Tunisia

Demographics of Tunisia

Modern Tunisians are the descendants of indigenous Berbers and of people from numerous civilizations that have invaded, migrated to, and been assimilated into the population over the millennia. The Muslim conquest in the 7th century transformed Tunisia and the make-up of its population, with subsequent waves of migration from around the Arab and Ottoman world, including significant numbers of Spanish Moors and Jews at the end of the 15th century. Tunisia became a center of Arab culture and learning and was assimilated into the Turkish Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. It was a French protectorate from 1881 until independence in 1956, and retains close political, economic, and cultural ties with France.

Related Topics:
Berbers - Civilizations - Arab - Ottoman

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Nearly all Tunisians (98% of the population) are Muslim. There has been a Jewish population on the southern island of Djerba for 2000 years, and there remains a small Jewish population in Tunis which is descended from those who fled Spain in the late 15th century. There is no indigenous Christian population. Small nomadic indigenous minorities have been mostly assimilated into the larger population.

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Population: 10,074,951 (July 2005 est.)

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Age structure:

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• 0-14 years: 25.3% (male 1,316,308; female 1,234,309)
• 15-64 years: 68.1%(male 3,437,880; female 3,418,591)
• 65 years and over: 6.6% (male 321,287; female 346,576) (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.99% (2005 est.)

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Birth rate: 15.5 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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Death rate: 5.09 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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Net migration rate: -0.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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Sex ratio:

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• at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
• under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
• 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
• total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 24.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth:

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• total population: 74.89 years
• male: 73.2 years
• female: 76.71 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.75 children born/woman (2005 est.)

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Nationality:

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• noun: Tunisian(s)
• adjective: Tunisian

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

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Religions: Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish and other 1%

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Languages: Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce)

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Literacy:

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• definition: age 15 and over can read and write
• total population: 74.2%
• male: 84%
• female: 64.4% (2003 est.)