n rate-consumer price index: 4.6% (1997 est.)

Labor force:
total: 2.917 million (1993 est.)
by occupation: services 55%, industry 23%, agriculture 22% (1995 est.)
note: shortage of skilled labor

Unemployment rate: 15% (1997 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $6.3 billion
expenditures: $6.8 billion, including capital expenditures to $1.5
billion (1997 est.)

Industries: petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron ore),
tourism, textiles, footwear, food, beverages

Industrial production growth rate: 3.5% (1995)

Electricity-capacity: 1.414 million kW (1995)

Electricity-production: 6.165 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity-consumption per capita: 696 kWh (1995)

Agriculture-products: olives, dates, oranges, almonds, grain, sugar
beets, grapes; poultry, beef, dairy products

Exports:
total value: $5.6 billion (f.o.b., 1997 est.)
commodities: hydrocarbons, textiles, agricultural products, phosphates
and chemicals
partners: EU 80%, North African countries 6%, Asia 4%, US 1% (1996)

Imports:
total value: $7.4 billion (c.i.f., 1997 est.)
commodities: industrial goods and equipment 57%, hydrocarbons 13%,
food 12%, consumer goods
partners: EU countries 80%, North African countries 5.5%, Asia 5.5%,
US 5% (1996)

Debt-external: $10.6 billion (1997 est.)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $221 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Tunisian dinar (TD) = 1,000 millimes

Exchange rates: Tunisian dinars (TD) per US$1-1.1612 (January 1998),
1.1059 (1997), 0.9734 (1996), 0.9458 (1995), 1.0116 (1994), 1.0037
(1993)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

Telephones: 560,000 (1996 est.)

Telephone system: the system is above the African average; key centers
are Sfax, Sousse, Bizerte, and Tunis
domestic: trunk facilities consist of open-wire lines, coaxial cable,
and microwave radio relay
international: 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations-1 Intelsat
(Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat with back-up control station; coaxial
cable and microwave radio relay to Algeria and Libya; participant in
Medarabtel

Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 8, shortwave 0

Radios: 1,693,527 (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 19

Televisions: 1.4 million

Communications-note: Internet access is available through two private
service providers licensed by the government

@Tunisia:Transportation

Railways:
total: 2,260 km
standard gauge: 492 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 1,758 km 1.000-m gauge
dual gauge: 10 km 1.000-m