Tunisia (2002) | Bosnia and Herzegovina (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) | 2 first-order administrative divisions and 1 internationally supervised district* - Brcko district (Brcko Distrikt)*, the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska; note - Brcko district is in northeastern Bosnia and is an administrative unit under the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the district remains under international supervision |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 15% (male 353,163/female 331,133)
15-64 years: 70.4% (male 1,615,011/female 1,587,956) 65 years and over: 14.6% (male 273,240/female 391,695) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | olives, olive oil, grain, dairy products, tomatoes, citrus fruit, beef, sugar beets, dates, almonds | wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock |
Airports | 30 (2001) | 28 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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) |
total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 7 (2002) |
total: 20
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 12 (2007) |
Area | total: 163,610 sq km
land: 155,360 sq km water: 8,250 sq km |
total: 51,129 sq km
land: 51,129 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Georgia | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
Background | 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. | Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of sovereignty in October 1991 was followed by a declaration of independence from the former Yugoslavia on 3 March 1992 after a referendum boycotted by ethnic Serbs. The Bosnian Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia and Montenegro - responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to form a "Greater Serbia." In March 1994, Bosniaks and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement creating a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties initialed a peace agreement that brought to a halt three years of interethnic civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). The Dayton Peace Accords retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a joint multi-ethnic and democratic government charged with conducting foreign, diplomatic, and fiscal policy. Also recognized was a second tier of government comprised of two entities roughly equal in size: the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska (RS). The Federation and RS governments were charged with overseeing most government functions. The Office of the High Representative (OHR) was established to oversee the implementation of the civilian aspects of the agreement. In 1995-96, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops served in Bosnia to implement and monitor the military aspects of the agreement. IFOR was succeeded by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) whose mission was to deter renewed hostilities. European Union peacekeeping troops (EUFOR) replaced SFOR in December 2004; their mission is to maintain peace and stability throughout the country. EUFOR plans to phase out its mission beginning in 2007. |
Birth rate | 16.83 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.8 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $5.7 billion
expenditures: $6.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.5 billion (2001 est.) |
revenues: $6.207 billion
expenditures: $5.838 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Tunis | name: Sarajevo
geographic coordinates: 43 52 N, 18 25 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south | hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along coast |
Coastline | 1,148 km | 20 km |
Constitution | 1 June 1959; amended 12 July 1988 | the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995 in Paris, included a new constitution now in force; note - each of the entities also has its own constitution |
Country name | conventional long form: Tunisian Republic
conventional short form: Tunisia local long form: Al Jumhuriyah at Tunisiyah local short form: Tunis |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina local long form: none local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina former: People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Currency | Tunisian dinar (TND) | - |
Death rate | 5 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $11.5 billion (2001 est.) | $6.51 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles L. ENGLISH
embassy: Alipasina 43, 71000 Sarajevo mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [387] (33) 445-700 FAX: [387] (33) 659-722 branch office(s): Banja Luka, Mostar |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Hatem ATALLAH
chancery: 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 862-1850 FAX: [1] (202) 862-1858 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Bisera TURKOVIC
chancery: 2109 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 337-1500 FAX: [1] (202) 337-1502 consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York |
Disputes - international | none | Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia have delimited most of their boundary, but sections along the Drina River remain in dispute; discussions continue with Croatia on several small disputed sections of the boundary related to maritime access that hinder final ratification of the 1999 border agreement |
