History

In the ancient time, Tunisia played a prominent role, first with the famous Phoenician city of Carthage, then as the Africa Province, and then as the Maghreb region of various medieval Islamic states.

Tunisia was inhabited by Berber tribes. Its coast was settled by Phoenicians starting as early as the 10th century BC. The city of Carthage was founded in the 9th century B.C. by settlers from Tyre, now Lebanon. Legend says that Dido founded the city in 814 B.C

A Carthaginian invasion of Italy led by Hannibal during the Second Punic War, one of a series of wars with Rome, nearly crippled the rise of the Roman Empire. Carthage was eventually conquered by Rome in the 2nd century BC, a turning point which led to ancient Mediterranean civilization having been influenced mainly by European instead of African cultures. After the Roman conquest, it was conquered by the Vandals in the 5th century AD and reconquered by the rule of Byzantine.

In the 7th century the region was conquered by Arab Muslims, who founded the city of Kairouan which became the first city of Islam in North Africa. Tunisia flourished under successive Muslim dynasties who ruled Tunisia: we can cite the Aghlabids (800-900) and Fatimids (909-972). The invasion of Tunisia by Banu Hilal, a warlike Arab Bedouin tribes sent the region's urban and economic life into further decline.

In the 12th century, and after a briefly conquest by the Normans of Sicily, Tunisia was conquered by the Almohad caliphs. They were succeeded by the Berber Hafsids (c.1230 – 1574), under whom Tunisia prospered. In the last years of the Hafsids, Spain seized many of the coastal cities, but these were recovered by the Ottoman Empire. Under its Turkish governors, the Beys, Tunisia attained virtual independence. The Hussein dynasty of Beys, established in 1705, lasted until 1956. From 1881 - 1956 the country was under French colonization. European settlements in the country were actively encouraged. Tunisia got its independence in 1956.

Economy

Tunisia now finds itself as an export-oriented country in the process of liberalizing and privatizing an economy that averages 5% GDP growth since the early 1990s. Tunisia has a diverse economy, ranging from agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and petroleum products, to tourism. In 2008 it had a GDP of US$41 billion (official exchange rates), or $82 billion (purchasing power parity). The agricultural sector stands for 11.6% of the GDP, industry 25.7%, and services 62.8%. The industrial sector is mainly made up of clothing and footwear manufacturing, production of car parts, and electric machinery. Although Tunisia managed an average 5% growth over the last decade it continues to suffer from a high unemployment especially among youth.

Tunisia was in 2009 ranked the most competitive economy in Africa and the 40th in the world by the World Economic Forum. Tunisia has managed to attract many international companies such as Airbus and Hewlett-Packard.

Tourism accounted for 7% of GDP and 370,000 jobs in 2009.

The European Union remains Tunisia's first trading partner, currently accounting for 72.5% of Tunisian imports and 75% of Tunisian exports. Tunisia is one of the European Union's most established trading partners in the Mediterranean region and ranks as the EU’s 30th largest trading partner. Tunisia was the first Mediterranean country to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union, in July 1995, although even before the date of entry came into force, Tunisia started dismantling tariffs on bilateral EU trade. Tunisia finalised the tariffs dismantling for industrial products in 2008 and therefore was the first Mediterranean country to enter in a free trade area with EU.

Transportation

The country maintains 19,232 kilometres (11,950 mi) of roads, with the A1 Tunis-Sfax, P1 Tunis-Libya and P7 Tunis-Algeria being the major highways. There are 29 airports in Tunisia, with Tunis Carthage International Airport and Djerba–Zarzis International Airport being the most important ones. A new airport, Enfidha – Hammamet International Airport, was completed at the end of 2009 and opened fully in 2011. The airport is located north of Sousse at Enfidha and is to mainly serve the resorts of Hamammet and Port El Kantaoui, together with inland cities such as Kairouan.

The railway network is operated by the National Company SNCFT and amounts to 2,135 kilometres (1,327 mi) in total. The Tunis area is served by a tram network, named Metro Leger.

Geography

Despite its relatively small size, Tunisia has great geographical and climactic diversity. 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. Atlas Mountains cross Tunisia in a northeasterly direction. The northern part of the land is a region characterized by low, rolling hills and plains, although in the northwestern corner of Tunisia, the land reaches elevations of 1,050 meters. Agriculture in this area is based on cereal production. The Sahil is a plain along Tunisia's eastern Mediterranean coast famous because of its olive monoculture. Much of the southern region is semi-arid and desert. Dates En-Nour, highly appreciated throughout the world, come from oasis of this southern area.

Education

The adult literacy rate in 2008 was 78%. Education is given a high priority and accounts for 6% of GNP. A basic education for children between the ages of 6 and 16 has been compulsory since 1991. Tunisia ranked 17th in the category of "quality of the [higher] educational system" and 21st in the category of "quality of primary education" in The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-9, released by The World Economic Forum.[136]

While children generally acquire Tunisian Arabic at home, when they enter school at age 6, they are taught to read and write in Standard Arabic. From the age of 8, they are taught French while English is introduced at the age of 12.

The four years of secondary education are open to all holders of Diplôme de Fin d’Etudes de l’Enseignement de Base where the students focus on entering university level or join the workforce after completion. The Enseignement secondaire is divided into two stages: general academic and specialized. The higher education system in Tunisia has experienced a rapid expansion and the number of students has more than tripled over the past 10 years from approximately 102,000 in 1995 to 365,000 in 2005.The gross enrollment rate at the tertiary level in 2007 was 31 percent, with gender parity index of GER of 1.5.

Culture

The culture of Tunisia is mixed due to their long established history of conquerors such as Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks, Spaniards, and the French who all left their mark on the country.