Tunisia

Tunisia is a country in Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east, Algeria to the west, and Libya to the southeast. It is classified by the United Nations under the M49 standard with code 788, ISO alpha-2 code TN, and ISO alpha-3 code TUN. The UN assigns Tunisia to the Africa region and the Northern Africa subregion. Tunisia is a member state of the United Nations. The World Bank lists Tunis as the capital. These classification facts come from the UN Statistics Division’s M49 standard, a methodological framework for statistical comparison, not a political or territorial claim.

A stable, verifiable country profile for Tunisia rests on fixed identifiers and a method for updating the numbers that change. If you need to compare Tunisia with other countries, see the country comparison guide. To understand why institutional figures can differ from lived experience, see the source-literacy guide.

Classification facts

These are the fixed identifiers you can rely on without checking a date:

• UN M49 code: 788
• ISO alpha-2: TN
• ISO alpha-3: TUN
• UN region: Africa
• UN subregion: Northern Africa
• UN member state: Yes
• World Bank capital field: Tunis

The M49 classification is a statistical geography maintained by the United Nations Statistics Division. It groups countries for data-collection purposes and does not make political or territorial claims. For the full hierarchy, see the UN M49 overview.

Capital, currency and language

Tunis is the capital, as listed in the World Bank country profile. The currency is the Tunisian dinar (TND). The ISO 4217 code is TND. Exchange rates move daily; for present values, use a reliable financial data source or the central bank of Tunisia (Banque Centrale de Tunisie). Do not rely on any static conversion figure published in a reference page, because rates change continuously.

Arabic is the official language. Modern Standard Arabic is used in government, media and formal writing; Tunisian Arabic (Derja) is the everyday spoken variety. French is widely used in business and education but has no legal status. Berber (Amazigh) languages are spoken by a minority, mainly in the south. For language data, consult Ethnologue or UNESCO’s education and language datasets; neither should be treated as a census of all speakers. The language situation can change in legal status only through legislation, so check the Tunisian government’s language policy for the standing position.

Government and economy

Tunisia is a unitary semi-presidential republic. The president is head of state, and a prime minister is head of government. The legal system is mixed, drawing on French civil law and Islamic law. For leadership rosters, election results and government structure, consult the official portal of the Tunisian government or a recent edition of the CIA World Factbook. Do not rely on this page for live political updates.

The World Bank classifies Tunisia as a lower-middle-income economy; the fiscal year reference changes annually. Economic data, GDP, growth, inflation, unemployment, should be read from the World Bank API for the specific indicator and year you need, because figures are revised and vary by source. The World Bank’s country page for Tunisia is at https://data.worldbank.org/country/TN. For GDP and economic projections, the IMF Article IV staff reports provide the latest institutional estimates with explicit assumptions. For development indicators, the UNDP Human Development Report gives the HDI value and rank, which are revised periodically.

How to verify population

Population figures are estimates between censuses, not exact counts. Tunisia’s National Institute of Statistics (INS) conducts the census; the most recent census was in 2014, and the next full census was planned for 2024. Check the INS website for the actual release date and figures.

Choosing a source

For a current estimate, the United Nations Population Division publishes annual revisions in the World Population Prospects. The World Bank also provides population data via its API, using the SP.POP.TOTL indicator. These are estimates, not census counts. The UN and World Bank figures can differ by a few hundred thousand because of different projection methods and base dates. For comparison across countries, prefer a single source, UN, World Bank or national statistical office, and do not mix estimates from different vintages.

Citing the figure

Always cite the dataset and reference year when quoting a population number. The UN revises historical series when new census results appear, so a 2023 estimate may differ from a 2025 estimate for the same reference year. As of the UN’s 2022 revision of World Population Prospects, the mid-2023 estimate was about 12.5 million people. For a quick check, the World Bank API returns a JSON record for Tunisia with the most recent annual population number and its reference year: https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/TN/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL. The UN Population Division provides a separate estimate; always note which source you used.

How to verify other changing figures

Do not treat any single number on this page as frozen. Population, GDP, inflation and exchange rates change continuously. The steps below show where to get the latest institutional figure and how to label it.

Economic indicators

For GDP, growth, inflation and unemployment, query the World Bank API for the specific indicator and year. The IMF Article IV staff reports provide the latest institutional estimates with explicit assumptions. The UNDP Human Development Report gives the HDI value and rank, revised periodically. When citing economic data, name the source, the year and whether the number is an estimate or a final figure.

Currency

The Tunisian dinar (TND) is the national currency. Exchange rates move daily. For present values, use a reliable financial data source or the Banque Centrale de Tunisie. Do not rely on any static conversion figure published in a reference page.

Language data

For language statistics, consult Ethnologue or UNESCO’s education and language data. Neither source should be treated as a census of all speakers. The legal status of a language changes only through legislation; check the Tunisian government’s language policy for the standing position.

Government rosters

For leadership, election results and government structure, consult the official portal of the Tunisian government or a recent edition of the CIA World Factbook. Do not rely on this page for live political updates.