DEMING
embassy: Zone Nord-Est des Berges du Lac Nord de Tunis, 2045 La Goulette, Tunisia mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [216] 71 782-566 FAX: [216] 71 789-719 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Banny DE BRUM chancery: 2433 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5414 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3236 consulate(s) general: Honolulu |
chief of mission: Ambassador Hatem ATALLAH
chancery: 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 862-1850 FAX: [1] (202) 862-1858 |
Disputes - international | claims US territory of Wake Island | none |
Economic aid - recipient | approximately $65 million annually from the US | $933.2 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | US Government assistance is the mainstay of this tiny island economy. Agricultural production is concentrated on small farms, and the most important commercial crops are coconuts, tomatoes, melons, and breadfruit. Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, fish processing, and copra. The tourist industry, now a small source of foreign exchange employing less than 10% of the labor force, remains the best hope for future added income. The islands have few natural resources, and imports far exceed exports. Under the terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US provides roughly $65 million in annual aid. Negotiations were underway in 1999 for an extended agreement. Government downsizing, drought, a drop in construction, and the decline in tourism and foreign investment due to the Asian financial difficulties caused GDP to fall in 1996-98. | Tunisia has a diverse economy, with important agricultural, mining, energy, tourism, and manufacturing sectors. Governmental control of economic affairs while still heavy has gradually lessened over the past decade with increasing privatization, simplification of the tax structure, and a prudent approach to debt. Real growth averaged 5.4% in the past five years, and inflation is slowing. Growth in tourism and increased trade have been key elements in this steady growth, although tourism revenues have slowed since 11 September 2001 and may take a year or more to fully recover. Tunisia's association agreement with the European Union entered into force on 1 March 1998, the first such accord between the EU and a Mediterranean country. Under the agreement Tunisia will gradually remove barriers to trade with the EU over the next decade. Broader privatization, further liberalization of the investment code to increase foreign investment, and improvements in government efficiency are among the challenges for the future. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 9.562 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | - | 19 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | - | 2 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | - | 10.3 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel: 99%
hydro: 1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Likiep 10 m |
lowest point: Shatt al Gharsah -17 m
highest point: Jebel ech Chambi 1,544 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water | toxic and hazardous waste disposal is ineffective and poses health risks; water pollution from raw sewage; limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Micronesian | Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Tunisian dinars per US dollar - 1.44 (January 2002), 1.3753 (2001), 1.3707 (2000), 1.1862 (1999), 1.1387 (1998), 1.1059 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Kessai Hesa NOTE (since 3 January 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Kessai Hesa NOTE (since 3 January 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament from among its own members for a four-year term; election last held 15 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: Kessai Hesa NOTE elected president; percent of Parliament vote - 100% |
chief of state: President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI (since 7 November 1987)
head of government: Prime Minister Mohamed GHANNOUCHI (since 17 November 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 24 October 1999 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI reelected for a third term without opposition; percent of vote - Zine El Abidine BEN ALI nearly 100% |
Exports | $28 million (f.o.b., 1997 est.) | $6.6 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | fish, coconut oil, trochus shells | textiles, mechanical goods, phosphates and chemicals, agricultural products, hydrocarbons |
Exports - partners | US, Japan, Australia | France 28%, Italy 21%, Germany 14%, Belgium 6%, Libya (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | blue with two stripes radiating from the lower hoist-side corner - orange (top) and white; there is a white star with four large rays and 20 small rays on the hoist side above the two stripes | red with a white disk in the center bearing a red crescent nearly encircling a red five-pointed star; the crescent and star are traditional symbols of Islam |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $105 million (1998 est.), supplemented by approximately $65 million annual US aid | purchasing power parity - $64.5 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
15% industry: 13% services: 72% (1995) |
agriculture: 13%
industry: 33% services: 54% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,670 (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -5% (1998 est.) | 4.8% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 00 N, 168 00 E | 34 00 N, 9 00 E |
Geography - note | two archipelagic island chains of 30 atolls and 1,152 islands; Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous World War II battleground, is now used as a US missile test range | strategic location in central Mediterranean; Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration |
Highways | total:
NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: paved roads on major islands (Majuro, Kwajalein), otherwise stone-, coral-, or laterite-surfaced roads and tracks |
total: 23,100 km
paved: 18,226 km unpaved: 4,874 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 32% (1995) (1995) |
Imports | $58 million (f.o.b., 1997 est.) | $8.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels, beverages and tobacco | machinery and equipment, hydrocarbons, chemicals, food |
Imports - partners | US, Japan, Australia, NZ, Guam, Singapore | France 30%, Italy 21%, Germany 11%, Spain 4%, Belgium (2000) |
Independence | 21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship) | 20 March 1956 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5.2% (2001 est.) |
