Introduction

Equal in size to that of England and Wales, Tunisia is the northernmost African state and the smallest of the four countries in North Africa that make up the Maghreb. It shares a border with Algeria in the west and Libya in the southeast. To the east and north the country's 16,000km of coastline borders the Mediterranean Sea. The eastern coastal plains are heavily populated and intensively cultivated with olives, citrus fruit and vineyards. The mountainous Tell dominates the interior and the Aures region is populated by nomadic shepherds. The Sahara desert, in the south, has phosphate and iron deposits, while dates are cultivated in the oases.