# The World Factbook (1990)/Tunisia

pages 313–315
​Tunisia
See regional map VII
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
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: 20% arable land; 10% permanent crops; 19% meadows and pastures; 4% forest and woodland; 47% other; includes 1% irrigated
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
People
Population: 8,095,492 (July 1990), growth rate 2.2% (1990)
Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 40 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 70 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 4.0 children born/woman (1990)
​Nationality: noun—Tunisian(s); adjective—Tunisian
Ethnic divisions: 98% Arab, 1% European, less than 1% Jewish
Religion: 98% Muslim, 1% Christian, less than 1% Jewish
Language: Arabic (official); Arabic and French (commerce)
Literacy: 62% (est.)
Labor force: 2,250,000; 32% agriculture; 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
Government
Long-form name: Republic of Tunisia; note—may be changed to Tunisian Republic
Type: republic
Capital: Tūnis
Administrative divisions: 23 governorates (wilāyat, singular—wilāyah); Al Kāf, Al Mahdīyah, Al Munastīr, Al Qaşrayn, Al Qayrawān, Aryānah, Bājah, Banzart, Bin ‘Arūs, Jundūbah, Madanīn, Nābul, Qābis, Qafşah, Qibilī, Şafāqis, Sīdī Bū Zayd, Silyānah, Sūsah, Taţāwīn, Tawzar, Tūnis, Zaghwān
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 National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale)
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), Ahmed Mestiri; 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 April 1994); results—Gen. Zine el Abidine Ben Aliwas reelected without opposition;
National Assembly—last held 2 April 1989 (next to be held April 1994); results—RCD 80.7%, independents/Islamists 13.7%, MDS 3.2%, others 2.4% seats—(141 total) RCD 141
Communists: a small number of nominal Communists, mostly students
Member of: AfDB, Arab League, AIOEC, CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB—Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, ITU, IWC—International Wheat Council, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Abdelaziz HAMZAOUI; Chancery at 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20005; telephone (202) 862-1850; US—Ambassador Robert H. PELLETREAU, Jr.; Embassy at 144 Avenue de la Liberte, 1002 Tunis-Belvedere; telephone [216](1) 782-566
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
Economy
Overview: The economy depends primarily on petroleum, phosphates, and tourism for continued growth. Two successive drought-induced crop failures have strained the government's budget and increased unemployment. The current account fell from a $23 million surplus in 1988 to a $390 million deficit in 1989. Despite its foreign payments problems, Tunis appears committed to its IMF-supported structural adjustment program. Nonetheless, the government may have to slow its implementation to head off labor unrest. The increasing foreign debt—$7.6 billion at yearend 1989—is also a key problem. Tunis probably will seek debt relief in 1990.
GDP: $8.7 billion, per capita $1,105; real growth rate 3.1% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 25% (1989)
Budget: revenues $2.9 billion; expenditures $3.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $0.8 billion (1989 est.)
Exports: $3.1 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities—hydrocarbons, agricultural products, phosphates and chemicals; partners—EC 73%, Middle East 9%, US 1%, Turkey, USSR
Imports: $4.4 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities—industrial goods and equipment 57%, hydrocarbons 13%, food 12%, consumer goods; partners—EC 68%, US 7%, Canada, Japan, USSR, China, Saudi Arabia, Algeria
External debt: $7.6 billion (December 1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.5% (1988)
Electricity: 1,493,000 kW capacity; 4,210 million kWh produced, 530 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron ore), textiles, footwear, food, beverages
Agriculture: accounts for 16% of GDP and one-third of labor force; output subject to severe fluctuations because of frequent droughts; export crops—olives, dates, oranges, almonds; other products—grain, sugar beets, wine grapes, poultry, beef, dairy; not self-sufficient in food; fish catch of 99,200 metric tons (1986)
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $694 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $4.6 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $684 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $410 million
Currency: Tunisian dinar (plural—dinars); 1 Tunisian dinar (TD) = 1,000 millimes
Exchange rates: Tunisian dinars (TD) per US$1—0.9055 (January 1990), 0.9493 (1989), 0.8578 (1988), 0.8287 (1987), 0.7940 (1986), 0.8345 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: 2,154 km total; 465 km 1.435-meter standard gauge; 1,689 km 1.000-meter gauge
Highways: 17,700 km total; 9,100 km bituminous; 8,600 km improved and unimproved earth
Pipelines: 797 km crude oil; 86 km refined products; 742 km natural gas
Ports: Bizerte, Gabes, Sfax, Sousse, Tunis, La Goulette, Zarzis
Merchant marine: 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 160,172 GRT/218,970 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 4 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 6 chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 5 bulk
Civil air: 13 major transport aircraft
Airports: 30 total, 28 usable; 13 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 7 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 7 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: the system is above the African average; facilities consist of open-wire lines, multiconductor cable, and radio relay; key centers are Şafāqis, Sūsah, Bizerte, and Tūnis; 233,000 telephones; stations—18 AM, 4 FM, 14 TV; ​4 submarine cables; satellite earth stations—Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 ARABSAT with back-up control station; coaxial cable to Algeria; radio relay to Algeria, Libya, and Italy
Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,997,197; 1,149,141 fit for military service; 88,368 reach military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures: 2.7% of GDP, or $235 million (1989 est.)