Home
Tunisia : تونس Tūnis), officially the Tunisian Republic (الجمهورية التونسية al-Jumhūriyya at-Tūnisiyya), is a country located in North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast. It is the northernmost country on the African continent, and the smallest of the nations situated along the Atlas mountain range. Around forty percent of the country is composed of the Sahara desert,
with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and
a 1300 km coastline. Both played a prominent role in ancient times,
first with the famous Phoenician city of Carthage, then as the Africa Province which became known as the bread basket of the Roman Empire, and then as the Maghreb region of various medieval Islamic states. Tunisia ranks high among Arab and African nations in reports released by The World Economic Forum.
The word Tunisia is derived from Tunis; a city and capital of modern-day Tunisia. The present form of the name, with its Latinate suffix -ia, evolved from French Tunisie.
This name was introduced by French geographers and historians as part
of their efforts to give names to their new occupied territories and
protectorates. The French derivative Tunisie was adopted in some European languages with slice modifications introducing a distinctive name to designate the country.
The constitution declares Islam
as the official state religion and requires the President to be Muslim.
Tunisia also enjoys a significant degree of religious freedom, a right
enshrined and protected in its constitution which guarantees the
freedom to practice one's religion.
The country has a culture that encourages acceptance of other
religions; religious freedom is widely practiced and the government is
tolerant of religious freedom as long as it does not threaten national
unity. Individual Tunisians are also tolerant of religious freedom and
generally do not inquire about a person's personal beliefs.
The majority of Tunisia's population (98%) are Muslims, while 1% follow Christianity and the rest adhere to Judaism or other religions. However, there are no reliable data on the number of practicing Muslims.
Arabic is Tunisia's official language. However, as is the case in the rest of the Arab world, a vernacular form of Arabic is used by the public. In Tunisia, the dialect is Tunisian Arabic, which is closely related to the Maltese language. There is also a small minority of speakers of Shelha, a Berber language.
French
also plays a major role in the country, despite having no official
status. It is widely used in education (e.g. as the language of
instruction in the sciences in secondary school), the press, and in
business. Most educated Tunisians are able to speak it. Many Tunisians,
particularly those residing in large urban areas, readily mix Tunisian
Arabic with French.
with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and
a 1300 km coastline. Both played a prominent role in ancient times,
first with the famous Phoenician city of Carthage, then as the Africa Province which became known as the bread basket of the Roman Empire, and then as the Maghreb region of various medieval Islamic states. Tunisia ranks high among Arab and African nations in reports released by The World Economic Forum.
The word Tunisia is derived from Tunis; a city and capital of modern-day Tunisia. The present form of the name, with its Latinate suffix -ia, evolved from French Tunisie.
This name was introduced by French geographers and historians as part
of their efforts to give names to their new occupied territories and
protectorates. The French derivative Tunisie was adopted in some European languages with slice modifications introducing a distinctive name to designate the country.
The constitution declares Islam
as the official state religion and requires the President to be Muslim.
Tunisia also enjoys a significant degree of religious freedom, a right
enshrined and protected in its constitution which guarantees the
freedom to practice one's religion.
The country has a culture that encourages acceptance of other
religions; religious freedom is widely practiced and the government is
tolerant of religious freedom as long as it does not threaten national
unity. Individual Tunisians are also tolerant of religious freedom and
generally do not inquire about a person's personal beliefs.
The majority of Tunisia's population (98%) are Muslims, while 1% follow Christianity and the rest adhere to Judaism or other religions. However, there are no reliable data on the number of practicing Muslims.
Arabic is Tunisia's official language. However, as is the case in the rest of the Arab world, a vernacular form of Arabic is used by the public. In Tunisia, the dialect is Tunisian Arabic, which is closely related to the Maltese language. There is also a small minority of speakers of Shelha, a Berber language.
French
also plays a major role in the country, despite having no official
status. It is widely used in education (e.g. as the language of
instruction in the sciences in secondary school), the press, and in
business. Most educated Tunisians are able to speak it. Many Tunisians,
particularly those residing in large urban areas, readily mix Tunisian
Arabic with French.