Polity · 1956 CE – present
Republic of Tunisia
الجمهورية التونسية · Republik Tunisia · Tunisia
Also recorded as Tunisia
- Peak recorded area
- 155,358 km²
- 1886 CE
- Rulers on record
- 19
- from 1956 CE
- Data series
- 387
- 1956 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares maritime borders with Italy through the islands of Sicily and Sardinia to the north and Malta to the east. It features the archaeological sites of Carthage dating back to the 9th century BC, as well as the Great Mosque of Kairouan.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
4 dated territorial extents on record from CShapes 2.0. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. Cliopatria holds 2 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 60 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population224 obs · 1 CE–2025 CE | 12.3Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 76.9years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -14.5Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 0.561% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 79.5years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 74.34years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 137 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 12.7Kint'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd111 obs · 1961 CE–2025 CE | 57.5Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita77 obs · 1 CE–2022 CE | 10.9K2011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Total Exports71 obs · 1870 CE–2014 CE | 15.3Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports71 obs · 1870 CE–2014 CE | 25.9Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance71 obs · 1870 CE–2014 CE | -10.6Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
Military
6 of 44 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score118 obs · 1825 CE–2016 CE | 0.001CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption118 obs · 1825 CE–2016 CE | 14.2Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production118 obs · 1825 CE–2016 CE | 50Ktons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel118 obs · 1825 CE–2016 CE | 36Kpersons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2024 CE | 2.51% of GDP2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Military Expenditure Usd65 obs · 1960 CE–2024 CE | 1.3Bcurrent US$2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Territory & resources
6 of 57 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 18.22% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Oil Production125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 17.28TWh2024 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Coal Production117 obs · 1900 CE–2016 CE | 0TWh2016 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Gas Production117 obs · 1900 CE–2016 CE | 15.08TWh2016 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 4.55% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 62.44%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Governance
6 of 28 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index236 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.434index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index236 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.258index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index236 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.263index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index236 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.56index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 1RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity252 obs · 1959 CE–2010 CE | -4index (-10 to 10)2010 CE · Clio-Infra |
Development
6 of 61 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index236 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.77index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Railway Line Km88 obs · 1909 CE–1998 CE | 2,500km1998 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Mail Items84 obs · 1894 CE–1983 CE | 215items1983 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Telegraph84 obs · 1903 CE–1988 CE | 0.44count1988 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Electricity Production76 obs · 1925 CE–2001 CE | 11.2BGWh2001 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Railway Freight Tkm56 obs · 1938 CE–1993 CE | 2,510tonne-km1993 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
19 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Muhammad VIII al-AminHead of State1956 CE – 1957 CE
- Habib BourguibaHead of State1957 CE – 1987 CE
- Zine El Abidine Ben AliHead of State1987 CE – 2011 CE
- Fouad MebazaaHead of State2011 CE
- Hamadi JebaliHead of Government2011 CE – 2013 CE
- Moncef MarzoukiHead of State2011 CE – 2014 CE
- Ali LaarayedhHead of Government2013 CE – 2015 CE
- Beji Caid EssebsiHead of State2014 CE – 2019 CE
- Mehdi JomaaHead of Government2014 CE – 2015 CE
- Habib EssidHead of Government2015 CE – 2016 CE
- Youssef ChahedHead of Government2016 CE – 2020 CE
- Kais SaiedHead of State2019 CE –
- Mohamed EnnaceurHead of State2019 CE
- Elyes FakhfakhHead of Government2020 CE
- Hichem MechichiHead of Government2020 CE – 2021 CE
- Najla BoudenHead of Government2021 CE – 2023 CE
- Ahmed HachaniHead of Government2023 CE – 2024 CE
- Kamel MadouriHead of Government2024 CE – 2025 CE
- Sarra ZaafraniHead of Government2025 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya
- Government type
- parliamentary republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Kais SAIED (since 23 October 2019); head of government: Prime Minister Sarra ZAAFRANI Zenzri (since 21 March 2025); cabinet: prime minister appointed by the president; cabinet members appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister;
- Ethnic groups
- Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1%
- Natural resources
- petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt
- Economy
- lower middle-income North African economy; drafting reforms for foreign lenders; high unemployment, especially for youth and women; hit hard by COVID-19; high public sector wages; high public debt; protectionist austerity measures; key EU trade partner
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Arabic
- Currency
- Tunisian dinars (TND)
Memberships
- 21-member Defense Pact (1950)Military alliance · member1953 CE –
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1956 CE –
- Tunisia–Libya Defense Pact (1957)Military alliance · member1957 CE – 1974 CE
- 23-member Entente (1945)Historical alliance · member1958 CE –
- Arab LeagueALInternational organisation · member1958 CE –
- Organisation of Islamic CooperationOICInternational organisation · founding member1969 CE –
- Algeria–Tunisia Non-Aggression Pact (1970)Historical alliance · member1970 CE – 1983 CE
- Mauritania–Algeria–Tunisia Non-Aggression Pact (1983)Historical alliance · member1983 CE – 1989 CE
- 5-member Defense Pact (1989)Military alliance · member1989 CE –
- African UnionAUInternational organisation · founding member2002 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
CIA World Factbook 2024
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Barbieri, K. & Keshk, O. (2016). Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set, v4.0.
Free academic use, citation
CShapes 2.02.0
Schvitz, G. et al. (2022). Mapping the International System, 1886-2019: The CShapes 2.0 Dataset. Journal of Conflict Resolution 66(1).
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Republic of Tunisia is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.