General information

Country flagOficial Name                      Republic of Tunisia

Capital and largest City      Tunis 

President                              Kais Said 

Prime Minister                     Youssef Chahed 

Political System                   Unitary semi-presidencial republic 

Area                                      163.610 km2

Population                           11,434,994

Density                                 63/km2 

Religion                                Islam

Official language                 Arabic 

Currency                              Tunisian Dinar (TND) 

PIB                                        US$ 115,373 Bilhoes     

     

 General Information 

Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa, covering 163,610 square kilometres (63,170 square miles). Its northernmost point, Cape Angela, is also the northernmost point on the African continent. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea  to the north and east. Tunisia's population was 11.435 million in 2017.  Tunisia's name is derived from its capital city, Tunis, which is located on its northeast coast.

Geographically, Tunisia contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountain, and the northern reaches of the Sahara desert. Much of the rest of the country's land is fertile soil. Its 1,300 kilometers (810 miles) of coastline include the African conjunction of the western and eastern parts of the Mediterranen Basin and, by means of the Sicilian Straiot and Sardinian Channel, feature the African mainland's second and third nearest points to Europe after Gibraltar.

Tunisia is a unitary semi-prresedential representative democratic republic. It is considered to be the only fully democratic sovereign state  in the Arab World It has a high human develepment index . It has an association agreement with theEuropean Union ; is a member of La Francophonie, the Uinion of the Mediterranean, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa , the  Arab Maghreb Union , the Atrab League, the OIC , the Greater Arab Free Trade Area  , the Community of Sahel-Saharian States, the African Union , theNon-aligned Movement  theGroup of 77 ; and has obtained the status of Major non-NATO ãlly of the United States. In addition, Tunisia is also amember state  of the United Nation  and a state party  to the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court. Close relations with Europe, in particular with France  and with Italy , have been forged through economic cooperation, privatization and industrial modernization.

 Economic Information 

Growth picked up to 2.5 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) in 2018 from 2 percent in 2017, supported by agriculture, services (including tourism which witnessed a significant rebound), and electrical and mechanical industries. On the demand side, growth in 2018 was driven by a resurgence of exports and investment, while private consumption contracted. Following a significant acceleration of inflation since 2017, and four Central Bank (BCT) policy rate increases which raised rates from 4.25 percent to 6.75 percent, inflation began to decelerate as of the second half of 2018, but remains above 7 percent. In February 2019, BCT further increased the policy rate by 100 basis points following agreement between the government and the main union federation (UGTT) to increase public sector salaries.

Growth is projected to pick up to an average of 3 percent in 2019-20 and to reach its potential of about 4 percent over the medium term, contingent on the completion of pressing reforms to improve investment climate and ensure greater security and social stability. Growth will be supported by expansions in agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism, and the coming online of the Nawara gas field as of mid-2019. Poverty is projected to hover around 3 percent using the 3.2 U$ PPP per day line and below 1 percent using the extreme poverty line.

 

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