Tunisia

C

Mineral Resources

Petroleum is Tunisia’s principal mineral resource. Reserves exist both offshore and on land, particularly in the south, and important new deposits were discovered in the early 1980s. Other mineral resources include natural gas, phosphates, iron ore, lead, and zinc.

D

Environmental Issues

Water is scarce in Tunisia, and drought is common. Population growth has led to increased demand for farmland. As agricultural production has increased, so have marginal land use and overgrazing, resulting in extensive soil erosion and desertification. Only a small portion of the country’s total land area is forested. The government has approved a tree-planting program to combat deforestation.

Tunisia does more to treat sewage than many of its neighbors, but untreated urban sewage is still a problem, contaminating water supplies and causing eutrophication (the growth of oxygen-depleting plant life) in Mediterranean waters. In rural areas, only about half the population had access to adequate sanitation by the late 1990s. In addition, toxic wastes from industrial processes are not disposed of effectively, presenting human health risks.

Only a small percentage of the country’s land area is protected in parks or nature preserves. Ichkeul National Park, in northern Tunisia, protects a lake and the surrounding wetlands that serve as a resting area for hundreds of thousands of migrating birds, including ducks, geese, and pink flamingos.

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The government of Tunisia has ratified international environmental agreements pertaining to biodiversity, climate change, desertification, endangered species, environmental modification, hazardous wastes, marine dumping, ozone layer protection, ship pollution, and wetlands.

III

People

Throughout history, many peoples, including Romans, Vandals, black Africans, and Arabs, have invaded or settled in the region that is now Tunisia. Tunisians are a mixture of Berber and Arab stock, and they regard themselves as Arabs. Nearly everyone speaks Arabic.

The population of Tunisia is concentrated in the coastal plain. It is fairly dense in the hilly north, but the arid plateau, basin, and south are thinly settled. About two-thirds of the country’s people live in urban areas.

A

Principal Cities

The capital and largest city of Tunisia is the seaport of Tunis. Other important cities include Sfax, a port and center of trade on the eastern coast; Sūsah, or Sousse, another port and commercial center on the eastern coast; and Bizerte, a port on the northern coast. Al Qayrawān, or Kairouran, a historic Arab capital, is a Muslim holy city in the mountains of the northeast.

B

Language and Religion

Arabic is the official language of Tunisia, but the dialect of Arabic that is spoken in Tunisia is not standard Arabic, which is taught in the schools and used by the government. Many Tunisians speak French as a second language. Berber is still spoken in isolated communities in the southern part of the country and on the island of Jarbah (Djerba).

Islam is the state religion and is adhered to by 98 percent of the population; virtually all Muslims in Tunisia belong to the Sunni branch. There are small numbers of Roman Catholics, Jews, Greek Orthodox, and Protestants.

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