Industries | copra, fish, tourism, craft items from shell, wood, and pearls, offshore banking (embryonic) | petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron ore), tourism, textiles, footwear, agribusiness, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 39.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 27.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5% (1997) | 2.7% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO | ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, BSEC (observer), CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 3,800 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; High Court | Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation |
Labor force | NA | 2.69 million
note: shortage of skilled labor |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | services 55%, industry 23%, agriculture 22% (1995 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,424 km
border countries: Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 60% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 40% |
arable land: 18.67%
permanent crops: 12.87% other: 68.46% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (universally spoken and is the official language), two major Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian family, Japanese | Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce) |
Legal system | based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws | based on French civil law system and Islamic law; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Nitijela (33 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 15 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA note: the Council of Chiefs is a 12-member body that advises on matters affecting customary law and practice |
unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Majlis al-Nuwaab (182 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 24 October 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - RCD 92%; seats by party - RCD 148, MDS 13, UDU 7, PUP 7, Al-Tajdid 5, PSL 2; note - reforms enabled opposition parties to win up to 20% of seats, increasing the number of seats they hold from 19 in the last election to 34 now |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
65.84 years male: 64.04 years female: 67.73 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 74.16 years
male: 72.56 years female: 75.89 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93% male: 100% female: 88% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 66.7% male: 78.6% female: 54.6% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of atolls and reefs in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Papua New Guinea | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
212 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 9,768,406 GRT/16,242,699 DWT ships by type: bulk 63, cargo 9, chemical tanker 10, combination ore/oil 2, container 29, liquefied gas 10, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 87, vehicle carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 1, Germany 1, Japan 1, US 6 (2000 est.) |
total: 16 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 150,710 GRT/162,616 DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 4, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces (a coast guard may be established); Police Force | Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary forces, National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $356 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.5% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,806,881 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,597,565 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 105,146 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 1 May (1979) | Independence Day, 20 March (1956) |
Nationality | noun:
Marshallese (singular and plural) adjective: Marshallese |
noun: Tunisian(s)
adjective: Tunisian |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons | NA |
Natural resources | phosphate deposits, marine products, deep seabed minerals | petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 797 km; petroleum products 86 km; natural gas 742 km |
Political parties and leaders | traditionally there have been no formally organized political parties; what has existed more closely resembles factions or interest groups because they do not have party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures; the following two "groupings" have competed in legislative balloting in recent years - Kabua Party [Imata KABUA] and United Democratic Party or UDP [Litokwa TOMEING] | Al-Tajdid Movement [Adel CHAOUCH]; Constitutional Democratic Rally Party (Rassemblement Constitutionnel Democratique) or RCD [President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI (official ruling party)]; Liberal Social Party or PSL [Mounir BEJI]; Movement of Democratic Socialists or MDS [Khamis CHAMMARI]; Popular Unity Party or PUP [Mohamed Belhaj AMOR]; Unionist Democratic Union or UDU [Abderrahmane TLILI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | the Islamic fundamentalist party, Al Nahda (Renaissance), is outlawed |
Population | 70,822 (July 2001 est.) | 9,815,644 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 6% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.88% (2001 est.) | 1.12% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Majuro | Bizerte, Gabes, La Goulette, Sfax, Sousse, Tunis, Zarzis |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 7, FM 20, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | NA | 2.06 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 2,168 km
standard gauge: 471 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,687 km 1.000-m gauge dual gauge: 10 km 1.000-m and 1.435-m gauges (three rails) (2001) |
Religions | Christian (mostly Protestant) | Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish and other 1% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
telex services domestic: Majuro Atoll and Ebeye and Kwajalein islands have regular, seven-digit, direct-dial telephones; other islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes) international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); US Government satellite communications system on Kwajalein |
general assessment: above the African average and continuing to be upgraded; key centers are Sfax, Sousse, Bizerte, and Tunis; Internet access available
domestic: trunk facilities consist of open-wire lines, coaxial cable, and microwave radio relay international: 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Algeria and Libya; participant in Medarabtel; two international gateway digital switches |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,000 (1996) | 654,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 365 (1996) | 50,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (of which two are US military stations) (1997) | 26 (plus 76 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | low coral limestone and sand islands | mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara |
Total fertility rate | 6.55 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.94 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (1991 est.) | 15.6% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |