ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with describing trends in Tunisia's population and analysing international migration as it affects Tunisia. In 2001 males comprised 50.6 per cent of the population, which was exactly the same proportion as in 1990. The age of females, of course, is particularly important in forecasting population growth. In terms of population distribution and density there is a vast difference between the highly populated and urbanized north-east and the largely empty desert south. This is another respect in which the Tunisian Sahel occupies an intermediate position, with a regional population close to the national average of 65 per square kilometre. Demographic projections for gradual population growth contrast starkly with the population explosion in sub-Saharan Africa and population decline in Europe. In its population and migration characteristics Tunisia is largely comparable with the other countries in North Africa, and this is one example where the concept of the Maghreb as a geographical entity makes sense.