Economic aid - recipient | $933.2 million (1995) | $546.1 million (2005 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 5.4% 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. | Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked next to Macedonia as the poorest republic in the old Yugoslav federation. Although agriculture is almost all in private hands, farms are small and inefficient, and the republic traditionally is a net importer of food. The private sector is growing and foreign investment is slowly increasing, but government spending, at nearly 40% of adjusted GDP, remains unreasonably high. The interethnic warfare in Bosnia caused production to plummet by 80% from 1992 to 1995 and unemployment to soar. With an uneasy peace in place, output recovered in 1996-99 at high percentage rates from a low base; but output growth slowed in 2000-02. Part of the lag in output was made up in 2003-06 when GDP growth exceeded 5% per year. National-level statistics are limited and do not capture the large share of black market activity. The konvertibilna marka (convertible mark or BAM)- the national currency introduced in 1998 - is pegged to the euro, and confidence in the currency and the banking sector has increased. Implementing privatization, however, has been slow, particularly in the Federation, although it is increasing in the Republika Srpska. Banking reform accelerated in 2001 as all the Communist-era payments bureaus were shut down; foreign banks, primarily from Western Europe, now control most of the banking sector. A sizeable current account deficit and high unemployment rate remain the two most serious economic problems. On 1 January 2006 a new value-added tax (VAT) went into effect. The VAT has been successful in capturing much of the gray market economy and has developed into a significant and predictable source of revenues for all layers of government. The question of how to allocate revenue from VAT receipts is not completely resolved. Bosnia and Herzegovina became a member of the Central European Free Trade Agreement in December 2006. The country receives substantial reconstruction assistance and humanitarian aid from the international community but will have to prepare for an era of declining assistance. |
Electricity - consumption | 9.562 billion kWh (2000) | 8.574 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 19 million kWh (2000) | 3.58 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 2 million kWh (2000) | 2.174 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 10.3 billion kWh (2000) | 12.22 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 99%
hydro: 1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Shatt al Gharsah -17 m
highest point: Jebel ech Chambi 1,544 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maglic 2,386 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | air pollution from metallurgical plants; sites for disposing of urban waste are limited; water shortages and destruction of infrastructure because of the 1992-95 civil strife; deforestation |
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: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1% | Bosniak 48%, Serb 37.1%, Croat 14.3%, other 0.6% (2000)
note: Bosniak has replaced Muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam |
Exchange rates | Tunisian dinars per US dollar - 1.44 (January 2002), 1.3753 (2001), 1.3707 (2000), 1.1862 (1999), 1.1387 (1998), 1.1059 (1997) | konvertibilna maraka per US dollar - 1.5576 (2006), 1.5727 (2005), 1.5752 (2004), 1.7329 (2003), 2.0782 (2002)
note: the convertible mark is pegged to the euro |
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: Chairman of the Presidency Zeljko KOMSIC (chairman since 6 July 2007; and presidency member since 1 October 2006 - Croat); other members of the three-member presidency rotating (every eight months): Nebojsa RADMANOVIC (presidency member since 1 October 2006 - Serb); and Haris SILAJDZIC (presidency member since 1 October 2006 - Bosniak)
head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Nikola SPIRIC (since 11 January 2007); note - retired 1 November 2007; acting as acting chairman since his retirement cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairman; approved by the National House of Representatives elections: the three members of the presidency (one Bosniak, one Croat, one Serb) are elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term, but then ineligible for four years); the chairmanship rotates every eight months and resumes where it left off following each national election; election last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held in 2010); the chairman of the Council of Ministers is appointed by the presidency and confirmed by the National House of Representatives election results: percent of vote - Nebojsa RADMANOVIC with 53.3% of the votes for the Serb seat; Zeljko KOMSIC received 39.6% of the votes for the Croat seat; Haris SILAJDZIC received 62.8% of the votes for the Bosniak seat note: President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Borjana KRISTO (since 21 February 2007); Vice Presidents Spomenka MICIC (since NA 2007) and Mirsad KEBO (since NA 2007); President of the Republika Srpska: Milan JELIC (since 9 November 2006) |
Exports | $6.6 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | textiles, mechanical goods, phosphates and chemicals, agricultural products, hydrocarbons | metals, clothing, wood products |
Exports - partners | France 28%, Italy 21%, Germany 14%, Belgium 6%, Libya (2000) | Croatia 19.6%, Slovenia 16.7%, Italy 15.4%, Germany 12.3%, Austria 8.7%, Hungary 5.3% (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 | a wide medium blue vertical band on the fly side with a yellow isosceles triangle abutting the band and the top of the flag; the remainder of the flag is medium blue with seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars top and bottom along the hypotenuse of the triangle |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $64.5 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 13%
