Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Geography, Social Structure, Government, and Religion of Tunisia

1.       Location/Geography/Environment-The official name and year of origin of this country, location, climate and major geographical features of the country. (Be sure to include Maps and a Flag!)
a.       Tunisia, at the northernmost part of Africa, sticking out toward Sicily to mark the division between the eastern and western Mediterranean Sea. Twice the size of South Carolina, it is bordered on the west by Algeria and by Libya on the south. Coastal plains on the east rise to a north-south escarpment that slopes gently to the west. The Sahara Desert lies in the southernmost part. Tunisia is more mountainous in the north, where the Atlas range continues from Algeria.
b.      Land area: 59,985 sq mi (155,361 sq km); total area: 63,170 sq mi (163,610 sq km)
c.       Tunisia's climate is temperate in the north, with mild rainy winters and hot, dry summers. Temperatures in July and August can exceed 40°C. Winters are mild with temperatures rarely exceeding above 20°C (exception is the south-west of the country).
d.      Terrain: mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara
e.      Elevation extremes:
                                                               i.      lowest point: Shatt al Gharsah -17 m
                                                             ii.      highest point: Jebel ech Chambi 1,544 m
f.        Natural resources: petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt
2.       Social Structure–What racial, ethnic, class structures are present?
a.       Ethinicity/race: Arab-Berber 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1%
b.      Languages: Arabic (official, commerce), French (commerce)
c.       Literacy Rate: 74.3%
d.      The Tunisian government estimates that 75 to 80 percent of Tunisians are middle-class, a consequence of steadily rising living standards over the last 20 years. The upper-middle class of Tunisia – the economic and political elite – is made up of the old aristocratic families. Western-educated civil servants, political leaders, prominent businesspeople, and large landowners. The lower-middle class – a quickly growing group – consists of low-level civil servant, schoolteachers, small business owners, skilled service and industrial workers, and independent farmers. The working class is made up of subsistence farmers and agricultural workers. The day laborers, unemployed, and underemployed found in rural areas and shantytowns near urban centers belong to Tunisia’s lowest social class
3.       Politics- what type of government runs this country?
a.       The government that currently runs this country is Republic.
4.       Religion/Ideology-what type of religious activity is present?
a.       Islam (Sunni) 98%
b.      Christian 1%

c.       Jewish and other 1%




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