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Hailing from Tunisia, the majority of modern Tunisians are genetically indigenous North Africans, mixing with the Arabs and forming what is Today the Tunisian people. They are speakers of Tunisian Arabic. The Berbers predominantly speak Berber languages, often called Shilha or Tashlihit, or have shifted to speaking Tunisian Arabic.
Contents
- Map of Tunisia
- Population
- Vital statistics
- Genetic
- Y Chromosome
- CIA World Factbook demographic statistics
- Vital Statistics
- Ethnic groups
- Religions
- Languages
- Literacy
- References
Map of Tunisia
Nearly all Tunisians (99 percent of the population) are Muslim. There is a Jewish population on the southern island of Djerba and Tunis. There also exists a small autochthonous group of Christian adherents.
Population
Source: National Institute of Statistics and United Nations Statistics Division
Vital statistics
Source: National Institute of Statistics
Genetic
While the vast majority of modern Tunisians identify themselves as Arabs, they are predominantly descended from Berber groups, with some Arab input. Tunisians are also descended, to a lesser extent, from other African, Middle Eastern and European peoples, specifically the Phoenicians/Punics, Romans, Vandals, Greeks, Hispanic, Italians, Turkic, Haratin, and French. In sum, a little less than 20 percent of their genetic material (Y-chromosome analysis) comes from present day Arabian Peninsula, Europe or Sub-Saharan Africa.
"In fact, the Tunisian genetic distances to European samples are smaller than those to North African groups. (...) This could be explained by the history of the Tunisian population, reflecting the influence of the ancient Punic settlers of Carthage followed, among others, by Roman, Byzantine, Arab and French occupations, according to historical records. Notwithstanding, other explanations cannot be discarded, such as the relative heterogeneity within current Tunisian populations, and/or the limited sub-Saharan genetic influence in this region as compared with other North African areas, without excluding the possibility of the genetic drift, whose effect might be particularly amplified on the X chromosome.", This suggests a fairly significant European input to Tunisian genetics compared to other neighbouring populations.
However, later research has suggested instead that Tunisians exhibit a mostly indigenous North African genetic make up similar to other Maghreb populations; characterized by a high amount of native North African genes.
Y-Chromosome
Listed here are the human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups in Tunisia.
CIA World Factbook demographic statistics
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.
Nationality
noun:Tunisian(s) adjective:TunisianVital Statistics
Age structure
0–14 years: 22.2% (male 1,213,664/female 1,137,084) 15–64 years: 70.5% (male 3,759,955/female 3,704,677) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 358,447/female 415,198) (2010 est.) 0-14 years: 23.2% (male 1,274,348/female 1,193,131) 15-64 years: 69.3% (male 3,638,014/female 3,728,294) 65 years and over: 7.5% (male 390,055/female 405,344) (2011 est.)Net migration rate
-0.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) -1.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)Urbaniziation
urban population: 67% of total population (2010) rate of urbanization: 1.5% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)Sex ratio
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2012 est.)Infant mortality rate
22.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)Life expectancy at birth
total population: 75.24 years male: 73.2 years female: 77.42 years (2012 est.)Ethnic groups
Religions
(see Religion in Tunisia)Languages
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.8%
male: 89.6%
female: 74.2% (2015 est.)
The literacy rate among the Tunisian population increased greatly after its independence from France. According to the 1996 census data, the literacy rate of the last generation of Tunisian men educated under the French rule (those born 1945-49) was less than 65%. For the first generation educated after independence (born 1950-1954), literacy in Arabic among males had increased to nearly 80%. (Sixty-two percent were also literate in French and 15 percent literate in English). Among the youngest generation included in the census (those born 1980-1984), 96.6% were literate in Arabic.
Among Tunisian women, the increase in literacy was even greater. The literacy rate among the last generation of women educated under the French was less than 30%. In the first generation educated after independence, this increased to just over 40%. For the youngest generation of women cited (born 1980-1984), literacy in Arabic had increased to slightly over 90%; over 70% of women were also literate in French.