Tunisia Geography - 2024

Location

Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya

Geographic coordinates

34 00 N, 9 00 E

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 163,610 sq km

land: 155,360 sq km

water: 8,250 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly larger than Georgia

Area comparison map:

Land boundaries

total: 1,495 km

border countries (2): Algeria 1,034 km; Libya 461 km

Coastline

1,148 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 12 nm

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

Elevation

highest point: Jebel ech Chambi 1,544 m

lowest point: Shatt al Gharsah -17 m

mean elevation: 246 m

Natural resources

petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt

Land use

agricultural land: 64.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 18.3% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 15.4% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 31.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 6.6% (2018 est.)

other: 28.6% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

3,920 sq km (2013)

Major aquifers

North Western Sahara Aquifer System

Population distribution

the overwhelming majority of the population is located in the northern half of the country; the south remains largely underpopulated as shown in this

Natural hazards

flooding; earthquakes; droughts

Geography - note

strategic location in central Mediterranean; Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration