| AREA: 163,610 sq km (63,170 sq
miles).
POPULATION: 9,092,000 (official estimate 1996).
POPULATION DENSITY: 58.8 per sq km.
CAPITAL: Tunis. Population: 674,100
(1994).
GEOGRAPHY: The Republic of Tunisia lies on the
Mediterranean coast of Africa, 130km (80 miles) southwest
of Sicily and 160km (100 miles) due south of Sardinia. It
is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the
southeast. The landscape varies from the cliffs of the
north coast to the woodlands of the interior, from deep
valleys of rich arable land to desert, and from towering
mountains to salt pans lower than sea level. South of
Gafsa and Gabès is the Sahara desert. The 1100km (700
miles) of coastline is dotted with small islands, notably
Jerba in the south and Kerkenah in the east, and from the
northwest to the southeast the coastline is backed
successively by pine-clad hills, lush pasture, orchards,
vineyards and olive groves.
LANGUAGE: The official language is Arabic.
French and Italian are spoken in major cities, English and
German mainly in tourist resorts.
RELIGION: The principal religion is Islam; there
are small Roman Catholic, Protestant and Jewish
minorities.
TIME: GMT + 1.
ELECTRICITY: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. A 2-pin
continental plug/adaptor is needed.
COMMUNICATIONS: Telephone: Full IDD is
available. Country code: 216. Outgoing international code:
00. Automatic dialling extends to almost every part of the
country and covers direct international calls. Area codes
for major cities and towns: Tunis and Bizerta 1, Menzel
Bourguiba 2, Sousse 3, Gabès 5, Kairouan 7. Fax: Facilities
are available in main towns. Telegram: The
Telecommunications Centre in Tunis is located at 29 Jamal
Abdelnasser. Telegraph facilities are available at the
Central Post Office at rue Charles de Gaulle, Tunis. Post:
Airmail to Europe takes three to five days. Poste
Restante facilities are available in main cities. Post
office hours: 0800-1300 Monday to Saturday (summer, approximately
June 15-September 15); 0800-1200 and 1400-1800 Monday to
Friday, 0800-1200 Saturday (winter, approximately
September 16-June 16); 0800-1500 Monday to Saturday
(during Ramadan). Press: Daily newspapers are
printed in Arabic or French, the most popular being As-Sabah
and La Presse de Tunisie. The weekly Tunisia
News is published in English. |
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