Tunisia

Tunisia is a country of the Maghreb on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, between Algeria and Libya. Tunis is the capital, Arabic is the official language, and Tunisian Arabic is the everyday speech, with French used in business and schools. The country covers 163,610 km² (63,170 sq mi), from the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains to the edge of the Sahara.

Phoenician settlers founded Carthage, by tradition in 814 BC, and it grew into a trading power that rivaled Rome until 146 BC. Under Rome the province of Africa exported olive oil, grain and mosaics, and the amphitheater of El Jem was among the largest of the empire. Arab Muslims founded Kairouan in the 7th century, where the Great Mosque of Uqba was built, and the Aghlabid, Zirid and Hafsid dynasties built up farming, trade and the cities of Tunis and Kairouan. The Ottomans held Tunis from 1574, and France made the country a protectorate in 1881.

Tunisia became independent on 20 March 1956, now Independence Day, and a republic in 1957 with Habib Bourguiba as its first president. The Code of Personal Status of 1956 gave women full legal status, the right to own businesses and bank accounts. The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015 for helping to build a peaceful, plural political order. Olive groves cover the coastal Sahel, one of the main olive regions of the world, while clothing and footwear, car parts and electrical machinery lead its industry.

The ruins of Carthage, the medina of Tunis and the island of Djerba, whose Jewish community goes back 2,600 years, are among the main sights. Chott el Djerid, a salt lake 17 m (56 ft) below sea level, lies on the edge of the desert, and Jebel ech Chambi is the highest peak at 1,544 m (5,066 ft). Five Star Wars films were shot in Tunisia between 1977 and 2005.