38 Facts About Tunisia

Tunisia is home to Africa's northernmost point, Cape Angela; and its capital and largest city is Tunis, which is located on its northeastern coast, and lends the country its name.

Today, Tunisia is the smallest nation in North Africa, and its culture and identity are rooted in this centuries-long intersection of different cultures and ethnicities.

Tunisia has an association agreement with the European Union and has attained the status of a major non-NATO ally of the United States.

Tunisia flourished under Arab rule when extensive systems were constructed to supply towns with water for household use and irrigation that promoted agriculture.

Zirid Tunisia flourished in many areas: agriculture, industry, trade, and religious and secular learning.

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Also, Tunisia was occupied by Ayyubids between 1182 and 1183 and again between 1184 and 1187.

Greatest threat to Almohad rule in Tunisia was the Banu Ghaniya, relatives of the Almoravids, who from their base in Mallorca tried to restore Almoravid rule over the Maghreb.

Tunisia remained part of the Almohad state, until 1230 when the son of Abu Hafs declared himself independent.

However, it was not until the final Ottoman reconquest of Tunis from Spain in 1574 under Kapudan Pasha Uluc Ali Reis that the Ottomans permanently acquired the former Hafsid Tunisia, retaining it until the French conquest of Tunisia in 1881.

Under the Ottoman Empire, the boundaries of Tunisia contracted; it lost territory to the west and to the east (Tripoli).

In 1869, Tunisia declared itself bankrupt and an international financial commission took control over its economy.

From 1942 to 1943, Tunisia was the scene of the Tunisia Campaign, a series of battles between the Axis and Allied forces.

Tunisia achieved independence from France on 20 March 1956 with Habib Bourguiba as Prime Minister.

Tunisia was consistently re-elected with enormous majorities every five years, the last being 25 October 2009, until he fled the country amid popular unrest in January 2011.

Tunisia refused a French request for the extradition of two of the President's nephews, from Leila's side, who were accused by the French State prosecutor of having stolen two mega-yachts from a French marina.

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.

Tunisia is situated on the Mediterranean coast of Northwest Africa, midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Nile Delta.

An abrupt southward turn of the Mediterranean coast in northern Tunisia gives the country two distinctive Mediterranean coasts, west–east in the north, and north–south in the east.

Tunisia's climate is Mediterranean in the north, with mild rainy winters and hot, dry summers.

Tunisia is home to five terrestrial ecoregions: Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests, Saharan halophytics, Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe, Mediterranean woodlands and forests, and North Saharan steppe and woodlands.

Tunisia is a representative democracy and a republic with a president serving as head of state, a prime minister as head of government, a unicameral parliament, and a civil law court system.

The Constitution of Tunisia, adopted 26 January 2014, guarantees rights for women and states that the President's religion "shall be Islam".

In October 2014 Tunisia held its first elections under the new constitution following the Arab Spring.

Tunisia is included in the European Union's European Neighbourhood Policy, which aims at bringing the EU and its neighbours closer.

On 23 November 2014 Tunisia held its first presidential election following the Arab Spring in 2011.

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Tunisia is subdivided into 24 governorates, which are further divided into 264 "delegations" or "districts" (mutamadiyat), and further subdivided into municipalities (baladiyats) and sectors (imadats).

However, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index published annually by Transparency International, Tunisia was ranked the least corrupt North African country in 2016, with a score of 41.

Tunisia is one of the European Union's most established trading partners in the Mediterranean region and ranks as the EU's 30th largest trading partner.

Tunisia was the first Mediterranean country to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union, in July 1995, although even before the date of entry came into force, Tunisia started dismantling tariffs on bilateral EU trade.

Tunisia finalised the tariffs dismantling for industrial products in 2008 and therefore was the first non-EU Mediterranean country to enter in a free trade area with EU.

Tunisia had plans for two nuclear power stations, to be operational by 2020.

Instead, Tunisia is considering other options to diversify its energy mix, such as renewable energies, coal, shale gas, liquified natural gas and constructing a submarine power interconnection with Italy.

Tunisia has achieved the highest access rates to water supply and sanitationservices in the Middle East and North Africa.

The higher education system in Tunisia has experienced a rapid expansion and the number of students has more than tripled over the past 10 years from approximately 102, 000 in 1995 to 365, 000 in 2005.

Culture of Tunisia is mixed due to its long established history of outside influence from people – such as Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Siculo-Normans, Turks, Italians, Maltese and the French – who all left their mark on the country.

Tunisia was one of the continent's pioneers in basketball as it established one of Africa's first competitive leagues.

In 2012, Tunisia participated for the seventh time in its history in the Summer Paralympic Games.

Tunisia was classified 14th on the Paralympics medal table and 5th in Athletics.