conventional long form: Republic of Tunisia
conventional short form: Tunisia
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah at Tunisiyah
local short form: Tunis
etymology: the country name derives from the capital city of Tunis
parliamentary republic
name: Tunis
geographic coordinates: 36 48 N, 10 11 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
etymology: three possibilities exist for the derivation of the name; originally a Berber settlement (earliest reference 4th century B.C.), the strategic site fell to the Carthaginians (Phoenicians) and the city could be named after the Punic goddess Tanit, since many ancient cities were named after patron deities; alternatively, the Berber root word "ens," which means "to lie down" or "to pass the night," may indicate that the site was originally a camp or rest stop; finally, the name may be the same as the city of Tynes, mentioned in the writings of some ancient authors
24 governorates (wilayat, singular - wilayah); Beja (Bajah), Ben Arous (Bin 'Arus), Bizerte (Banzart), Gabes (Qabis), Gafsa (Qafsah), Jendouba (Jundubah), Kairouan (Al Qayrawan), Kasserine (Al Qasrayn), Kebili (Qibili), Kef (Al Kaf), L'Ariana (Aryanah), Mahdia (Al Mahdiyah), Manouba (Manubah), Medenine (Madanin), Monastir (Al Munastir), Nabeul (Nabul), Sfax (Safaqis), Sidi Bouzid (Sidi Bu Zayd), Siliana (Silyanah), Sousse (Susah), Tataouine (Tatawin), Tozeur (Tawzar), Tunis, Zaghouan (Zaghwan)
20 March 1956 (from France)
Independence Day, 20 March (1956); Revolution and Youth Day, 14 January (2011)
history:
history: several previous; latest approved by Constituent Assembly 26 January 2014, signed by the president, prime minister, and Constituent Assembly speaker on 27 January 2014; note - in September 2021, President Kais SAIED issued a decree granting him certain executive, legislative, and judiciary powers, and the authority to rule by decree, but allowed continued implementation of the preamble and chapters one and two of the Constitution, which guarantee rights and freedoms; note - in a 25 July 2022 referendum, voters supported a new constitution proposed by the president
mixed legal system of civil law, based on the French civil code and Islamic (sharia) law; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Tunisia
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
18 years of age; universal except for active government security forces (including the police and the military), people with mental disabilities, people who have served more than three months in prison (criminal cases only), and people given a suspended sentence of more than six months
chief of state: President Kais SAIED (elected 13 October, sworn in 23 October 2019)
head of government: Prime Minister Najla BOUDEN Romdhane (since 11 October 2021)
cabinet: selected by the prime minister and approved by the Assembly of the Representatives of the People; note - on 11 October 2021, SAIED and BOUDEN appointed a new cabinet without approval by the suspended parliament
elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); last held on 15 September 2019 with a runoff on 13 October 2019 (next to be held in 2024); following legislative elections, the prime minister is selected by the majority party or majority coalition and appointed by the president
election results:
2019: percent vote in first round - Kais SAIED (independent) 18.4%, Nabil KAROUI (Heart of Tunisia) 15.6%, Abdelfattah MOUROU (Nahda Movement) 12.9%, Abdelkrim ZBIDI(independent) 10.7%,Youssef CHAHED (Long Live Tunisia) 7.4%, Safi SAID (independent) 7.1%, Lotfi MRAIHI (Republican People's Union) 6.6%, other 21.3%; percent of vote in second round - Kais SAIED elected president; Kais SAIED 72.7%, Nabil KAROUI 27.3%
description: note: on 25 July 2021, President SAIED suspended indefinitely the Assembly, and on 30 March 2022 he dissolved the Assembly
unicameral Assembly of the Representatives of the People or Majlis Nuwwab ash-Sha'b (Assemblee des representants du peuple) (217 seats; 199 members directly elected in Tunisian multi-seat constituencies and 18 members in multi-seat constituencies living abroad by party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)
elections: initial election held on 6 October 2019 (next to be held on 17 December 2022)
election results: percent of vote by party - Ennahda 19.6%, Heart of Tunisia 14.6%, Free Destourian Party 6.6%, Democratic Current 6.4%, Dignity Coalition 5.9%, People's Movement 4.5%, TahyaTounes 4.1%, other 35.4%, independent 2.9%; seats by party - Ennahda 52, Heart of Tunisia 38, Free Destourian Party 17, Democratic Current 22, Dignity Coalition 21, People's Movement 16, Long Live Tunisia 14, other 25, independent 12; composition (as of October 2021) - men 160, women 57, percent of women 26.3%
