Demographics of Tunisia

Tunisia's population (1961-2011).

Tunisia's population was estimated to be just under 10.8 million in 2013.[1] The government has supported a successful family planning program that has reduced the population growth rate to just over 1% per annum, contributing to Tunisia's economic and social stability.[1] The population of Tunisia is primarily of Berber ancestral origin (>60%).[2]

Nearly all Tunisians, around 99 percent of the population, are Muslim adherents.[3] There is a Jewish population on the southern island of Djerba and Tunis. There also exists a small autochthonous group of Christian adherents.[4]

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1960 4,220,701—    
1970 5,127,000+21.5%
1980 6,384,000+24.5%
1990 8,154,400+27.7%
2000 9,563,500+17.3%
2010 10,547,000+10.3%
2016 11,299,400+7.1%

Source: National Institute of Statistics[5] and United Nations Statistics Division[6]

Vital statistics

Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1,000) Crude death rate (per 1,000) Natural change (per 1,000) Fertility rates
1990 25.2 5.6 19.6 3.38
1991 24.9 5.6 19.3 3.31
1992 24.9 5.5 19.5 3.27
1993 8 572 200 24.0 5.7 18.3 3.12
1994 8 785 700 22.7 5.7 17.0 2.90
1995 8 957 500 20.8 5.8 15.0 2.67
1996 9 089 300 19.7 5.5 14.2 2.51
1997 9 214 900 18.9 5.6 13.2 2.38
1998 9 333 300 17.9 5.6 12.3 2.23
1999 9 455 900 16.9 5.7 11.2 2.09
2000 9 552 500 17.1 5.6 11.4 2.08
2001 9 650 600 16.9 5.6 11.4 2.05
2002 9 748 900 163 011 16.7 5.8 10.8 2.00
2003 9 839 800 168 022 17.1 6.1 11.0 2.06
2004 9 932 400 166 551 16.8 6.0 10.8 2.02
2005 10 029 000 170 999 58 673 112 326 17.1 5.9 11.2 2.04
2006 10 127 900 173 390 57 000 116 390 17.1 5.6 11.5 2.03
2007 10 225 100 177 503 56 741 120 762 17.4 5.5 11.8 2.04
2008 10 328 900 182 990 59 975 123 015 17.7 5.8 11.9 2.06
2009 10 439 600 184 282 59 499 124 783 17.7 5.7 12.0 2.05
2010 10 547 100 196 039 60 438 135 601 18.6 5.7 12.9 2.13
2011 10 673 800 201 120 63 258 137 862 18.8 5.9 12.9 2.15
2012 10 777 500 217 738 63 257 154 481 20.2 5.9 14.3 2.4
2013 10 886 500 222 962 61 730 161 232 20.5 5.7 14.8 2.4
2014 10 982 754 225 887 62 785 163 102 20.5 5.7 14.8 2.42
2015 11 154 370 222 530 65 743 156 787 20.0 5.9 14.1 2.3
2016 219 013 62 433 156 580 19.4 5.7 13.7 2.31

Structure of the population

Structure of the population (Census 23.IV.2014):[7]

Age Group Male Female Total Percent
Total 5 472 333 5 510 420 10 982 753 100
0–4 505 509 466 662 972 171 8.85
5–9 440 644 408 362 849 006 7.73
10–14 407 938 381 684 789 622 7.19
15–19 421 716 405 792 827 508 7.53
20–24 459 814 465 595 925 409 8.43
25–29 449 932 484 685 934 617 8.51
30–34 477 322 506 459 983 781 8.96
35–39 397 594 419 392 816 986 7.44
40–44 357 353 370 495 727 848 6.63
45–49 331 283 351 673 682 956 6.22
50–54 324 423 326 185 650 608 5.92
55–59 268 380 266 788 535 168 4.87
60–64 212 900 212 524 425 424 3.87
65–69 127 168 135 135 262 303 2.39
70–74 107 097 113 584 220 681 2.01
75–79 81 732 85 164 166 896 1.52
80+ 101 528 110 241 211 769 1.93
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 1 354 091 1 256 708 2 610 799 23.77
15–64 3 700 717 3 809 588 7 510 305 68.38
65+ 417 525 444 124 861 649 7.85

Population

The population of Tunisia is primarily of Berber ancestral origin (>60%).[2] Whilst the Ottoman influence has been particularly significant in forming the Turco-Tunisian community, other peoples have also migrated to Tunisia during different periods of time, including Sub-Saharan Africans, Greeks, Romans, Phoenicians (Punics), Jews, and French settlers. The Tunisian , by 1870 the distinction between the Arabic-speaking mass and the Turkish elite had blurred[8] and today the overwhelming majority, of about 98%,[3][9] simply identify themselves collectively as Arabs.[10] There is also a small purely Berber (1% at most)[11] population located in the Dahar mountains and on the island of Djerba in the south-east and in the Khroumire mountainous region in the north-west.

