Republic of Tunisia

Republic of Tunisia (الجمهورية التونسية)

al-Jumhūrīyah at-Tūnisīyah

Tunisia Republic

Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a part of the Maghreb region of North Africa, bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares maritime borders with Italy through the islands of Sicily and Sardinia to the north and Malta to the east. It features the archaeological sites of Carthage dating back to the 9th century BC, as well as the Great Mosque of Kairouan. Known for its ancient architecture, souks, and blue coasts, it covers 163,610 km2 (63,170 sq mi), and has a population of 12.1 million. It contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains and the northern reaches of the Sahara desert, much of its remaining territory is arable land. Its 1,300 km (810 mi) of coastline includes the African conjunction of the western and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Basin. Tunisia is home to Africa's northernmost point, Cape Angela. Located on the northeastern coast, Tunis is the capital and largest city of the country, which is itself named after Tunis. The official language of Tunisia is Modern Standard Arabic. The vast majority of Tunisia's population is Arab and Muslim. Vernacular Tunisian Arabic is the most spoken, and French also serves as an administrative and educational language in some contexts, but it has no official status.

Republic of Tunisia Etymology

The word Tunisia is derived from Tunis, a central urban hub and the capital of modern-day Tunisia. The present form of the name, with its Latinate suffix -ia, evolved from French Tunisie, in turn generally associated with the Berber root ⵜⵏⵙ, transcribed tns, which means "to lay down" or "encampment". It is sometimes also associated with the Carthage goddess Tanith (or Tunit), and the ancient city of Tynes.

The French derivative Tunisie was adopted in some European languages with slight modifications, introducing a distinctive name to designate the country. Other languages have left the name untouched, such as the Russian Туни́с (Tunís) and Spanish Túnez. In this case, the same name is used for both country and city, as with the Arabic تونس, and only by context can one tell the difference.

In English, Tunisia before independence was also often called simply "Tunis", a name that persisted until the 1940s, under French influence, the neologism "Tunisia", adapted from Tunisie, gradually took hold. The adjective "Tunisian" first appeared in English in 1825, the previous adjectival form was "Tunisine".

Republic of Tunisia Post-Revolution (since 2011)

The Tunisian Revolution was an intensive campaign of civil resistance that was precipitated by high unemployment, food inflation, corruption, a lack of freedom of speech and other political freedoms and poor living conditions. Labour unions were said to be an integral part of the protests. The protests inspired the Arab Spring, a wave of similar actions throughout the Arab world. The catalyst for mass demonstrations was the death of Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old Tunisian street vendor, who set himself afire on 17 December 2010 in protest at the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation inflicted on him by a municipal official named Faida Hamdy. Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizi's death on 4 January 2011, ultimately leading longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to resign and flee the country on 14 January 2011, after 23 years in power.

Protests continued for banning of the ruling party and the eviction of all its members from the transitional government formed by Mohammed Ghannouchi. Eventually the new government gave in to the demands. A Tunis court banned the ex-ruling party RCD and confiscated all its resources. A decree by the minister of the interior banned the "political police", special forces which were used to intimidate and persecute political activists.

On 3 March 2011, the interim president announced that elections to a Constituent Assembly would be held on 24 July 2011. On 9 June 2011, the prime minister announced the election would be postponed until 23 October 2011. International and internal observers declared the vote free and fair. The Ennahda Movement, formerly banned under the Ben Ali regime, came out of the election as the largest party, with 89 seats out of a total of 217. On 12 December 2011, former dissident and veteran human rights activist Moncef Marzouki was elected president. In March 2012, Ennahda declared it will not support making sharia the main source of legislation in the new constitution, maintaining the secular nature of the state. Ennahda's stance on the issue was criticized by hardline Islamists, who wanted strict sharia, but was welcomed by secular parties. On 6 February 2013, Chokri Belaid, the leader of the leftist opposition and prominent critic of Ennahda, was assassinated. In 2014, President Moncef Marzouki established Tunisia's Truth and Dignity Commission, as a key part of creating a national reconciliation.

