Tunisia (2001) | Nicaragua (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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) | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonoma); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
28.74% (male 1,440,636; female 1,348,133) 15-64 years: 65.12% (male 3,157,988; female 3,161,596) 65 years and over: 6.14% (male 296,930; female 299,819) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 35.5% (male 1,025,426/female 988,148)
15-64 years: 61.3% (male 1,734,153/female 1,746,574) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 79,589/female 101,466) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | olives, olive oil, grain, dairy products, tomatoes, citrus fruit, beef, sugar beets, dates, almonds | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters |
Airports | 32 (2000 est.) | 163 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
15 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
17 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
total: 152
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 135 (2007) |
Area | total:
163,610 sq km land: 155,360 sq km water: 8,250 sq km |
total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Georgia | slightly smaller than the state of New York |
Background | Following independence from France in 1956, President Habib BOURGIUBA 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. | The Pacific coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and 2001, saw the Sandinistas defeated, but voting in 2006 announced the return of former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra. Nicaragua's infrastructure and economy - hard hit by the earlier civil war and by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 - are slowly being rebuilt. |
Birth rate | 17.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 24.12 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$7.5 billion expenditures: $8.1 billion, including capital expenditures to $1.6 billion (2000 est.) |
revenues: $996.7 million
expenditures: $1.211 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Tunis | name: Managua
geographic coordinates: 12 09 N, 86 17 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands |
Coastline | 1,148 km | 910 km |
Constitution | 1 June 1959; amended 12 July 1988 | 9 January 1987; reforms in 1995, 2000, and 2005 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Tunisia conventional short form: Tunisia local long form: Al Jumhuriyah at Tunisiyah local short form: Tunis |
conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua
conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
Currency | Tunisian dinar (TND) | - |
Death rate | 4.99 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $13 billion (2000 est.) | $3.918 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Rust DEMMING embassy: 144 Avenue de la Liberte, 1002 Tunis-Belvedere mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [216] (1) 782-566 FAX: [216] (1) 789-719 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Paul A. TRIVELLI
embassy: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: P.O. Box 327 telephone: [505] 266-6010 FAX: [505] 266-3861 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Hatem ATALLAH chancery: 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 862-1850 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Arturo CRUZ Sequeira, Jr.
chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570, [1] (202) 939-6573 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6545 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | memorials and countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorial claims in the western Caribbean Sea, final public hearings are scheduled for 2007; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica |
Economic aid - recipient | $933.2 million (1995); note - ODA, $90 million (1998 est.) | $471 million (2006 est.) |
Economy - overview | 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 5.5% in the past four years, and inflation is slowing. Growth in tourism and increased trade have been key elements in this steady growth. Tunisia's association agreement with the European Union entered into force on 1 March 1998, the first such accord between the EU and Mediterranean countries to be activated. 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. | Nicaragua has widespread underemployment and the third lowest per capita income in the Western Hemisphere. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has progressed toward macroeconomic stability in the past few years, GDP annual growth has been far too low to meet the country's needs, forcing the country to rely on international economic assistance to meet fiscal and debt financing obligations. Nicaragua qualified in early 2004 for some $4.5 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and in November 2006 obtained over $800 million in debt relief from the Inter-American Development Bank. In October 2005, Nicaragua ratified the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which will provide an opportunity for Nicaragua to attract investment, create jobs, and deepen economic development. Energy shortages, however, are a serious bottleneck to growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.677 billion kWh (1999) | 2.929 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - exports | 19 million kWh (1999) | 8 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 165 million kWh (1999) | 69.34 million kWh (2006) |
Electricity - production | 9.173 billion kWh (1999) | 2.778 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
99.2% hydro: 0.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Shatt al Gharsah -17 m highest point: Jebel ech Chambi 1,544 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
Environment - current issues | toxic and hazardous waste disposal is ineffective and presents human health risks; water pollution from raw sewage; limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution |
Environment - international agreements | 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1% | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% |
Exchange rates | Tunisian dinars per US dollar - 1.3753 (January 2001), 1.4667 (November 2000), 1.1862 (1999), 1.1387 (1998), 1.1059 (1997), 0.9734 (1996) | gold cordobas per US dollar - 17.582 (2006), 16.733 (2005), 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003), 14.251 (2002) |
Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Jaime MORALES Carazo (since 10 January 2007); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Jaime MORALES Carazo (since 10 January 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term so long as it is not consecutive); election last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011) election results: Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra elected president - 38.07%, Eduardo MONTEALEGRE 29%, Jose RIZO 26.21%, Edmundo JARQUIN 6.44% |
Exports | $6.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 1,397 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | textiles, mechanical goods, phosphates and chemicals, agricultural products, hydrocarbons | coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts |
Exports - partners | Germany 28%, France 22%, Italy 17%, Belgium 5%, Libya 4% (1999) | US 65.2%, El Salvador 6.9%, Honduras 3.8% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $62.8 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