highest court(s): Court of Cassation (consists of the first president, chamber presidents, and magistrates and organized into 27 civil and 11 criminal chambers)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges nominated by the Supreme Judicial Council, an independent 4-part body consisting mainly of elected judges and the remainder legal specialists; judge tenure based on terms of appointment; Constitutional Court (established in the constitution but inception has been delayed; note - in mid-February 2022, President SAIED dissolved the Supreme Judicial Council and replaced it with an interim council in early March
subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; administrative courts; Court of Audit; Housing Court; courts of first instance; lower district courts; military courts
note: the new Tunisian constitution of January 2014 called for the creation of a constitutional court by the end of 2015, but as November 2021, the court had not been appointed; the court to consist of 12 members - 4 each to be appointed by the president, the Supreme Judicial Council (an independent 4-part body consisting mainly of elected judges and the remainder are legal specialists), and the Chamber of the People's Deputies (parliament); members are to serve 9-year terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 3 years
Afek Tounes [Fadhel ABDELKEFI]
Al Badil Al-Tounisi (The Tunisian Alternative) [Mehdi JOMAA]
Amal Party [Ridha BELHAJ]
Call for Tunisia Party (Nidaa Tounes) [Ali HAFSI]
Current of Love [Hachemi HAMDI] (formerly the Popular Petition party)
Democratic Current [Ghazi CHAOUACHI]
Democratic Patriots' Unified Party [Zied LAKHDHAR]
Dignity Coalition or Al Karama Coalition [Seifeddine MAKHLOUF]
Ennahda Movement (The Renaissance) [Rached GHANNOUCHI]
Free Destourian Party or PDL [Abir MOUSSI]
Green Tunisia Party [Abdelkader ZITOUNI]
Heart of Tunisia (Qalb Tounes) [Nabil KAROUI]
Long Live Tunisia (Tahya Tounes) [Youssef CHAHED]
Machrou Tounes (Project Tunisia) [Mohsen MARZOUK]
Movement of Socialist Democrats or MDS [Ahmed KHASKHOUSSI]
Party of the Democratic Arab Vanguard [Kheireddine SOUABNI]
People's Movement [Zouheir MAGHZAOUI]
Republican Party (Al Joumhouri) [Issam CHEBBI]
The Movement Party (Hizb Harak) [Moncef MARZOUKI]
Third Republic Party [Olfa HAMDI]
Tunisian Ba'ath Movement [Othmen Bel Haj AMOR]
Workers' Party [Hamma HAMMAMI]
ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BSEC (observer), CAEU, CD, EBRD, FAO, G-11, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, OPCW, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
chief of mission: Ambassador Hanene TAJOURI Bessassi (since 4 October 2021)
chancery: 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005
telephone: [1] (202) 862-1850
FAX: [1] (202) 862-1858
email address and website:
AT.Washington@Tunisiaembassy.org
https://www.tunisianembassy.org/
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Natasha FRANCESCHI (since April 2022)
embassy: Les Berges du Lac, 1053 Tunis
mailing address: 6360 Tunis Place, Washington DC 20521-6360
telephone: [216] 71-107-000
FAX: [216] 71-107-090
email address and website:
tunisacs@state.gov
https://tn.usembassy.gov/
red with a white disk in the center bearing a red crescent nearly encircling a red five-pointed star; resembles the Ottoman flag (red banner with white crescent and star) and recalls Tunisia's history as part of the Ottoman Empire; red represents the blood shed by martyrs in the struggle against oppression, white stands for peace; the crescent and star are traditional symbols of Islam
note: the flag is based on that of Turkey, itself a successor state to the Ottoman Empire
encircled red crescent moon and five-pointed star; national colors: red, white
name: "Humat Al Hima" (Defenders of the Homeland)
lyrics/music: Mustafa Sadik AL-RAFII and Aboul-Qacem ECHEBBI/Mohamad Abdel WAHAB
note: adopted 1957, replaced 1958, restored 1987; Mohamad Abdel WAHAB also composed the music for the anthem of the United Arab Emirates
total World Heritage Sites: 8 (7 cultural, 1 natural)
selected World Heritage Site locales: Amphitheatre of El Jem (c); Archaeological Site of Carthage (c); Medina of Tunis (c); Ichkeul National Park (n); Punic Town of Kerkuane (c); Kairouan (c); Medina of Sousse (c); Dougga / Thugga (c)
NOTE: The information regarding Tunisia on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Tunisia 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Tunisia 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 01 Dec 23, Copyright © 23 ITA all rights reserved.