Aminet 6/Aminet 6 - June 1995.iso/Aminet/docs/misc/wfbook93_texi.lha/texi/240.data

Text File | 1995-03-27 | 9.4 KB | 359 lines

@node Geography (Tunisia)
@section Geography (Tunisia)

@display

Location:
  Northern Africa, 144 km from Italy across the Strait of Sicily, between
  Algeria and Libya
Map references:
  Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
 total area:
  163,610 km2
 land area:
  155,360 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly larger than Georgia
Land boundaries:
  total 1,424 km, Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km
Coastline:
  1,148 km
Maritime claims:
 territorial sea:
  12 nm
International disputes:
  maritime boundary dispute with Libya; land boundary disputes with Algeria
  under discussion
Climate:
  temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in
  south
Terrain:   mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the
  Sahara
Natural resources:
  petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt
Land use:
 arable land:
  20%
 permanent crops:
  10%
 meadows and pastures:
  19%
 forest and woodland:
  4%
 other:
  47%
Irrigated land:
  2,750 km2 (1989)
Environment:
  deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Note:
  strategic location in central Mediterranean



@end display

@node People (Tunisia)
@section People (Tunisia)

@display

Population:
  8,570,868 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  1.84% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  24.24 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  5.04 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  -0.79 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  35.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  72.54 years
 male:
  70.55 years
 female:
  74.62 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  3.02 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Tunisian(s)
 adjective:
  Tunisian
Ethnic divisions:
  Arab-Berber 98%, European 1%, Jewish less than 1%
Religions:
  Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish 1%
Languages:
  Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce)
Literacy:
  age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
 total population:
  65%
 male:
  74%
 female:
  56%
Labor force:
  2.25 million
 by occupation:
  agriculture 32%
 note:
  shortage of skilled labor



@end display

@node Government (Tunisia)
@section Government (Tunisia)

@display

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Republic of Tunisia
 conventional short form:
  Tunisia
 local long form:
  Al Jumhuriyah at Tunisiyah
 local short form:
  Tunis
Digraph:
  TS
Type:
  republic
Capital:
  Tunis
Administrative divisions:
  23 governorates; Beja, Ben Arous, Bizerte, Gabes, Gafsa, Jendouba, Kairouan,
  Kasserine, Kebili, L'Ariana, Le Kef, Mahdia, Medenine, Monastir, Nabeul,
  Sfax, Sidi Bou Zid, Siliana, Sousse, Tataouine, Tozeur, Tunis, Zaghouan
Independence:
  20 March 1956 (from France)
Constitution:
  1 June 1959
Legal system:
  based on French civil law system and Islamic law; some judicial review of
  legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session
National holiday:
  National Day, 20 March (1956)
Political parties and leaders:
  Constitutional Democratic Rally Party (RCD), President BEN ALI (official
  ruling party); Movement of Democratic Socialists (MDS), Mohammed MOUAADA;
  five other political parties are legal, including the Communist Party
Other political or pressure groups:
  the Islamic fundamentalist party, An Nahda (Rebirth), is outlawed
Suffrage:   20 years of age; universal
Elections:
 President:
  last held 2 April 1989 (next to be held NA March 1994); results - Gen. Zine
  el Abidine BEN ALI was reelected without opposition
 Chamber of Deputies:
  last held 2 April 1989 (next to be held NA April 1994); results - RCD 80.7%,
  independents/Islamists 13.7%, MDS 3.2%, other 2.4%; seats - (141 total) RCD
  141
Executive branch:
  president, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
  unicameral Chamber of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwaab)
Judicial branch:
  Court of Cassation (Cour de Cassation)
Leaders:
 Chief of State:
  President Gen. Zine el Abidine BEN ALI (since 7 November 1987)
 Head of Government:
  Prime Minister Hamed KAROUI (since 26 September 1989)



@end display

@node Government (Tunisia 2. usage)
@section Government (Tunisia 2. usage)

@display

Member of:
  ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA,
  IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
  INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MINURSO, NAM, OAPEC (withdrew from
  active membership in 1986), OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
  UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Ismail KHELIL
 chancery:
  1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005
 telephone:
  [phone]
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador John T. McCARTHY
 embassy:
  144 Avenue de la Liberte, 1002 Tunis-Belvedere
 mailing address:
  use embassy street address
 telephone:
  [216] (1) 782-566
 FAX:
  [216] (1) 789-719
Flag:
  red with a white disk in the center bearing a red crescent nearly encircling
  a red five-pointed star; the crescent and star are traditional symbols of
  Islam