14% industry: 32% services: 54% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 17.2%
industry: 25.9% services: 56.9% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,500 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 3.7% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 34 00 N, 9 00 E | 13 00 N, 85 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location in central Mediterranean; Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua |
Highways | total:
23,100 km paved: 18,226 km unpaved: 4,874 km (1996) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.3% highest 10%: 30.7% (1990) |
lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 33.8% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing |
Imports | $8.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 15,560 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, hydrocarbons, chemicals, food | consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | France 23%, Germany 23%, Italy 15%, Belgium 3% (1999) | US 20.1%, Mexico 13.9%, Venezuela 9.4%, Costa Rica 6.9%, Guatemala 5.4%, China 4.3% (2006) |
Independence | 20 March 1956 (from France) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.1% (2000 est.) | 2.4% (2005 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron ore), tourism, textiles, footwear, food, beverages | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood |
Infant mortality rate | 29.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 27.14 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000 est.) | 9.1% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | 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, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 3,850 sq km (1993 est.) | 610 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 2.65 million (2000 est.)
note: shortage of skilled labor |
2.204 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 55%, industry 23%, agriculture 22% (1995 est.) | agriculture: 29%
industry: 19% services: 52% (2006 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,424 km border countries: Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km |
total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
Land use | arable land:
19% permanent crops: 13% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 4% other: 44% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 14.81%
permanent crops: 1.82% other: 83.37% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce) | Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and Islamic law; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | 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; the opposition increased number of seats from 19 to 34 |
unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; 90 members are elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; 1 seat for the previous president, 1 seat for the runner-up in previous presidential election)
elections: last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FSLN 38, PLC 25, ALN 23 (22 plus one for presidential candidate Eduardo MONTEALEGRE, runner-up in the 2006 presidential election), MRS 5, APRE 1 (outgoing President Enrique BOLANOS) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
73.92 years male: 72.35 years female: 75.62 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 70.92 years
male: 68.82 years female: 73.13 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 66.7% male: 78.6% female: 54.6% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: natural prolongation |
Merchant marine | total:
15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 149,554 GRT/156,861 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 4, chemical tanker 3, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
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Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary forces, National Guard | National Army of Nicaragua (ENN; includes Navy, Air Force) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $356 million (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY99) | 0.6% (2006) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,739,566 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,561,484 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
105,146 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 20 March (1956) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun:
Tunisian(s) adjective: Tunisian |
noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
Natural hazards | NA | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
Natural resources | petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish |
Net migration rate | -0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 797 km; petroleum products 86 km; natural gas 742 km | oil 54 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon]; Central American Unionist Party or PUCA [Blanca ROJAS]; Christian Alternative Party or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza]; Conservative Party or PC [Azalia AVILES Salmeron]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN [Carlos GUERRA Gallardo]; Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ Hernandez]; New Liberal Party or PALI [Adolfo GARCIA Esquivel]; Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance or ALN [Eduardo MONTEALEGRE]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO Molina]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Dora Maria TELLEZ]; Unity Alliance or AU |
Political pressure groups and leaders | the Islamic fundamentalist party, Al Nahda (Renaissance), is outlawed | National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups |
Population | 9,705,102 (July 2001 est.) | 5,675,356 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 6% (2000 est.) | 48% (2005) |
Population growth rate | 1.15% (2001 est.) | 1.855% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bizerte, Gabes, La Goulette, Sfax, Sousse, Tunis, Zarzis | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 20, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 2.06 million (1997) | - |
Railways | 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) |
total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish and other 1% | Roman Catholic 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%, Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5% (1995 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.993 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.784 male(s)/female total population: 1.001 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal | 16 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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 |
general assessment: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment
domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: country code - 505; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 654,000 (1997) | 247,900 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 50,000 (1998) | 1.83 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 26 (plus 76 repeaters) (1995) | 3 (plus 7 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes |
Total fertility rate | 1.99 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.69 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15.6% (2000 est.) | 3.8% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | none | 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (2007) |