1. Tunisia By Karys Kruger, Louise Williams, and Anja Djokic

2. Intro to Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Tunisian Republic,is a country situated on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa. It is the northernmost African country and the smallest of the nations situated along the Atlas mountain range. Around forty percent of the country is composed of the Sahara desert, with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil, and a 1300-km coastline. Both played a prominent role in ancient times, first with the famous Phoenician city of Carthage, and later, as the Africa Province, which became known as the bread basket of the Roman Empire.

3. History Throughout Tunisia's history many peoples have arrived to settle: most recently the French, before them came the Ottomans, yet earlier the Arabs who brought their language and the religion of Islam, before them the Byzantines, and the Vandals. Over two thousand years ago came the Romans, whose Empire long governed the region. The Phoenicians founded Carthage close to three thousand years ago. Also came migrations from the south. Perhaps eight millennia ago, there were already peoples established.

4. Economy Tunisia has a diverse economy, with important agricultural, mining, energy, tourism, petroleum, and manufacturing sectors. Governmental control of economic affairs, whilst still heavy, has gradually lessened over the past decade with increasing privatization, simplification of the tax structure, and a prudent approach to debt. Increased trade and tourism have been key elements in this steady economic growth. Tunisia's association agreement with the European Union (EU), the first such accord between the EU and a Mediterranean country, entered into force on March 1, 1998. Under the agreement Tunisia will gradually remove barriers to trade with the EU over the next decade.

5. Education Prior to 1958 education in Tunisia was only available to a privileged minority. A basic education for both boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 16 has been compulsory since 1991. While children generally acquire Tunisian Arabic at home, when they enter school at age 5, they are taught to read and write in Standard Arabic. From the age of 8, they are taught French while English is introduced at the age of 10.

6. Language The twenty or so Berber languages form one of the branches of Afroasiatic, a world language family which itself stretches from Mesopotamia to the Niger, its other branches being: Ancient Egyptian, Semitic (which includes Arabic and Hebrew), Cushitic, and Chadic. Berber, however, is no longer widely spoken in present day Tunisia Egyptian hieroglyphs from early dynasties testify to the presence of Libyans, the Berbers of the "western desert". Among the ancients, the Berber peoples of North Africa were often known collectively as Libyans. Berbers to the west were also know as Numidians, or Mauri or Maurisi.The Berbers developed their own writing system, called Tifinagh.

7. Independence of Tunisia Rivalry between French and Italian interests in Tunisia culminated in a French invasion in 1881 and the creation of a protectorate. Agitation for independence in the decades following World War I was finally successful in getting the French to recognize Tunisia as an independent state in 1956. The country's first president, Habib BOURGUIBA, established a strict one-party state. He dominated the country for 31 years, repressing Islamic fundamentalism and establishing rights for women unmatched by any other Arab nation. Tunisia has long taken a moderate, non-aligned stance in its foreign relations. Domestically, it has sought to defuse rising pressure for a more open political society.