From the late 19th century to after World War II, Tunisia was home to large populations of French and Italians (255,000 Europeans in 1956),[12] although nearly all of them, along with the Jewish population, left after Tunisia became independent. The history of the Jews in Tunisia goes back some 2,000 years. In 1948 the Jewish population was an estimated 105,000, but by 2013 only about 900 remained.[13]

The first people known to history in what is now Tunisia were the Berbers. Numerous civilizations and peoples have invaded, migrated to, or have been assimilated into the population over the millennia, with influences of population from Phoenicians/Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Arabs, Spaniards, Ottoman Turks and Janissaries, and French. There was a continuing inflow of nomadic Arab tribes from Arabia.[14]

After the Reconquista and expulsion of non-Christians and Moriscos from Spain, many Spanish Muslims and Jews also arrived. According to Matthew Carr, "As many as eighty thousand Moriscos settled in Tunisia, most of them in and around the capital, Tunis, which still contains a quarter known as Zuqaq al-Andalus, or Andalusia Alley."[15]

Life expectancy

Period Life expectancy in
Years		 Period Life expectancy in
Years
1950–1955 38.8 1985–1990 67.1
1955–1960 40.7 1990–1995 70.3
1960–1965 43.7 1995–2000 72.4
1965–1970 48.3 2000–2005 73.7
1970–1975 54.1 2005–2010 74.6
1975–1980 59.4 2010–2015 75.0
1980–1985 64.3

Source: UN World Population Prospects[16]

Genetic

While the many modern Tunisians identify themselves as Arab, they are predominantly genetically descended from Berber groups, with substantial Phoenician/Punic, Arab and Western European input. Tunisians are also descended, to a much lesser extent, from other African, Middle Eastern and/or European peoples. In sum, a little less than 20 percent of their genetic material (Y-chromosome analysis) comes from the present day Levant, Arabia, Europe or West Africa.[17][18]

"In fact, the Tunisian genetic distances to European samples are smaller than those to North African groups. (...) This could be explained by the history of the Tunisian population, reflecting the influence of the ancient Punic settlers of Carthage followed, among others, by Roman, Byzantine, Arab and French occupations, according to historical records. Notwithstanding, other explanations cannot be discarded, such as the relative heterogeneity within current Tunisian populations, and/or the limited sub-Saharan genetic influence in this region as compared with other North African areas, without excluding the possibility of the genetic drift, whose effect might be particularly amplified on the X chromosome.",[19][20] This suggests a fairly significant Middle Eastern and European input to Tunisian genetics compared to other neighbouring populations.

However, later research has suggested instead that Tunisians exhibit a mostly indigenous North African genetic make up similar to other Northwest African populations; characterized by a high amount of native Northwest African genes, but with higher Middle Eastern input than in Algeria or Morocco.[21]

Y-Chromosome

Listed here are the human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups in Tunisia.[22]

Haplogroup n B E1a E1b1a E1b1b1 E1b1b1a3 E1b1b1a4 E1b1b1b E1b1b1c F G I J1 J2 K P,R R1a1 R1b1a R1b1b T
MarkerM33M2M35V22V65M81M34M89M201V88M269M70
Tunisia6010.170.50.671.6633.1662.731.162.660.170.1716.642.830.330.330.51.830.331.16

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Nationality

noun:Tunisian(s)
adjective:Tunisian

Vital Statistics

Age structure

0–14 years: 22.2% (male 1,213,664/female 1,137,084)
15–64 years: 70.5% (male 3,759,955/female 3,704,677)
65 years and over: 7.3% (male 358,447/female 415,198) (2010 est.)
0-14 years: 23.2% (male 1,274,348/female 1,193,131)
15-64 years: 69.3% (male 3,638,014/female 3,728,294)
65 years and over: 7.5% (male 390,055/female 405,344) (2011 est.)

Net migration rate

-0.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)
-1.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 67% of total population (2010)
rate of urbanization: 1.5% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2012 est.)

Infant mortality rate

22.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 75.24 years
male: 73.2 years
female: 77.42 years (2012 est.)

Ethnic groups

Languages

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.8%
male: 89.6%
female: 74.2% (2015 est.)

