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 sq km
land area: 155,360 sq km
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 dispute with Algeria settled in 1993

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 sq km (1989)

Environment:
current issues: toxic and hazardous waste disposal is ineffective and presents human health risks; water pollution from untreated sewage; water scarcity; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
natural hazards: NA
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Marine Life Conservation

Note: strategic location in central Mediterranean

NOTE: The information regarding Tunisia on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Tunisia Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Tunisia Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.