The majority (98% ¹) of modern Tunisians are considered Arab², and are speakers of Tunisian Arabic. However, there is also a small (1% at most¹) population of Berbers located in the Jabal Dahar mountains in the South East and on the island of Jerba. The Berbers primarily speak Berber languages, often called Shelha³, or have shifted to Tunisian Arabic.

Numerous other peoples have also invaded, migrated to, and been assimilated into the population over the millennia such as Romans, Vandals, and Ottoman Turks. Additionally, after the Reconquista and expulsion of non-Christians from Spain, many Spanish Moors and Jews also arrived at the end of the 15th century. In addition, from the late 1800s to after World War II, Tunisia was home to large populations of French and Sicilians, although nearly all of them, along with the Jewish population, left after Tunisia became independent.

Nearly all Tunisians (98% of the population) are Muslim.⁴ There has been a Jewish population on the southern island of Djerba for 2000 years, and there remains a small Jewish population in Tunis which is descended from those who fled Spain in the late 15th century. There is a small indigenous Christian population.⁵ Small nomadic indigenous minorities have been mostly assimilated into the larger population.

Genetic

According to one genetic study, while the vast majority of modern Tunisians identify themselves as Arabs, they are mainly the descendants of Berbers, the first peoples known to inhabit what is now Tunisia. Tunisians are also descended, to a lesser extent, from Semitic peoples (Phoenicians/Carthaginians and Arabs) with a little less than 20% of the genetic material (Y-chromosome analysis) coming from the Middle East [2]. Another study, which does not compare Tunisian genetics with those of the Middle East, states that what it calls the Arab subhaplotype Va was found at a relatively high frequency in Tunisia at 50.6%[3], but also states that this group in fact "probably correspond to a heterogeneous group representing various ethnicities", rather than just Arabs. Other genetic studies found that "Tunisians did not show a significant level of differentiation with northern population"⁶⁷. This suggests a fairly significant European input to Tunisian genetics compared to other neighbouring populations.

Demographics of Tunisia, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Demographic data

Population

10,175,014 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 24.6% (male 1,293,235/female 1,212,994)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 3,504,283/female 3,478,268)
65 years and over: 6.7% (male 327,521/female 358,713) (2006 est.)

Population growth rate

0.99% (2006 est.)

Birth rate

15.52 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate

5.13 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate

-0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate

23.84 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 75.12 years
male: 73.4 years
female: 76.96 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.74 children born/woman (2006 est.)

Nationality

noun: Tunisian(s)
adjective: Tunisian

Ethnic groups

Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1%⁴

Religions

(see Religion in Tunisia) Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish and other 1%⁴

Languages

Tunisian Arabic (Modern Standard Arabic is official); French (especially in commerce); several Berber languages are also spoken: Shelha, Ghadamès, Nafusi, Sened (may be extinct) and Djerbi; according to the 1998 Ethnologue report, about 26,000 Berbers in Djerba and Matmata speak Djerbi

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74.3%
male: 83.4%
female: 65.3% (2004 est.)

References