25 Facts About Tunisia

Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is the northernmost country in Africa.

Tunisia is located on the Mediterranean Sea in North Africa. It was once a powerful regional power due to its location and proximity to vital shipping routes.

Tunisia has been inhabited since the Stone Age, approximately 200,000 years ago.

Tunisia has been the site of numerous colonisations, including those of the Phoenicians (as early as the 12th century BC), Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, various Arab and Berber kingdoms, and the Ottomans from the 16th to the late 19th centuries.

Tunisia is home to the world's largest desert. The Sahara Desert, which covers much of North Africa, including Southern Tunisia, has an area of approximately 8,600,000 square kilometres (3,320,000 square miles).

Tunisia was used to film several scenes from the Star Wars films. Several sets are located in the Saharan landscape of southern Tunisia, including the village of Tataouine, which served as Luke Skywalker's home planet, Tatooine, in the original 1977 film.

Southern Tunisia used to be covered in forest and savannah rather than sand. The Sahara desert spread throughout the region around 8000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age.

Tunisia is home to Africa's northernmost point, Cape Angela (Ras Angela).

France invaded Tunisia in 1881, seizing control of its economic and foreign affairs. Tunisia became a French protectorate in 1883.

Tunisia gained complete independence in 1956.

Following independence, Tunisia was led for three decades by Habib Bourguiba, who promoted secular ideas, particularly women's emancipation.

Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor, committed suicide by setting himself on fire in 2010. His actions sparked anti-government protests, which culminated in the Jasmine Revolution, which forced President Ben Ali into exile after 23 years in power.

The events in Tunisia sparked a wave of protests across the Arab world, which became known as the Arab Spring and toppled governments in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen.

Tunisia is home to the ancient city of Carthage, which was founded on the Gulf of Tunis in the ninth century BC. Carthage, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was once the centre of a vast trading empire that spanned much of the Mediterranean.

Tunisia gets its name from the capital city of Tunis, which has three possible origins: the Berber root word "ens," which means "to lie down" or "to pass the night," implying Tunis was once a camp or rest stop; the Punic goddess Tanit; or the city of Tynes mentioned in ancient authors' writings.

Tunisia's flag is red with a central white disc containing a red star and a red crescent. The crescent and stay have long been associated with Carthage, but have recently become associated with Muslim countries.

Tunisia's holiest city is Kairouan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is often referred to as Islam's fourth holiest city after Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem. In Islam, seven pilgrimages to Kairouan are equivalent to one pilgrimage to Mecca.

Tunis, the capital city, was once regarded as one of the greatest and wealthiest cities in the Islamic world. Today, Tunis's Medina, or city centre, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with over 700 monuments, including palaces, mosques, mausoleums, madrasas, and fountains.

Tunisia deployed a police robot, or 'robocop,' in 2020 to patrol the capital's streets and enforce coronavirus lockdown rules.

The ancient remains of the Roman site of Dougga is considered the best-preserved example of an Africo-Roman town in North Africa and has also been called "the most magnificent Roman site in Africa".

Tunisia has the largest colosseum in North Africa. The Romans built the UNESCO-listed Amphitheatre of El Jem around 238 AD and it could hold up to 35,000 spectators.

A British DJ was sentenced to a year in prison in Tunisia in 2017 for remixing the Muslim call to prayer. Dax J, who was born in London, was charged with public indecency and violating public morality.

The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, a coalition of civil society groups that came together in the summer of 2013 to develop democracy following the 2011 protests, was unexpectedly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015.

The UNESCO-listed Ichkeul National Park in Tunisia is well-known for its wildlife, particularly its birdlife, which includes over 300,000 ducks, geese, and coots. The park also has over 200 animal species and 500 plant species.

Tunisia has eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites in total. Only South Africa (10) and Ethiopia (9) have more in Africa.