@end display

@node Economy (Tunisia)
@section Economy (Tunisia)

@display

Overview:
  The economy depends primarily on petroleum, phosphates, tourism, and exports
  of light manufactures. Following two years of drought-induced economic
  decline, the economy came back strongly in 1990-92 as a result of good
  harvests, continued export growth, and higher domestic investment. High
  unemployment has eroded popular support for the government, however, and
  forced Tunis to slow the pace of economic reform. Nonetheless, the
  government appears committed to implementing its IMF-supported structural
  adjustment program and to servicing its foreign debt.
National product:
  GDP - exchange rate conversion - $13.6 billion (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  8% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
  $1,650 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  6% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
  15.7% (1992)
Budget:
  revenues $4.3 billion; expenditures $5.5 billion, including capital
  expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)
Exports:
  $3.7 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
 commodities:
  hydrocarbons, agricultural products, phosphates and chemicals
 partners:
  EC countries 74%, Middle East 11%, US 2%, Turkey, former USSR republics
Imports:
  $6.1 billion (c.i.f., 1992)
 commodities:
  industrial goods and equipment 57%, hydrocarbons 13%, food 12%, consumer
  goods
 partners:
  EC countries 67%, US 6%, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Turkey, Algeria
External debt:
  $7.7 billion (1992 est.)
Industrial production:
  growth rate 5% (1989); accounts for about 25% of GDP, including petroleum
Electricity:
  1,545,000 kW capacity; 5,096 million kWh produced, 600 kWh per capita (1992)
Industries:
  petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron ore), tourism, textiles,
  footwear, food, beverages
Agriculture:
  accounts for 15% of GDP and one-third of labor force; output subject to
  severe fluctuations because of frequent droughts; export crops - olives,
  dates, oranges, almonds; other products - grain, sugar beets, wine grapes,
  poultry, beef, dairy; not self-sufficient in food; fish catch of 99,200
  metric tons (1987)
Economic aid:
  US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $730 million; Western (non-US)
  countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $5.2 billion; OPEC
  bilateral aid (1979-89), $684 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $410
  million
Currency:
  1 Tunisian dinar (TD) = 1,000 millimes



@end display

@node Economy (Tunisia 2. usage)
@section Economy (Tunisia 2. usage)

@display

Exchange rates:
  Tunisian dinars (TD) per US$1 - 0.9931 (February 1993), 0.8844 (1992),
  0.9246 (1991), 0.8783 (1990), 0.9493 (1989), 0.8578 (1988)
Fiscal year:
  calendar year



@end display

@node Communications (Tunisia)
@section Communications (Tunisia)

@display

Railroads:
  2,115 km total; 465 km 1.435-meter (standard) gauge; 1,650 km 1.000-meter
  gauge
Highways:
  17,700 km total; 9,100 km bituminous; 8,600 km improved and unimproved earth
Pipelines:
  crude oil 797 km, petroleum products 86 km, natural gas 742 km
Ports:
  Bizerte, Gabes, Sfax, Sousse, Tunis, La Goulette, Zarzis
Merchant marine:
  22 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 161,661 GRT/221,959 DWT; includes 1
  short-sea passenger, 4 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 oil tanker, 6
  chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 6 bulk
Airports:
 total:
  29
 usable:
  26
 with permanent-surface runways:
  13
 with runways over 3,659 m:
  0
 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  7
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  7
 note:
  a new airport opened 6 May 1993, length and type of surface NA
Telecommunications:
  the system is above the African average; facilities consist of open-wire
  lines, coaxial cable, and microwave radio relay; key centers are Sfax,
  Sousse, Bizerte, and Tunis; 233,000 telephones (28 telephones per 1,000
  persons); broadcast stations - 7 AM, 8 FM, 19 TV; 5 submarine cables;
  satellite earth stations - 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 ARABSAT with
  back-up control station; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Algeria
  and Libya



@end display

@node Defense Forces (Tunisia)
@section Defense Forces (Tunisia)

@display

Branches:
  Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary forces, National Guard
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 2,164,686; fit for military service 1,244,683; reach
  military age (20) annually 90,349 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  exchange rate conversion - $618 million, 3.7% of GDP (1993 est.)



@end display