Country · Africa
Tunisia
Tunisian Republic
Tunisia is a country in Northern Africa. About 11.6 million people live there, in an area of 163 610 square kilometres. Its capital city is Tunis.
Picture credit: VOYEUR (CC BY 3.0) · Tarek Chraiet (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Smailtn (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Habib M'henni (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Tunisia?
Tunisia lies in Northern Africa, on the continent of Africa.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 3 785 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 1 148 km long.
It shares a border with 2 countries: Algeria and Libya.
How big is Tunisia?
Tunisia covers 163 610 square kilometres.
That is about 4 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 91st largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 70.7 people on every square kilometre.
That is close to the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Tunisia?
About 11.6 million people live in Tunisia.
That is the 76th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Arabic.
They pay with the Tunisian dinar (د.ت).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 74 years.
The land of Tunisia
The land of Tunisia sits on average 246 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 1 148 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 57 days.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Tunisia different?
Dishes the country is known for: Couscous and Kabkabou.
Websites from here often end in .tn.
Tunisia and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Tunisia.
It takes up about 0.12 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Africa the country ranks 35th of 54 by size, and 29th by population.
Tunisia and its neighbours
Algeria, its largest neighbour, is about 14.6 times bigger.
Algeria has more people: 42.2 million against 11.6 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 3 live wild in Tunisia: Common stingray, Crested porcupine and Common cuttlefish. The highest mountain in the country is Jebel ech Chambi, at 1 544 metres. The longest river in the country is the Medjerda. The largest lake in the country is Chott el Djerid.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
How big is Tunisia compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 57 times as big as Tunisia: 9 372 610 km² against 163 610 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 1.5 times as big as Tunisia: 242 900 km² against 163 610 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Tunisia?
The capital of Tunisia is Tunis. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Tunisia?
About 11.6 million people live in Tunisia, which makes it the 76th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
How big is Tunisia?
Tunisia covers 163 610 square kilometres, making it the 91st largest country in the world. That is about 4 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Tunisia?
The highest mountain in Tunisia is Jebel ech Chambi, 1 544 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Tunisia?
The longest river in Tunisia is the Medjerda, about 460 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Tunisia?
The largest lake in Tunisia is Chott el Djerid. It covers about 7 000 km².
Which continent is Tunisia in?
Tunisia is in Africa, in the part called Northern Africa.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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