AREA: 163,610 sq km (63,170 sq miles).

POPULATION: 9,214,).

POPULATION DENSITY: 59.6 per sq km.

CAPITAL: Tunis. Population: 674,).

GEOGRAPHY: The Republic of Tunisia lies on the Mediterranean coast of Africa, 130km (80 miles) southwest of Sicily and 160km (100 miles) due south of Sardinia. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast. The landscape varies from the cliffs of the north coast to the woodlands of the interior, from deep valleys of rich arable land to desert, and from towering mountains to salt pans lower than sea level. South of Gafsa and Gabès is the Sahara desert. The 1100km (700 miles) of coastline is dotted with small islands, notably Jerba in the south and Kerkenah in the east, and from the northwest to the southeast the coastline is backed successively by pine-clad hills, lush pasture, orchards, vineyards and olive groves.

GOVERNMENT: Republic since 1959. Gained independence from France in 1957. Head of State: President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali since 1987. Head of Government: Prime Minister Hamed Karoui since 1987.

LANGUAGE: The official language is Arabic. French and Italian are spoken in major cities, English and German mainly in tourist resorts.

RELIGION: The principal religion is Islam; there are small Roman Catholic, Protestant and Jewish minorities.

TIME: GMT + 1.

ELECTRICITY: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. A 2-pin continental plug/adaptor is needed.

COMMUNICATIONS: Telephone: Full IDD is available. Country code: 216. Outgoing international code: 00. Automatic dialling extends to almost every part of the country and covers direct international calls. Area codes for major cities and towns: Tunis and Bizerta 1, Menzel Bourguiba 2, Sousse 3, Gabès 5, Kairouan 7. Fax: Facilities are available in main towns. Telegram: The Telecommunications Centre in Tunis is located at 29 Jamal Abdelnasser. Telegraph facilities are available at the Central Post Office at rue Charles de Gaulle, Tunis. Post: Airmail to Europe takes three to five days. Poste Restante facilities are available in main cities. Post office hours: Monday to Saturday (summer, approximately Jun 15-Sep 15); and Monday to Friday, Saturday (winter, approximately Sep 16-June 14); Monday to Saturday (during Ramadan). Press: Daily newspapers are printed in Arabic or French, the most popular being As-Sabah and La Presse de Tunisie. The weekly Tunisia News is published in English.

BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change.

BBC:

Voice of America: