1983 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1983 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Branches
- Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force, Trinidad and Tobago Police Service
- executive dominant; unicameral legislative (National Assembly) largely advisory; judicial, patterned on French and Koranic systems
Capital
Tunis
Coastline
1,143 km (includes offshore islands) People
Communists
a small number of nominal Communists, mostly students; Tunisian Communist Party legalized in July 1981
Elections
national elections held every five years; last elections 1 November 1981 Political party and leader: Destourian Socialist Party is official ruling party; two small parties — Movement of Social Democrats and Movement of Popular Unity — legalized in
Ethnic divisions
98% Arab, 1% European, less than 1% Jewish
Government leaders
Habib BOURGUIBA, President; Mohamed MZALI, Prime Minister
Labor force
1.9 million, 32% agriculture; 15%-25% unemployed; shortage of skilled labor
Land boundaries
1,408 km Water
Language
Arabic (official), Arabic and French (commerce)
Legal system
based on French civil law system and Islamic law; constitution patterned on Turkish and US constitutions adopted 1959; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session; legal education at Institute of Higher Studies and Superior School of Law of the University of Tunis
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
12 nm (fishing 12 nm exclusive fisheries zone follows the 50-meter isobath for part of the coast, maximum 65 nm)
Literacy
about 62%
Military manpower
males 15-49, 332,000; 237,000 fit for military service ,' fSANCt Land 164,206 km2; 43% desert, waste, or urban; 28% arable and tree crop; 23% range and esparto grass; 6% forest
National holiday
Independence Day, 1 June
Nationality
noun — Tunisian(s); adjective — Tunisian
Official name
Republic of Tunisia
Organized labor
about 360,000 members claimed, roughly 20% of labor force; General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT), quasiindependent of Destourian Socialist Party Government
Political subdivisions
23 governorates (provinces)
Population
7,202,000 (July 1984), average annual growth rate 2.6%
Religion
98% Muslim, 1% Christian, less than 1% Jewish
Suffrage
universal over age 21
Type
republic
Voting strength
(1981 election) over 95% Destourian Socialist Party; 3.23% Social Democrats, under 1% Popular United Movement, under 1% Communist Party