:Tromelin Island Communications
Ports:
none; offshore anchorage only
Airports:
1 with runway less than 1,220 m
Telecommunications:
important meteorological station
:Tromelin Island Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of France
:Tunisia Geography
Total area:
163,610 km2
Land area:
155,360 km2
Comparative area:
slightly larger than Georgia
Land boundaries:
1,424 km total; Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km
Coastline:
1,148 km
Maritime claims:
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
maritime boundary dispute with Libya; land boundary disputes with Algeria
under discussion
Climate:
temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in
south
Terrain:
mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the
Sahara
Natural resources:
crude oil, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt
Land use:
arable land 20%; permanent crops 10%; meadows and pastures 19%; forest and
woodland 4%; other 47%; includes irrigated 1%
Environment:
deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Note:
strategic location in central Mediterranean; only 144 km from Italy across
the Strait of Sicily; borders Libya on east
:Tunisia People
Population:
8,445,656 (July 1992), growth rate 2.0% (1992)
Birth rate:
25 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
5 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
38 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
70 years male, 74 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
3.2 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Tunisian(s); adjective - Tunisian
Ethnic divisions:
Arab-Berber 98%, European 1%, Jewish less than 1%
Religions:
Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish less than 1%
Languages:
Arabic (official); Arabic and French (commerce)
Literacy:
65% (male 74%, female 56%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
2,250,000; agriculture 32%; shortage of skilled labor
Organized labor:
about 360,000 members claimed, roughly 20% of labor force; General Union of
Tunisian Workers (UGTT), quasi-independent of Constitutional Democratic
Party
:Tunisia Government
Long-form name:
Republic of Tunisia; note - may be changed to Tunisian Republic
Type:
republic
Capital:
Tunis
Administrative divisions:
23 governorates; Beja, Ben Arous, Bizerte, Gabes, Gafsa, Jendouba, Kairouan,
Kasserine, Kebili, L'Ariana, Le Kef, Mahdia, Medenine, Monastir, Nabeul,
Sfax, Sidi Bou Zid, Siliana, Sousse, Tataouine, Tozeur, Tunis, Zaghouan
Independence:
20 March 1956 (from France)
Constitution:
1 June 1959
Legal system:
based on French civil law system and Islamic law; some judicial review of
legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session
National holiday:
National Day, 20 March (1956)
Executive branch:
president, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
unicameral Chamber of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwaab)
Judicial branch:
Court of Cassation (Cour de Cassation)
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Gen. Zine el Abidine BEN ALI (since 7 November 1987)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Hamed KAROUI (since 26 September 1989)
Political parties and leaders:
Constitutional Democratic Rally Party (RCD), President BEN ALI (official
ruling party); Movement of Democratic Socialists (MDS), Mohammed MOUAADA;
five other political parties are legal, including the Communist Party
Suffrage:
universal at age 20
Elections:
President:
last held 2 April 1989 (next to be held NA April 1994); results - Gen. Zine
el Abidine BEN ALI was reelected without opposition
Chamber of Deputies:
last held 2 April 1989 (next to be held NA April 1994); results - RCD 80.7%,
independents/Islamists 13.7%, MDS 3.2%, other 2.4%; seats - (141 total) RCD
141
Member of:
ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Ismail KHELIL; Chancery at 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington DC 20005; telephone (202) 862-1850
US:
Ambassador John T. McCARTHY; Embassy at 144 Avenue de la Liberte, 1002
Tunis-Belvedere; telephone [216] (1) 782-566; FAX [216] (1) 789-719
Flag:
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