industry: 33% services: 54% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 10.2%
industry: 23.9% services: 66% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.8% (2001 est.) | 6.2% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 34 00 N, 9 00 E | 44 00 N, 18 00 E |
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 | within Bosnia and Herzegovina's recognized borders, the country is divided into a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation (about 51% of the territory) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska or RS (about 49% of the territory); the region called Herzegovina is contiguous to Croatia and Montenegro, and traditionally has been settled by an ethnic Croat majority in the west and an ethnic Serb majority in the east |
Heliports | - | 5 (2007) |
Highways | total: 23,100 km
paved: 18,226 km unpaved: 4,874 km (1996) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 32% (1995) (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | - | increasingly a transit point for heroin being trafficked to Western Europe; minor transit point for marijuana; remains highly vulnerable to money-laundering activity given a primarily cash-based and unregulated economy, weak law enforcement, and instances of corruption |
Imports | $8.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, hydrocarbons, chemicals, food | machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | France 30%, Italy 21%, Germany 11%, Spain 4%, Belgium (2000) | Croatia 24%, Germany 14.5%, Slovenia 13.2%, Italy 10%, Austria 5.9%, Hungary 5.2% (2006) |
Independence | 20 March 1956 (from France) | 1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia; referendum for independence completed 1 March 1992; independence declared 3 March 1992) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.2% (2001 est.) | 5.5% (2003 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron ore), tourism, textiles, footwear, agribusiness, beverages | steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances, oil refining |
Infant mortality rate | 27.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 9.58 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.98 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.7% (2001 est.) | 7.5% (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, 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 | BIS, CE, CEI, EBRD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNWTO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 3,800 sq km (1998 est.) | 30 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation | BH Constitutional Court (consists of nine members: four members are selected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives, two members by the Republika Srpska's National Assembly, and three non-Bosnian members by the president of the European Court of Human Rights); BH State Court (consists of nine judges and three divisions - Administrative, Appellate and Criminal - having jurisdiction over cases related to state-level law and appellate jurisdiction over cases initiated in the entities); a War Crimes Chamber opened in March 2005
note: the entities each have a Supreme Court; each entity also has a number of lower courts; there are 10 cantonal courts in the Federation, plus a number of municipal courts; the Republika Srpska has five municipal courts |
Labor force | 2.69 million
note: shortage of skilled labor |
1.026 million (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 55%, industry 23%, agriculture 22% (1995 est.) | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 1,424 km
border countries: Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km |
total: 1,459 km
border countries: Croatia 932 km, Montenegro 225 km, Serbia 302 km |
Land use | arable land: 18.67%
permanent crops: 12.87% other: 68.46% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 19.61%
permanent crops: 1.89% other: 78.5% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce) | Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and Islamic law; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session | based on civil law system; has not accepted 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, increasing the number of seats they hold from 19 in the last election to 34 now |
bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the national House of Representatives or Predstavnicki Dom (42 seats, 28 seats allocated for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 14 seats for the Republika Srpska; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation, to serve four-year terms); and the House of Peoples or Dom Naroda (15 seats, 5 Bosniak, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members elected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve four-year terms); note - Bosnia's election law specifies four-year terms for the state and first-order administrative division entity legislatures
