The majority of the population were not Muslim until quite late in the 9th century; a vast majority were during the 10th. Population Density. [59] Tunisian international debt grew unmanageable. During the rule of Ben Ali, only three functioned as independent opposition parties: the PDP, FDTL, and Tajdid. Abulafia, "The Norman Kingdom of Africa", 27. However, it was not until the final Ottoman reconquest of Tunis from Spain in 1574 under Kapudan Pasha Uluç Ali Reis that the Ottomans permanently acquired the former Hafsid Tunisia, retaining it until the French conquest of Tunisia in 1881. In 2014 Tunisian American creative nonfiction scribe and translator Med-Ali Mekki who wrote many books, not for publication but just for his own private reading translated the new Constitution of the Tunisian Republic from Arabic to English for the first time in Tunisian bibliographical history, the book was published worldwide the following year and it was the Internet's most viewed and downloaded Tunisian book. General Information . Numerous civilizations and peoples have invaded, migrated to, or have been assimilated into the population over the millennia, with influences of population from Phoenicians/Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Arabs, Spaniards, Ottoman Turks and Janissaries, and French. The Dorsal, the eastern extension of the Atlas Mountains, runs across Tunisia in a northeasterly direction from the Algerian border in the west to the Cape Bon peninsula in the east. Labour unions were said to be an integral part of the protests. Tanit's symbol, a simple female figure with extended arms and long dress, is a popular icon found in ancient sites. General Information. The official language is Arabic. [113], After the revolution, a number of Salafist groups emerged and in some occasions have violently repressed artistic expression that is viewed to be hostile to Islam. Despite the prestige of the new masters, the country was still unruly, with continuous rioting and fighting between the townsfolk and wandering Arabs and Turks, the latter being subjects of the Muslim Armenian adventurer Karakush. The economy, mainly during the Empire, boomed: the prosperity of the area depended on agriculture. 2009, l'année des rendez-vous culturels importants ", "Previous winners of major international cups And tournaments : the African Cup of Nations", "Tunisian handball team wins 2010 African Cup of Nations", "Tunisia suspended from Davis Cup over Malek Jaziri order | Tennis News", Official website of the Ministry of Tourism, Official website of the National Institute of Meteorology, Official website of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, Official website of the Tunisian Ministry of the Interior, Official website of The Ministry of Transport, The Emergence and activity of Tunisia's most fearful terrorist group, EU Neighbourhood Info Centre: Country profile of Tunisia, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Union of Arab National Olympic Committees, African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN-SAD), Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique, Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tunisia&oldid=997194081, States and territories established in 1956, Arabic-speaking countries and territories, Berber-speaking countries and territories, French-speaking countries and territories, Member states of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Member states of the Union for the Mediterranean, Articles with French-language sources (fr), Articles with dead external links from June 2016, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing explicitly cited English-language text, Pages using infobox country or infobox former country with the symbol caption or type parameters, Articles containing Russian-language text, Articles containing Spanish-language text, Articles needing additional references from July 2018, All articles needing additional references, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from August 2017, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2008, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2006, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2015, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2011, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2015, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Pages using Sister project links with default search, Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz area identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with TDVİA identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 30 December 2020, at 12:02. Portugal, officially The Portuguese Republic, is a country in southern Europe, founded in 1143, occupying a total area of 92,212 km 2. Berber Christians continued to live in some Nefzaoua villages up until the early 15th century[179] and the community of Tunisian Christians existed in the town of Tozeur up to the 18th century. In 1974, ONAS was established to manage the sanitation sector. It is served by many different airlines including Tunisair, Air France, Lufthansa, EgyptAir and Royal