General Facts :
Surface: 164.150 km²
Population: 8.800.000 inhabitants
Density of population: 49 inhabitants/km²
Capital: Tunis
Official language: Arabian
Official currency: Dinar
Imported products: car pieces, textiles, food, petroleum products
Exported products: petroleum, clothes, olive oil
Brut Intern Product: 8.450 million $
State type: Republic
Geographical Characteristics :
The Telian Atlas Mountains in the north-west belong to the Atlas Mountains. The center of the country has steppes and salted lakes; the biggest is Chott Djerid Lake which is 15 m under the sea level. To the south is the Sahara Desert.
Climate :
The north of Tunisia had Mediterranean climate, with hot and arid summers and gen
tle and moist winters. The south part of the country has desert conditions. The medium temperature is 10 Celsius Degrees in January and 26 Celsius Degrees in July, with rainfall of 400 mm mainly between September and April. The numbers for Gafsa are: 9 Celsius Degrees, 30 Celsius Degrees and 160 mm.
Agriculture :
27% of the population works in the agriculture. 30% of the country's surface is cultivated and 19% is grassland. The principal cultivated areas with cereals are in the north, especially in the Valley of Medjerda River. People cultivate grain, rice, oranges, grapes, olives, dates, peaches, alpha grass and almonds.
Mining and Industry :
There are extracted annually over 5 million tones of phosphates, but also iron ore, lead and zinc. It is a small production of natural gas. The salt is obtained from the coast lagoons. The main zones of mining exploitations are El Borma, in the south, and Gabes Golf.There are important the food, olive oil, wine, sugar, powder, textiles, cement, petroleum and vinegar industries. Tourism is also another important industry.
Major Cities :
Tunis (1.394.749 inhabitants) is the capital of the country and is the main port and industrial center. Sfax (577.992 inhabitants), the second city as size, is the southern regional center of Tunisia.