The literacy rate among the Tunisian population increased greatly after its independence from France. According to the 1996 census data,[24] the literacy rate of the last generation of Tunisian men educated under the French rule (those born 1945-49) was less than 65%. For the first generation educated after independence (born 1950-1954), literacy in Arabic among males had increased to nearly 80%. (Sixty-two percent were also literate in French and 15 percent literate in English). Among the youngest generation included in the census (those born 1980-1984), 96.6% were literate in Arabic.

Among Tunisian women, the increase in literacy was even greater. The literacy rate among the last generation of women educated under the French was less than 30%. In the first generation educated after independence, this increased to just over 40%. For the youngest generation of women cited (born 1980-1984), literacy in Arabic had increased to slightly over 90%; over 70% of women were also literate in French.[25]

References

  1. 1 2 "Tunisia (03/09/12)". US Department of State. 9 March 2012. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Tej K. Bhatia, William C. Ritchie (2006). The Handbook of Bilingualism. John Wiley & Sons. p. 860. ISBN 0631227350. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  3. 1 2 "CIA – The World Factbook — Tunisia". Retrieved 2007-01-13.
  4. 1 2 International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Tunisia. United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (September 14, 2007). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ↑ National Institute of Statistics - Tunisia
  6. ↑ "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". United Nations Statistics Division. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  7. ↑ Division, United Nations Statistics. "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  8. ↑ Green, Arnold H. (1978), The Tunisian Ulama 1873–1915: Social Structure and Response to Ideological Currents, BRILL, p. 69, ISBN 90-04-05687-4
  9. ↑ Turchi, C; Buscemi, L; Giacchino, E; Onofri, V; Fendt, L; Parson, W; Tagliabracci, A (2009). "Polymorphisms of mtDNA control region in Tunisian and Moroccan populations: An enrichment of forensic mtDNA databases with Northern Africa data". Forensic Science International: Genetics. 3 (3): 166–72. doi:10.1016/j.fsigen.2009.01.014. PMID 19414164.
  10. ↑ Bouhadiba, M.A. (28 January 2010). "Le Tunisien: une dimension méditerranéenne qu'atteste la génétique" (in French). Lapresse.tn. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  11. ↑ "Q&A: The Berbers". BBC News. 12 March 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  12. ↑ Angus Maddison (20 September 2007). Contours of the World Economy 1–2030 AD:Essays in Macro-Economic History: Essays in Macro-Economic History. OUP Oxford. p. 214. ISBN 978-0-19-922721-1. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  13. ↑ "The Jews of Tunisia". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  14. ↑ Stearns, Peter N.; Leonard Langer, William (2001). The Encyclopedia of World History: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern, Chronologically Arranged (6 ed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 129–131. ISBN 0-395-65237-5.
  15. ↑ Carr, Matthew (2009). Blood and faith: the purging of Muslim Spain. The New Press. p. 290. ISBN 1-59558-361-0.
  16. ↑ "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". Retrieved 2017-07-15.
  17. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-14. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
  18. ↑ Cruciani, Fulvio; et al. (May 2004). "Phylogeographic Analysis of Haplogroup E3b (E-M215) Y Chromosomes Reveals Multiple Migratory Events Within and Out Of Africa". The American Journal of Human Genetics. 74 (5): 1014–1022. doi:10.1086/386294. PMC 1181964. PMID 15042509. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  19. ↑ The X chromosome Alu insertions as a tool for human population genetics: data from European and African human groups, Athanasiadis et al. 2007
  20. ↑ Tomas C, Sanchez JJ, Barbaro A, et al. (2008). "X-chromosome SNP analyses in 11 human Mediterranean populations show a high overall genetic homogeneity except in North-west Africans (Moroccans)". BMC Evol. Biol. 8: 75. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-8-75. PMC 2315647. PMID 18312628. Tunisians did not show a significant level of differentiation with northern populations as mentioned by others
  21. ↑ "Mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome microstructure in Tunisia".
  22. ↑ Bekada, A; Fregel, R; Cabrera, VM; Larruga, JM; Pestano, J; et al. (2013). "Introducing the Algerian Mitochondrial DNA and Y-Chromosome Profiles into the North African Landscape". PLoS ONE. 8 (2): e56775. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0056775. PMC 3576335. PMID 23431392.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 "Africa :: TUNISIA". CIA The World Factbook. Archived from the original on 2012-10-16.
  24. ↑ As , Walters Keith (2003). "Fergie's prescience: the changing nature of diglossia in Tunisia". International Journal of the Society of Language. 163: 85–87.
  25. ↑ The children born in the early 1980s had not yet begun English instruction by the time of the 1996 census, so no literacy rate in English is given. However, the children born between 1970-74 (who had completed their education) had a literacy in English of 20%. It's highly likely that the younger generation's literacy in English was even higher at the conclusion of their schooling. Walters 86.
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