Air Maroc. Depending on your planned activities, some travelers may want to consider rabies and hepatitis B injections as well. In 2008, a total of 13,747 GWh was produced in the country. [131], Tourism accounted for 7% of GDP and 370,000 jobs in 2009. The translated meaning of Numidian is Nomad and indeed the people were semi-nomadic until the reign of Masinissa of the Massyli tribe. [50][53], The main Tunisian cities were conquered by the Normans of Sicily under the Kingdom of Africa in the 12th century, but following the conquest of Tunisia in 1159–1160 by the Almohads the Normans were evacuated to Sicily. [199], After independence in 1956, the art movement in Tunisia was propelled by the dynamics of nation building and by artists serving the state. [119] Also, the law allowing rapists to escape punishment by marrying the victim was abolished. Tunisia is situated on the Mediterranean coast of Northwest Africa, midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Nile Delta. Notable Tunisian musicians include Saber Rebaï, Dhafer Youssef, Belgacem Bouguenna, Sonia M'barek, Latifa, Salah El Mahdi, Anouar Brahem, Emel Mathlouthi and Lotfi Bouchnak. The first constitution was accepted in 1959 which puts legislative power in the Chamber of Deputies with 136 members. [126] Tunisia's Penal Code criminalises several forms of corruption, including active and passive bribery, abuse of office, extortion and conflicts of interest, but the anti-corruption framework is not effectively enforced. During World War II, French Tunisia was ruled by the collaborationist Vichy government located in Metropolitan France. Geographically, Tunisia contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains, and the northern reaches of the Sahara desert. Visitors from many countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand can enter without a visa for a stay of up to 90 days. [139], Among Tunisia's tourist attractions are its cosmopolitan capital city of Tunis, the ancient ruins of Carthage, the Muslim and Jewish quarters of Jerba, and coastal resorts outside of Monastir. Agricultural communities in the humid coastal plains of central Tunisia then were ancestors of today's Berber tribes. The official name of the country is the Republic of Tunisia. [211] Nonetheless, the current regulatory framework and social and political culture mean that the future of press and media freedom is still unclear.[211]. It was founded in 1949 and brings together French and Tunisian Muslims, Christians and Jews. Tunisia is a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic. Tunisia is located in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast. 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. In boxing, Victor Perez ("Young") was world champion in the flyweight weight class in 1931 and 1932.[215]. The ITF Board decided to send a strong message to the Tunisian Tennis Federation that this kind of action will not be tolerated. Attacks on European shipping were made by corsairs, primarily from Algiers, but also from Tunis and Tripoli, yet after a long period of declining raids the growing power of the European states finally forced its termination. Before the recent democratic transition, although freedom of the press was formally guaranteed by the constitution, almost all newspapers have in practice followed the government line report. The south is semiarid, and merges into the Sahara. Plugs used in Tunisia are two pin plugs, same as Europe. In another development, Youssef Rekik reused the technique of painting on glass and founded Nja Mahdaoui calligraphy with its mystical dimension. Tunisia has a very unique location. From a very young age, he was interested in poetry and had a need to express his love for humanity and vision of tolerance on paper. The general rule is to keep an arms length away when speaking to someone. This is particularly relevant when speaking to someone of the opposite sex.Of course it is important to keep eye contact, but Tunisians hide their intentions well from others. [94], Tunisia was hit by two terror attacks on foreign tourists in 2015, first killing 22 people at the Bardo National Museum, and later killing 38 people at the Sousse beachfront. [195], In 2010, spending on healthcare accounted for 3.37% of the country's GDP. French acts as a language of commerce and is spoken by around two thirds of the population, while Berber is the principal language of the south. General information about Tunisia. Sahel and Esperance S.Tunis dominating. [216] In the 2012 Summer Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the 1500 meter freestyle and a gold medal in the Men's marathon swim at a distance of 10 kilometers. [210] The Tunisian political parties have the right to publish their own newspapers, but those of the opposition parties have very limited editions (like Al Mawkif or Mouwatinoun). In addition, Tunisia is also a member state of the United Nations and a state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Much of the southern region is semi-arid and desert. The Tunisia national handball team has participated in several handball world championships.