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NAVIGATION
Republic of Tunisia
Al Jumhuriyah at Tunisiyah
GOVERNMENT
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Tunisian Republic
conventional short form: Tunisia local short form: Tunis local long form: Al Jumhuriyah at Tunisiyah |
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Government type:
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republic |
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Capital:
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Tunis |
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Administrative divisions:
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24 governorates; Ariana (Aryanah), Beja (Bajah), Ben Arous (Bin 'Arus), Bizerte (Banzart), Gabes (Qabis), Gafsa (Qafsah), Jendouba (Jundubah), Kairouan (Al Qayrawan), Kasserine (Al Qasrayn), Kebili (Qibili), Kef (Al Kaf), Mahdia (Al Mahdiyah), Manouba (Manubah), 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) |
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Independence:
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20 March 1956 (from France) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 20 March (1956) |
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Constitution:
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1 June 1959; amended 12 July 1988 |
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Legal system:
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based on French civil law system and Islamic law; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session |
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Suffrage:
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20 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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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% |
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Legislative branch:
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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 |
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Judicial branch:
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Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation |
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Political parties and leaders:
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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] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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the Islamic fundamentalist party, Al Nahda (Renaissance), is outlawed |
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International organization participation:
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ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, BSEC (observer), 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, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Hatem ATALLAH
FAX: [1] (202) 862-1858 telephone: [1] (202) 862-1850 chancery: 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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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 |
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Flag description:
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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
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Economy - overview:
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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 1997-2001 but slowed to 1.9% in 2002 because of agricultural drought, slow investment, and lackluster tourism. Increased rainfall portends higher growth levels for 2003, but continued regional tension from the war in Iraq will most likely continue to suppress tourism earnings. Tunisia has agreed to gradually remove barriers to trade with the European Union over the next decade. Broader privatization, further liberalization of the investment code to increase foreign investment, improvements in government efficiency, and reduction of the trade deficit are among the challenges for the future. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $63 billion (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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1.9% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $6,500 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 12%
industry: 32% services: 56% (2003 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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6% (2000 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 31.8% (1995) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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41.7 (1995) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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2.5% (2002 est.) |
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Labor force:
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2.69 million
note: shortage of skilled labor (2001 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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services 55%, industry 23%, agriculture 22% (1995 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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15.4% (2002 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $5.2 billion
expenditures: $5.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (2002 est.) |
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Industries:
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petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron ore), tourism, textiles, footwear, agribusiness, beverages |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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3.5% (2002 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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10.48 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 99.5%
hydro: 0.5% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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9.748 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - imports:
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1 million kWh (2001) |
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Oil - production:
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72,580 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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87,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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NA (2001) |
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Oil - imports:
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NA (2001) |
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Oil - proved reserves:
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417 million bbl (January 2002 est.) |
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Natural gas - proved reserves:
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77.16 billion cu m (January 2002 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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olives, olive oil, grain, dairy products, tomatoes, citrus fruit, beef, sugar beets, dates, almonds |
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Exports:
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$6.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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textiles, mechanical goods, phosphates and chemicals, agricultural products, hydrocarbons |
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Exports - partners:
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France 28.8%, Italy 22.5%, Germany 12.5%, Spain 5.0%, Belgium, Libya (2001) |
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Imports:
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$8.7 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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textiles, machinery and equipment, hydrocarbons, chemicals, food |
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Imports - partners:
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France 28.0%, Italy 19.8%, Germany 10.4%, Spain 4.6%, Belgium (2001) |
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Debt - external:
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$13.6 billion (2003 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$222.7 million (2000) |
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Currency:
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Tunisian dinar (TND) |
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Currency code:
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TND |
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Exchange rates:
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Tunisian dinars per US dollar - 1.4217 (2002), 1.4387 (2001), 1.3707 (2000), 1.1862 (1999), 1.1387 (1998) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |