Population:
11,134,588 (July 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 80
[see also: Population country ranks ]

Nationality:
noun: Tunisian(s)
adjective: Tunisian

Ethnic groups:
Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1%

Languages:
Arabic (official, one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce), Berber (Tamazight)
note: despite having no official status, French plays a major role in the country and is spoken by about two-thirds of the population

Religions:
Muslim (official; Sunni) 99.1%, other (includes Christian, Jewish, Shia Muslim, and Baha'i) 1%
religious affiliation:

Demographic profile:
The Tunisian Government took steps in the 1960s to decrease population growth and gender inequality in order to improve socioeconomic development. Through its introduction of a national family planning program (the first in Africa) and by raising the legal age of marriage, Tunisia rapidly reduced its total fertility rate from about 7 children per woman in 1960 to 2 today. Unlike many of its North African and Middle Eastern neighbors, Tunisia will soon be shifting from being a youth-bulge country to having a transitional age structure, characterized by lower fertility and mortality rates, a slower population growth rate, a rising median age, and a longer average life expectancy. Currently, the sizable young working-age population is straining Tunisia’s labor market and education and health care systems. Persistent high unemployment among Tunisia’s growing workforce, particularly its increasing number of university graduates and women, was a key factor in the uprisings that led to the overthrow of the BEN ALI regime in 2011. In the near term, Tunisia’s large number of jobless young, working-age adults; deficiencies in primary and secondary education; and the ongoing lack of job creation and skills mismatches could contribute to future unrest. In the longer term, a sustained low fertility rate will shrink future youth cohorts and alleviate demographic pressure on Tunisia’s labor market, but employment and education hurdles will still need to be addressed. Tunisia has a history of labor emigration. In the 1960s, workers migrated to European countries to escape poor economic conditions and to fill Europe’s need for low-skilled labor in construction and manufacturing. The Tunisian Government signed bilateral labor agreements with France, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, and the Netherlands, with the expectation that Tunisian workers would eventually return home. At the same time, growing numbers of Tunisians headed to Libya, often illegally, to work in the expanding oil industry. In the mid-1970s, with European countries beginning to restrict immigration and Tunisian-Libyan tensions brewing, Tunisian economic migrants turned toward the Gulf countries. After mass expulsions from Libya in 1983, Tunisian migrants increasingly sought family reunification in Europe or moved illegally to southern Europe, while Tunisia itself developed into a transit point for sub-Saharan migrants heading to Europe. Following the ousting of BEN ALI in 2011, the illegal migration of unemployed Tunisian youths to Italy and onward to France soared into the tens of thousands. Thousands more Tunisian and foreign workers escaping civil war in Libya flooded into Tunisia and joined the exodus. A readmission agreement signed by Italy and Tunisia in April 2011 helped stem the outflow, leaving Tunisia and international organizations to repatriate, resettle, or accommodate some 1 million Libyans and third-country nationals.

Age structure:
0-14 years: 23.02% (male 1,320,426/female 1,243,287)
[see also: Age structure 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 15.05% (male 840,907/female 834,320)
[see also: Age structure 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 44.52% (male 2,402,272/female 2,554,362)
[see also: Age structure 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 9.21% (male 520,305/female 505,612)
[see also: Age structure 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 8.2% (male 448,870/female 464,227) (2016 est.)
[see also: Age structure 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 44.8%
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 33.8%
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 11%
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 9.1% (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]

Median age:
total: 32.4 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 31.9 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 32.7 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 97

Population growth rate:
0.86% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 127
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
16.4 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 112
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
6 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 164
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
-1.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 157
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Population distribution:
the overwhelming majority of the population is located in the northern half of the country; the south remains largely underpopulated

Urbanization:
urban population: 66.8% of total population (2015)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 1.38% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]

Major urban areas - population:
TUNIS (capital) 1.993 million (2015)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

Maternal mortality rate:
62 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 104
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 21.6 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 24.8 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 18.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 80

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.1 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total country ranks ]
male: 74 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 78.4 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 91

Total fertility rate:
1.98 children born/woman (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 123
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Contraceptive prevalence rate:
62.5% (2011/12)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]

Health expenditures:
7% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 80
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]

Physicians density:
1.22 physicians/1,000 population (2010)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]

Hospital bed density:
2.1 beds/1,000 population (2012)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved: urban: 100% of population rural: 93.2% of population total: 97.7% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - Improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 0% of population rural: 6.8% of population total: 2.3% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Drinking water source - Unimproved - total country ranks ]

Sanitation facility access:
improved: urban: 97.4% of population rural: 79.8% of population total: 91.6% of population
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total Improved country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 2.6% of population rural: 20.2% of population total: 8.4% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total UnImproved country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.04% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 123
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
2,600 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 116
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
100 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 104
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
27.1% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 80
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
2.3% (2012)
country comparison to the world: 118
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]

Education expenditures:
6.3% of GDP (2012)
country comparison to the world: 38
[see also: Education expenditures - percent of GDP country ranks ]

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.8%
[see also: Literacy - total country ranks ]
male: 89.6%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 74.2% (2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 15 years
[see also: School life expectancy - total country ranks ]
male: NA
[see also: School life expectancy - male country ranks ]
female: NA (2014)
[see also: School life expectancy - female country ranks ]

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 37.6%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 35.7%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 41.8% (2012 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 10