Romania (2001) | Tunisia (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 40 counties (judete, singular - judet) and 1 municipality* (municipiu); Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor, Bistrita-Nasaud, Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti*, Buzau, Calarasi, Caras-Severin, Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dimbovita, Dolj, Galati, Gorj, Giurgiu, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea | 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:
17.95% (male 2,054,323; female 1,959,196) 15-64 years: 68.51% (male 7,605,751; female 7,715,434) 65 years and over: 13.54% (male 1,255,880; female 1,773,438) (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 | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; eggs, sheep | olives, olive oil, grain, dairy products, tomatoes, citrus fruit, beef, sugar beets, dates, almonds |
Airports | 62 (2000 est.) | 30 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
25 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 (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:
37 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 23 (2000 est.) |
total: 16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 7 (2002) |
Area | total:
237,500 sq km land: 230,340 sq km water: 7,160 sq km |
total: 163,610 sq km
land: 155,360 sq km water: 8,250 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly larger than Georgia |
Background | Soviet occupation following World War II led to the formation of a communist "peoples republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of President Nicolae CEAUSESCU became increasingly draconian through the 1980s. He was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former communists dominated the government until 1996 when they were swept from power. Much economic restructuring remains to be carried out before Romania can achieve its hope of joining the EU. | 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 | 10.8 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.83 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$11.7 billion expenditures: $12.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $5.7 billion
expenditures: $6.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.5 billion (2001 est.) |
Capital | Bucharest | Tunis |
Climate | temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms | temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south |
Coastline | 225 km | 1,148 km |
Constitution | 8 December 1991 | 1 June 1959; amended 12 July 1988 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Romania local long form: none local short form: Romania |
conventional long form: Tunisian Republic
conventional short form: Tunisia local long form: Al Jumhuriyah at Tunisiyah local short form: Tunis |
Currency | leu (ROL) | Tunisian dinar (TND) |
Death rate | 12.28 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $9.3 billion (2000 est.) | $11.5 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador James C. ROSAPEPE embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest mailing address: American Embassy Bucharest, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5260 (pouch) telephone: [40] (1) 210 40 42 FAX: [40] (1) 210 03 95 branch office(s): Cluj-Napoca |
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 (vacant) chancery: 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4748 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
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 | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $933.2 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Romania, one of the poorest countries in Central and Eastern Europe, began the transition from communism in 1989 with a largely obsolete industrial base and a pattern of output unsuited to the country's needs. Over the past decade economic restructuring has lagged behind most other countries in the region. Consequently, living standards have continued to fall - real wages are down over 40%. Corruption too has worsened. The EU ranks Romania last among enlargement candidates, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) rates Romania's transition progress the region's worst. The country emerged in 2000 from a punishing three-year recession thanks to strong demand in EU export markets. A new government elected in November 2000 promises to promote economic reform. Bucharest hopes to receive financial and technical assistance from international financial institutions and Western governments; negotiations over a new IMF standby agreement are to begin early in 2001. If reform stalls, Romania's ability to borrow from both public and private sources could quickly dry up, leading to another financial crisis. | 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 | 44.768 billion kWh (1999) | 9.562 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 1.935 billion kWh (1999) | 19 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) | 2 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 49.036 billion kWh (1999) | 10.3 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
53.99% hydro: 36.18% nuclear: 9.81% other: 0.02% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 99%
hydro: 1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Black Sea 0 m highest point: Moldoveanu 2,544 m |
lowest point: Shatt al Gharsah -17 m
highest point: Jebel ech Chambi 1,544 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta wetlands | 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:
Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, 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 | Romanian 89.5%, Hungarian 7.1%, Roma 1.8%, German 0.5%, Ukrainian 0.3%, other 0.8% (1992) | Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1% |
Exchange rates | lei per US dollar - 26,243.0 (January 2001), 21,708.7 (2000), 15,332.8 (1999), 8,875.6 (1998), 7,167.9 (1997), 3,084.2 (1996); note - lei is the plural form of leu | 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 Ion ILIESCU (since 20 December 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Adrian NASTASE (since 29 December 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 November 2000, with runoff between the top two candidates held 10 December 2000 (next to be held NA November/December 2004); prime minister appointed by the president election results: percent of vote - Ion ILIESCU 66.84%, Corneliu Vadim TUDOR 33.16% |
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 | $11.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $6.6 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | textiles and footwear 26%, metals and metal products 15%, machinery and equipment 11%, minerals and fuels 6% (1999) | textiles, mechanical goods, phosphates and chemicals, agricultural products, hydrocarbons |
Exports - partners | Italy 23%, Germany 18%, France 6%, Turkey 5%, US (1999) | France 28%, Italy 21%, Germany 14%, Belgium 6%, Libya (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellow band has been removed; now similar to the flag of Chad, also resembles the flags of Andorra and Moldova | 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 - $132.5 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $64.5 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
13.9% industry: 32.6% services: 53.5% (2000) |
agriculture: 13%
industry: 33% services: 54% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,900 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2000 est.) | 4.8% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 46 00 N, 25 00 E | 34 00 N, 9 00 E |
Geography - note | controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine | strategic location in central Mediterranean; Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
153,359 km paved: 103,671 km (including 133 km of expressways) unpaved: 49,688 km (1998 est.) |
total: 23,100 km
paved: 18,226 km unpaved: 4,874 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.8% highest 10%: 20.2% (1992) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 32% (1995) (1995) |