Tunisia was hit by two terror attacks on foreign tourists in 2015, first killing 22 people at the Bardo National Museum, and later killing 38 people at the Sousse beachfront. Tunisian president Beji Caid Essebsi renewed the state of emergency in October for three more months. The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet won the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for its work in building a peaceful, pluralistic political order in Tunisia.

Presidency of Kais Saied (2019–present)

Tunisia's first democratically elected president Beji Caid Essebsi died in July 2019. Following him, Kais Saied became Tunisia's president after a landslide victory in the 2019 Tunisian presidential elections in October. On 23 October 2019, Saied was sworn in as Tunisia's new president.

On 25 July 2021, amid ongoing demonstrations concerning government dysfunction and corruption and rises in COVID-19 cases, Kais Saied suspended parliament, dismissed the prime minister and withdrew immunity of parliament members. In September 2021, Saied said he would appoint a committee to help draft new constitutional amendments. On 29 September, he named Najla Bouden as the new prime minister and tasked her with forming a cabinet, which was sworn in on 11 October. On 3 February 2022, Tunisia was voted to the African Union's (AU) Peace and Security Council for the term 2022–2024, according to the Tunisian Foreign Ministry. The poll took place on the fringes of the AU Executive Council's 40th ordinary session, which was held in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, according to the ministry.

In February 2022, Tunisia and the International Monetary Fund held preliminary negotiations in the hopes of securing a multibillion-dollar bailout for an economy beset by recession, public debt, inflation, and unemployment. In April 2023, the Tunisian government closed the headquarters of the Ennahda party and arrested its leader Rached Ghannouchi. In October 2023 Abir Moussi, head of the Free Destourian Party (FDL), became the latest prominent opponent of president Saied to have been detained or imprisoned. The FDL had emerged from the Democratic Constitutional Assembly.

In September 2023 Saied had asked to postpone a visit by a delegation of the EU commission to discuss migration according to Minister of the Interior Kamel Feki. Meanwhile, human rights organisations were criticizing the July migration agreement.

Tunisia cannot act as a border guard for other countries, Feki said. It is one of the most important transit countries for people on their way to Europe. Early in October 2023 Saied turned down 127 million in EU aid saying that the amount is small and doesn't square with a deal signed three months ago. This in turn caused surprise in Brussels.

Tunisia Overview

Tunisia Location: North Africa
Tunisia Capital and largest City: Tunis
Tunisia Co-Ordinates: 36°49′N 10°11′E
Tunisia Official Languages: Arabic
Tunisia Local Vernacular: Tunisian Arabic
Tunisia Foreign Languages: French
Tunisia Ethnic Groups (2021):
98% Arabs
1% Berbers
1% Jews and others
Tunisia Religion:
99% Sunni Islam
1% Others (inc. Christians, Jews, Shia Muslims, Baháʼís and irreligious)
Tunisia Demonym(s): Tunisian
Tunisia Government: Unitary presidential republic
Tunisia President: Kais Saied
Tunisia Prime Minister: Kamel Madouri
Tunisia Legislature: Parliament
Tunisia Upper House: National Council of Regions and Districts
Tunisia Lower House: Assembly of the Representatives of the People
Tunisia Establishment: Ancient Carthage 814 BC
Husainids: 15 July 1705
Kingdom: 20 March 1956
Republic: 25 July 1957
Tunisia Current Constitution: 25 July 2022
Tunisia Area Total: 163,610 km2 (63,170 sq mi) (91st)
Water (%): 5.04
Tunisia Population: 2020 estimate
11,708,370 (81st)
Tunisia Currency: Tunisian dinar (TND)
Tunisia Time Zone: UTC+1 (CET)
Tunisia ate Format: dd/mm/yyyy
Tunisia Driving Side: right
Tunisia Calling Code: +216
Tunisia ISO 3166 Code: TN
Tunisia Internet TLD:
.tn
.تونس