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People
Cultural Demography
Tunisia has a population of about 10.5 million people, yielding an average population density of 57 people per square kilometer (148 per square mile). About three-quarters of the population live in the mild, mountainous north and in the coastal regions. The remainder of the population lives in the arid central plain and southern regions, which merge into the Sahara Desert. These zones constitute approximately 70 percent of the total land area.
Ethnically, the people of Tunisia are of mixed Arab-Berber ethnicity and over the years, the two groups have become virtually indistinct. Additionally, small minorities of Europeans and Jews reside in the country. Over 98 percent of the population is Muslim while the remainder practices Christianity and Judaism. Arabic is the official language, while French is commonly used in commerce (although the use of Arabic for such purposes is actively promoted).
Human Development
In terms of health and welfare, the infant mortality rate in Tunisia is 23.43 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to recent estimates. Life expectancy at birth averages 75.56 years of age --73.79 years for males and 77.46 years for females. According to latest numbers, the population growth rate is estimated at .99 percent, and the fertility rate at 1.7 children per woman. The overall literacy rate is 74.3 percent, with males registering 83.4 percent and females 65.3 percent.
Access to water and sanitation in this country is regarded to be good, with obstacles in some rural areas.
A notable measure of human development is the Human Development Index (HDI), which is formulated by the United Nations Development Program. The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main arenas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In a ranking of 169 countries, HDI places Tunisia in the high human development category at 81st place. Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.
Written by Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman, Editor in Chief, www.countrywatch.com . See Bibliography for list of general research sources.
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