Illicit drugs | important transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and small amounts of Latin American cocaine bound for Western Europe | - |
Imports | $11.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $8.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 23%, fuels and minerals 12%, chemicals 9%, textile and products 19% (1999) | machinery and equipment, hydrocarbons, chemicals, food |
Imports - partners | Italy 20%, Germany 19%, France 7%, Russia 6% (1999) | France 30%, Italy 21%, Germany 11%, Spain 4%, Belgium (2000) |
Independence | 1881 (from Turkey; republic proclaimed 30 December 1947) | 20 March 1956 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8% (2000) | 5.2% (2001 est.) |
Industries | textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food processing, petroleum refining | petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron ore), tourism, textiles, footwear, agribusiness, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 19.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 27.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 45.7% (2000 est.) | 2.7% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | 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) | 38 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 31,020 sq km (1993 est.) | 3,800 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistrates) | Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation |
Labor force | 9.9 million (1999 est.) | 2.69 million
note: shortage of skilled labor |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 40%, industry 25%, services 35% (1998) | services 55%, industry 23%, agriculture 22% (1995 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
2,508 km border countries: Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km, Yugoslavia 476 km, Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (east) 169 km |
total: 1,424 km
border countries: Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km |
Land use | arable land:
41% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 21% forests and woodland: 29% other: 6% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 18.67%
permanent crops: 12.87% other: 68.46% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Romanian, Hungarian, German | Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce) |
Legal system | former mixture of civil law system and communist legal theory; is now based on the constitution of France's Fifth Republic | based on French civil law system and Islamic law; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (140 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Adunarea Deputatilor (345 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held in the fall of 2004); Chamber of Deputies - last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held in the fall of 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDSR 37.1%, PRM 21.0%, PD 7.6%, PNL 7.5%, UDMR 6.9%; seats by party - PDSR 65, PRM 37, PD 13, PNL 13, UDMR 12; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PDSR 36.6%, PRM 19.5%, PD 7.0%, PNL, 6.9%, UDMR 6.8%; seats by party - PDSR 155, PRM 84, PD 31, PNL 30, UDMR 27, ethnic minorities 18 |
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:
70.16 years male: 66.36 years female: 74.19 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: 97% male: 98% female: 95% (1992 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 66.7% male: 78.6% female: 54.6% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
95 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 695,227 GRT/931,598 DWT ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 71, container 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, railcar carrier 2, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 1 (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 branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Paramilitary Forces, Civil Defense | Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary forces, National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $720 million (FY00) | $356 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (FY00) | 1.5% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
5,899,536 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,806,881 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
4,962,807 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,597,565 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | 20 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
179,951 (2001 est.) |
males: 105,146 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918) | Independence Day, 20 March (1956) |
Nationality | noun:
Romanian(s) adjective: Romanian |
noun: Tunisian(s)
adjective: Tunisian |
Natural hazards | earthquakes most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt, arable land, hydropower | petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt |
Net migration rate | -0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,800 km; petroleum products 1,429 km; natural gas 6,400 km (1992) | crude oil 797 km; petroleum products 86 km; natural gas 742 km |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party or PD [Petre ROMAN]; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; National Liberal Party or PNL [Mircea IONESCU-QUINTUS]; Party of Social Democracy in Romania or PDSR [Adrian NASTASE]; Romania Mare Party (Greater Romanian Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR]; The Democratic Convention or CDR [Ion DIACONESCU] | 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 | various human rights and professional associations | the Islamic fundamentalist party, Al Nahda (Renaissance), is outlawed |
Population | 22,364,022 (July 2001 est.) | 9,815,644 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 44.5% (2000) | 6% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.21% (2001 est.) | 1.12% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Braila, Constanta, Galati, Mangalia, Sulina, Tulcea | Bizerte, Gabes, La Goulette, Sfax, Sousse, Tunis, Zarzis |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 40, FM 202, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 7, FM 20, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 7.2 million (1997) | 2.06 million (1997) |
Railways | total:
11,385 km (3,888 km electrified) standard gauge: 10,898 km narrow gauge: 487 km (1996) |
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 | Romanian Orthodox 70%, Roman Catholic 3%, Uniate Catholic 3%, Protestant 6%, unaffiliated 18% | Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish and other 1% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 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:
poor domestic service, but improving domestic: 90% of telephone network is automatic; trunk network is mostly microwave radio relay, with some fiber-optic cable; about one-third of exchange capacity is digital; roughly 3,300 villages have no service international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; new digital, international, direct-dial exchanges operate in Bucharest; note - Romania is an active participant in several international telecommunication network projects (1999) |
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 | 3.777 million (1997) | 654,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 645,500 (1999) | 50,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 48 (plus 392 repeaters) (1995) | 26 (plus 76 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain of Moldavia on the east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated from the Walachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps | mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara |
Total fertility rate | 1.35 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.94 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.5% (1999) | 15.6% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 1,724 km (1984) | none |