Thinking about visiting Tunisia? Before you do, it’s very important that you learn some facts about tunisia. Tunisia is a wonderful holiday destination offering a variety of differing experiences to the traveller. There are many excellent resorts providing five star luxury hotels with a wide range of leisure activities including sailing, surfing, diving, water skiing, tennis and golf. Tunisia maintains moderately high tax rates, but overall tax revenue is not particularly large as a percentage of GDP. There are regulatory obstacles, but businesses can be opened and closed without undue difficulty.

Tunisian authorities also fear Islamist activity on university campuses and severely restrict and monitor universities. Open debates, or even courses about the role of government, are avoided. Tunisia’s independence from France in 1956 ended a protectorate established in 1881. President Bourguiba, who had been the leader of the independence movement, declared Tunisia a republic in 1957, ending the nominal rule of the Ottoman Beys.

Tunisia’s position as host of the upcoming United Nations (UN) World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in November 2005 has cast a spotlight on the state’s information technology and media policies. In preparations for the WSIS meeting, human rights and media organizations have increased their criticism of Tunisia’s widespread censorship practices and Internet controls. Tunisia is governed under the constitution of 1959 as amended. The president, who is the head of state, is popularly elected for a five-year term, with no term limits.

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. Tunisian, the area of which is 16.4 millions hectares, has 4.5 millions hectares of agricultural lands, 3,5 millions hectares of agricultural lands, 3,5 millions hectares of which are effectively fertile. Tunisian law prohibits the import and export of Tunisian dinars.

Tunisian wine always was produced by French oenologists. Most of it was exported to France till the 1970s. Tunisia was seized by the Ottoman Turks, and as one of the Barbary States it became a stronghold of pirates, on whom the treasury depended for several centuries. European intervention began in the 19th cent., and in 1881 Tunisia became a French protectorate. Tunisia, at the northernmost bulge of Africa, thrusts 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.

Tunisia is a constitutionally based republic with a population of approximately 10 million, dominated by a single political party, the Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD). In the 2004 presidential election, President Ben Ali ran against three opposition candidates and was declared the winner with approximately 94 percent of the popular vote.

Tunisia has privately-owned radio and television stations, but private ownership is not synonymous with editorial independence. The government blocks certain domestic and international political or human rights websites featuring critical coverage of Tunisia. Tunisian law includes penalties for failure to respect government officials. Homosexuality is illegal in Tunisia, and can be punished by imprisonment.

Tunisia’s best Medinas are in Tunis, Sousse and Hammamet, all richly evocative marketplaces stacked with silks, spices, perfumes, carpets and clothes. Tunisia was the first country on the southern side of the Mediterranean to enter into a trade agreement with the EU. As part of the agreement, a free trade zone was established. Tunisian law prohibits the import and export of Tunisian dinars.

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Tunisia lost their second match to Spain. Jaouhar Mnari put Tunisia in the lead with a goal in the eighth minute that kept them up until halftime. 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.