Climate

* On the coast, a Mediterranean climate with rainy winters and hot, dry summers. Maximum daily temperatures range from 14 to 33 Celsius / 57 to 91 Fahrenheit. Average annual rainfall on the coast 420 mm / 17 inches.

* In the Atlas Mountains the average annual rainfall is 840 mm / 34 inches.

* As you move further south, the rainfall decreases dramatically and temperatures rise, particularly in the summer on the edge of the Sahara Desert.

* Opportunities are available to cruise to the North African ports including Tunis.

* Currency: Tunisian Dinar divided into 100 millimes.

* Credit Cards: On the Mediterranean, Visa, Mastercard, Access, American Express and Diners Club are widely accepted in good hotels, restaurants and also in many stores. In the rural areas to the south acceptability is less common.

* Banking Hours: Summer 0730 to 1100 and 1400 to 1615 Monday to Friday. Winter 0800 to 1100 and 1400 to 1615 Monday to Thursday plus 0800 to 1100 and 1300 to 1515 Friday.

* Currency Restrictions: Import and export of Tunisian currency is not allowed. Import of foreign currency is unlimited, export is limited to the amount declared on arrival.

* Currency: CFA Franc divided into 100 centimes.

* Agriculture: Employing about 50% of the population and is declining: livestock, fishing, dates, grapes, vegetables, olive oil, barley, wheat, henna, almonds, citrus fruit, cork.

* Mining: The world's fifth largest producer of phosphates; also oil, iron ore, zinc, lead, gold, barite, fluorspar.

* Manufacturing: Food processing, textiles, carpets, sugar refining, tyres, oil refining, cement.

* Other: Tourism is important.

* Official name: Republic of Tunisia.

* Population: 8,8 million (1991 estimate).

* Situation: North Africa.

* Timezone: GMT + 1.

* Area: 164,150 square kilometres / 63,362 square miles.

* Borders with: Algeria, Libya.

* Coasts: Mediterranean.

* Capital: Tunis.

* Major Towns: Bizerte, Sousse, Sfax.

* Chief Port: Tunis.

* Religion: Islam (98%).

* Rest Day: Friday.

* Electricity: 200 Volts AC, 50 Hz.

* Physical: The Atlas Mountains in the north west rise to 1,544 meters / 5,065 feet. There is a central depression following a line roughly west to east where there are several dry lake beds. Drier and sandier to the south to the edge of the Sahara Desert. Gulf of Gabes contains several islands including Djerba.

* Phoenician staging posts were set up very early on in the Mediterranean. Until the 6th century BC when cities on the Syrian coast lost their independence and in the 7th century BC when the Greeks began to create their colony, these posts remained relatively unimportant.

* The Phoenicians who were principally maritime traders had a great effect on the native Berbers, they taught them advanced agricultural methods and about urban living. Ideas of a monotheistic religion were spread by the Jews among these pagan tribes.

* Carthage fell to the Romans who literally ploughed the city into the ground.

* The most significant Roman contribution to the area was the opening of North Africa to Christianity. After this Carthage became the greatest of Christian centres after Alexandria and produced one of its greatest figures, St Augustine (a Libyan Berber educated in Carthage).

* There was much opposition to the Roman rule due to differing religious beliefs and the adoption of Donatism (a rigourous, puritanical movement) by the orthodox Byzantine Church.

* Persecutions launched by Byzantium as a result alienated much of the population. There was then a rapid adoption of Islam.

* In 670 AD the Arabs first arrived they established a base at Kairouan, they lost their hold due to a disastrous attack on the lands further west. They gained control again at the end of the century, during this attack they also had to contend with the Berber tribes whose resistance was set to continue for many centuries.

* After the political fragmentation of the Arab empire Tunisia joined the Moroccan empire of the Almohades, it remained this way until threats from the Christian armies in Spain and the Bedouin in the central Maghreb forced the Moroccan rulers to divide their administration and appoint Hafsid families as governors of the eastern half of the empire in Tunis.

* The Hafsids defeated the Bedouin very successfully, but this also intensified the destruction of the central Maghreb and effectively cut Tunisia from Morocco. Tunisia became a very stable and prosperous enclave.

* Until the Ottoman Turks conquered Tunisia in 1574 the Hafsids remained in power.

* The Ottoman rule soon became merely nominal after the defeat of the Turkish fleet by the Christians.

* Power in Tunis came to reside in self perpetuating cliques who fought off conquering Greek corsairs and Anatolian janissaries.

* The conquerors merged with the local people and by the 18th century they had produced their own national monarchy, the Husainid beys who revived the Hafsid practices.

* The Turks tried to re-assert their authority over Algeria in the late 19th century, but the French army prevented this.

* In 1857 Tunisia adopted its first constitution.

* In 1883 the French declared a protectorate over Tunisia.

* The Neo-Destour movement for national liberation developed in the 1930's under the leadership of Habib Bourguiba.

* Bourguiba was soon imprisoned and the movement was banned because the French felt threatened.

* Tunis was occupied for a short time by the Germans in World War 2. Bourguiba was released and the beys were allowed to appoint ministers from among the Neo-Destour.

* All of this ended in 1945 with the allied victory, and Bourguiba went into exile in Egypt. From there he organised propaganda and encouraged two years of guerrilla warfare against the French which, in the end, forced the French to grant autonomy to Tunisia in 1955.

* In 1956 Tunisia was granted independence.

* In 1957 Bourguiba became president and Tunisia became a republic .

* A National Assembly and made him president for life in 1975.

* The first elections were held in 1981, Bourguiba consolidated his power.

* Official: Arabic.

* Countries whose nationals do not require a visa include:
+ Algeria, Antigua & Barbuda, Austria, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Cote d'Ivoire, Denmark, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Guinea, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kiribati, Korea Republic, Kuwait, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Monaco, Montserrat, Morocco, Netherlands, Niger, Norway, Oman, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, St Helena, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Solomon Isles, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK (British subjects being a 'Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies'), United Arab Emirates, USA, Vatican City, Yugoslavia.

* Countries whose nationals do require a visa include:
+ All countries not mentioned above.

* Visas are issued at Tunisian Embassies.

VISA SERVICES

* Advice, information and full visa service from :

* Action Visas
for worldwide visa service, central London based:
phone # 0171 388 4498
fax # 0171 916 0671
from foreign contries:
phone # 44 171 388 4498
fax # 44 171 916 0671