elections: national House of Representatives - elections last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held in 2010); House of Peoples - last constituted in January 2003 (next to be constituted in 2007) election results: national House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - SDA 9, SBH 8, SNSD 7, SDP 5, SDS 3, HDZ-BH 3, HDZ 1990 2, other 5; House of Peoples - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - NA note: the Bosniak/Croat Federation has a bicameral legislature that consists of a House of Representatives (98 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held in October 2010); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party/coalition - SDA 28, SBH 24, SDP 17, HDZ-BH 8, HDZ100 7, other 14; and a House of Peoples (58 seats - 17 Bosniak, 17 Croat, 17 Serb, 7 other); last constituted December 2002; the Republika Srpska has a National Assembly (83 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held in the fall of 2010); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party/coalition - SNSD 41, SDS 17, PDP 8, DNS 4, SBH 4, SPRS 3, SDA 3, other 3; as a result of the 2002 constitutional reform process, a 28-member Republika Srpska Council of Peoples (COP) was established in the Republika Srpska National Assembly including eight Croats, eight Bosniaks, eight Serbs, and four members of the smaller communities |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.16 years
male: 72.56 years female: 75.89 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 78.17 years
male: 74.57 years female: 82.03 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: 96.7% male: 99% female: 94.4% (2000 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
no data available |
Merchant marine | 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.) |
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Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary forces, National Guard | VF Army (the air and air defense forces are subordinate commands within the Army), VRS Army (the air and air defense forces are subordinate commands within the Army) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $356 million (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY99) | 4.5% (2005 est.) |
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 | Independence Day, 20 March (1956) | National Day, 25 November (1943) |
Nationality | noun: Tunisian(s)
adjective: Tunisian |
noun: Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s)
adjective: Bosnian, Herzegovinian |
Natural hazards | NA | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt | coal, iron ore, bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, cobalt, manganese, nickel, clay, gypsum, salt, sand, forests, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 797 km; petroleum products 86 km; natural gas 742 km | - |
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 of Independent Social Democrats or SNSD [Milorad DODIK]; Bosnian Party or BOSS [Mirnes AJANOVIC]; Civic Democratic Party or GDS [Ibrahim SPAHIC]; Croat Christian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HKDU [Marin TOPIC]; Croat Party of Rights or HSP [Zvonko JURISIC]; Croat Peasants Party or HSS [Marko TADIC]; Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HDZ-BH [Dragan COVIC]; Croatian Democratic Union 1990 or HDZ1990 [Bozo LJUBIC]; Croatian Peoples Union [Milenko BRKIC]; Democratic National Union or DNZ [Rifet DOLIC]; Democratic Peoples Alliance or DNS [Marko PAVIC]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDS [Rasim KADIC]; New Croat Initiative or NHI [Kresimir ZUBAK]; Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina or SBH [Haris SILAJDZIC]; Party for Democratic Action or SDA [Sulejman TIHIC]; Party of Democratic Progress or PDP [Mladen IVANIC]; Serb Democratic Party or SDS [Mladen BOSIC]; Serb Radical Party of the Republika Srpska or SRS-RS [Milanko MIHAJLICA]; Serb Radical Party-Dr. Vojislav Seselj or SRS-VS [Radislav KANJERIC]; Social Democratic Party of BIH or SDP [Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA]; Social Democratic Union or SDU [Sejfudin TOKIC]; Socialist Party of Republika Srpska or SPRS [Petar DJOKIC] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | the Islamic fundamentalist party, Al Nahda (Renaissance), is outlawed | NA |
Population | 9,815,644 (July 2002 est.) | 4,552,198 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 6% (2000 est.) | 25% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.12% (2002 est.) | 1.003% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bizerte, Gabes, La Goulette, Sfax, Sousse, Tunis, Zarzis | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 20, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 8, FM 16, 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) (2001) |
total: 608 km
standard gauge: 608 km 1.435-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish and other 1% | Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, other 14% |
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: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.067 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.017 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.698 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal | 18 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: telephone and telegraph network needs modernization and expansion; many urban areas are below average as contrasted with services in other former Yugoslav republics
domestic: fixed-line teledensity is roughly 20 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density is about 22 per 100 persons international: country code - 387; no satellite earth stations (2006) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 654,000 (1997) | 989,000 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 50,000 (1998) | 1.888 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 26 (plus 76 repeaters) (1995) | 33 (plus 277 repeaters) (September 1995) |
Terrain | mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara | mountains and valleys |
Total fertility rate | 1.94 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.23 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15.6% (2000 est.) | 45.5% official rate; grey economy may reduce actual unemployment to 25-30% (31 December 2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | Sava River (northern border) open to shipping but use limited (2006) |