Area Total | 163,610 sq km |
Climate | temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south |
Natural Resources | petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt |
Imports | Italy 15.8%, France 15.1%, China 9.2%, Germany 8.1%, Turkey 4.8%, Algeria 4.7%, Spain 4.5% (2017) – textiles, machinery and equipment, hydrocarbons, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Exports | France 32.1%, Italy 17.3%, Germany 12.4% (2017) – clothing, semi-finished goods and textiles, agricultural products, mechanical goods, phosphates and chemicals, hydrocarbons, electrical equipment |
Government | parliamentary republic |
Capital | Tunis |
Population | 11,516,189 (July 2018 est.) |
Ethnicity | Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1% |
Language | Arabic (official, one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce), Berber (Tamazight) |
News about Tunisia
- Red Path review – Tunisian drama tells traumatic story of Islamic State’s horrific crueltyby Peter Bradshaw on June 16, 2025
Based on the true story of the brutal murder of a teenage shepherd, Lotfi Achour’s sombre film honestly attempts to encompass the unbearable grief suffered by the familyA low cloud of misery and horror settles on this sombre movie from Tunisian writer-director Lotfi Achour, inspired by a brutal event in his country from 2015. A teenage shepherd called […]
- Egypt detains pro-Palestinian activists ahead of Gaza solidarity marchby RFI on June 13, 2025
Egyptian authorities have detained more than 200 pro-Palestinian activists who arrived in Cairo by plane as part of a solidarity march to Gaza to push for increased humanitarian aid access to the enclave. A convoy that left Tunisia for Gaza is currently blocked in Libya.
- Tunisian man's killing in France investigated as racist hate crimeby RFI on June 3, 2025
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau is meeting Tuesday with the Tunisian ambassador to France following the murder of a Tunisian man by one of his neighbours at the weekend that is being investigated by anti-terrorism police as a hate crime.
- Postcard from Cannes #2: A tender tale of women surviving migration in Tunisby Ollia Horton on May 17, 2025
One of several films from the African continent shown at the Cannes Film Festival, Erige Sehiri’s Promised Sky (Promis le ciel) in the Un Certain Regard category, is a powerful and rare portrait of three migrant women struggling to make ends meet in Tunisia.
- Driven from camp to camp, Tunisia’s migrants still dream of Europeby RFI on April 27, 2025
In eastern Tunisia, near the coastal city of Sfax, hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have been forced to move to nearby olive groves after authorities dismantled their camps earlier this month.
- The Guardian view on Tunisia’s democratic regression: burying hope where the Arab spring began | Editorialby Editorial on April 22, 2025
The sentencing of opponents and other public figures to as much as 66 years in prison highlights the president’s dismantling of political achievementsTunisia wasn’t just the birthplace of the Arab spring. In 2021, a decade after the movement swept across the region, it remained a flickering yet precious beacon of democracy when other nations had swiftly […]
- Grassroots activists who took on corruption and corporate power share 2025 Goldman prizeby Nina Lakhani Climate justice reporter on April 21, 2025
Seven winners of environmental prize include Amazonian river campaigner and Tunisian who fought against organised waste traffickingIndigenous river campaigner from Peru honouredGrassroots activists who helped jail corrupt officials and obtain personhood rights for a sacred Amazonian river are among this year’s winners of the world’s most prestigious […]
- Tunisian court hands prison sentences of up to 66 years in mass trial of regime opponentsby Reuters on April 20, 2025
Opposition says trial was staged to entrench president Kais Saied’s authoritarian ruleA Tunisian court has handed down prison sentences of 13 to 66 years to politicians, businessmen and lawyers in a mass trial that opponents say is fabricated and a symbol of president Kais Saied’s authoritarian rule.Businessman Kamel Ltaif received the longest sentence […]
- Tunisian government opponents handed jail terms ranging between 13 and 66 yearsby RFI on April 19, 2025
A Tunisian court handed jail terms ranging from 13 to 66 years to 40 opposition leaders, businessmen and lawyers on charges of conspiring against state security, Tunisia's state news agency TAP reported on Saturday.
- Human Rights Watch slams Tunisia’s 'repressive' use of arbitrary detentionby Melissa Chemam with RFI on April 16, 2025
The non-governmental organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) has just released a new report on Tunisia, denouncing the government's use of arbitrary detention as “a cornerstone of its repressive policy” and claiming it is designed to strip individuals of their civil and political rights.
- Tunisia opposition figures go on trial on state security chargesby RFI on March 4, 2025
The trial of several prominent Tunisian opposition figures accused of national security offences opened on Tuesday, with rights groups denouncing the case as politically motivated.
- Tunisia reclaims lost voices of WWI riflemen from German archivesby RFI on February 1, 2025
Germany has returned hundreds of sound recordings of North African soldiers who were held as prisoners during World War I, helping to fill a major gap in Tunisia’s war archives.
- Europe overhauls funding to Tunisia after Guardian exposes migrant abuseby Mark Townsend on January 24, 2025
Allegations of rape, beatings and collusion by EU-funded security forces prompt shift in migration arrangementsThe European Commission is fundamentally overhauling how it makes payments to Tunisia after a Guardian investigation exposed myriad abuses by EU-funded security forces, including widespread sexual violence against migrants.Officials are drawing up […]
- Deadly New Year for migrants as Tunisian shipwreck claims 27 livesby RFI on January 2, 2025
Twenty-seven migrants, including women and children, died after two boats capsized off central Tunisia, with 83 people rescued, a civil defence official told AFP on Thursday.
- US releases one of longest-held Guantánamo Bay detainees to Tunisiaby Joseph Gedeon in Washington on December 31, 2024
Ridah Bin Saleh al-Yazidi was held without charge for more than 20 years as prison facilitates burst of transfersA Tunisian national who had become one of Guantánamo Bay’s longest-held detainees has been released from the US military compound, the Pentagon announced on Monday night.Ridah Bin Saleh al-Yazidi was transferred to his home country after being […]
- Mobile cinema brings big screen magic to Tunisia's remote communitiesby RFI on December 29, 2024
Like many of his fellow Tunisians, 23-year-old Amine Elhani has never been to the cinema, but now, thanks to a mobile theatre touring the country, he can finally enjoy the big screen.
- Tunisia women herb harvesters struggle with drought and heatby RFI on December 28, 2024
On a hillside in Tunisia's northwestern highlands, women scour a sun-scorched field for the wild herbs they rely on for their livelihoods, but droughts and rising temperatures are making it ever harder to find the precious plants.
- Holidaymakers on smaller budgets turning to Tunisia and Egypt, says Tuiby Joanna Partridge on December 11, 2024
Bulgaria also among more affordable choices as vacations remain a priority Business live – latest updatesCash-strapped consumers are still prioritising spending on holidays but are choosing more affordable destinations including Egypt, Bulgaria and Tunisia for their annual break, according to Europe’s biggest package trip operator.Tui said new customers […]
- How the Tunisian sun is turning red algae into food industry goldby RFI on December 7, 2024
In the sheltered waters of northwest Tunisia's Bizerte lagoon, red algae is being transformed into valuable food additives using nothing but sunlight – a natural process that is creating jobs and reviving marine life in the process.
- Migrant rights advocate held in Tunisia under anti-terrorist investigationby Lorenzo Tondo in Palermo and agencies on November 18, 2024
Rights group says Abdallah Said’s case is a troubling first for the country amid president’s increasing crackdownTunisian anti-terrorist investigators are handling the case of a leading advocate for migrants who has been taken into custody, in what the head of a rights group said was a troubling first for the country.Abdallah Said, a Tunisian of Chadian […]