Demographics of Tunisia

All figures are from National Institute of Statistics and the United Nations Demographic Yearbooks, unless otherwise indicated.
Tunisia's population was estimated to be around 12.04 million in 2022. In the generally youthful African continent, Tunisia's population is among the most mature. This is because the government has supported a successful family planning program that has reduced the population growth rate to just over 1% per annum, contributing to Tunisia's economic and social stability.
The population of Tunisia is made up of Arabs, Berbers, and others. Around 98 percent of the population are Muslim. There is a Jewish population on the southern island of Djerba and in Tunis. There also exists a small autochthonous group of Christian adherents.

Population History

Source: National Institute of Statistics and United Nations Statistics Division

Vital statistics

	Average population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate	Crude death rate	Natural change	Crude migration rate	Population growth	Fertility rates
1948	3,425,100	111,084	49,917	61,167	32.4	14.6	17.8
1949	3,489,400	92,439	35,409	57,030	26.5	10.1	16.4	2.0	1.877
1950	3,530,000	106,235	33,648	72,587	30.1	9.5	20.6	-9.1	1.164
1951	3,596,000	119,981	33,935	86,046	33.4	9.4	24.0	-5.6	1.870
1952	3,662,000	105,469	30,676	74,793	28.8	8.4	20.4	-2.4	1.835
1953	3,727,000	116,638	31,116	85,522	31.3	8.3	23.0	-5.6	1.775	6.90
1954	3,793,000	119,774	31,249	88,525	31.6	8.2	23.4	-6.0	1.771
1955	3,860,000	134,489	28,942	105,547	34.8	7.5	27.3	-9.9	1.766
1956	3,929,000	140,505	33,367	107,138	35.8	8.5	27.3	-9.7	1.788
1957	3,999,000	157,741	36,964	120,777	39.4	9.2	30.2	-12.7	1.782
1958	4,072,000	181,144	37,018	144,126	44.5	9.1	35.4	-17.5	1.825	7.00
1959	4,145,000	184,209	41,737	142,472	44.4	10.1	34.3	-16.7	1.793
1960	4,220,701	182,221	42,064	140,157	43.2	10.0	33.2	-15.3	1.826
1961	4,297,000	184,396	45,437	138,959	42.9	10.6	32.3	-14.5	1.808
1962	4,376,000	181,861	49,200	132,661	41.6	11.2	30.4	-12.3	1.838
1963	4,457,000	187,395	45,415	141,980	42.0	10.2	31.8	-13.6	1.851	7.21
1964	4,541,000	206,046	43,656	162,390	45.4	9.6	35.8	-17.3	1.885
1965	4,630,000	193,220	51,700	141,520	41.7	11.2	30.2	-11.0	1.960
1966	4,716,000	206,717	48,307	158,410	43.8	10.2	33.6	-15.4	1.857	7.22
1967	4,819,000	187,320	49,387	137,933	38.9	10.2	28.7	-7.3	2.184
1968	4,920,000	188,190	46,712	141,478	38.3	9.5	28.8	-8.3	2.096	6.86
1969	5,027,500	194,940	52,872	142,068	38.8	10.5	28.3	-6.9	2.185
1970	5,126,500	186,360	45,560	140,800	36.4	8.9	27.5	-8.2	1.969	6.09
1971	5,228,400	183,311	48,625	134,686	35.1	9.3	25.8	-7.3	1.988	6.00
1972	5,331,800	199,121	39,488	159,633	37.3	7.4	29.9	-10.5	1.978
1973	5,333,400	194,810	60,800	134,010	36.5	11.4	25.1	-24.8	0.030	6.18
1974	5,463,700	194,600	54,700	139,900	35.6	10.0	25.6	-1.8	2.443
1975	5,611,400	205,390	41,172	164,218	36.6	7.3	29.3	-3.0	2.703
1976	5,774,900	208,040	37,028	171,012	36.0	6.4	29.6	-1.3	2.914
1977	5,928,300	220,546	36,272	184,274	37.2	6.1	31.1	-5.2	2.656
1978	6,067,100	207,342	34,885	172,457	34.2	5.7	28.5	-5.6	2.341	5.14
1979	6,219,800	218,161	37,201	180,960	35.1	6.0	29.1	-4.5	2.517	4.92
1980	6,392,300	225,165	36,445	188,720	35.2	5.7	29.5	-2.5	2.773	4.51
1981	6,565,500	226,425	36,989	189,436	34.5	5.6	28.9	-2.5	2.710
1982	6,703,600	219,393	36,069	183,324	32.7	5.4	27.3	-6.7	2.103
1983	6,839,500	216,365	35,054	181,311	31.6	5.1	26.5	-6.6	2.027	4.88
1984	7,033,900	227,052	33,740	193,312	32.3	4.8	27.5	0.1	2.842	4.66
1985	7,261,100	227,188	35,963	191,225	31.3	5.0	26.3	5.0	3.230	4.42
1986	7,464,900	234,736	35,467	199,269	31.4	4.8	26.6	0.7	2.807	4.39
1987	7,639,000	224,169	35,632	188,537	29.3	4.7	24.6	-1.8	2.332	4.07
1988	7,769,900	215,069	34,984	180,085	27.7	4.5	23.2	-6.4	1.714	3.78
1989	7,909,600	199,459	34,921	164,538	25.2	4.4	20.8	-3.1	1.798	3.36
1990	8,154,400	205,315	45,700	159,615	25.2	5.6	19.6	-10.4	3.095	3.35
1991	8,318,200	207,455	46,500	160,955	24.9	5.6	19.3	0.4	2.009	3.28
1992	8,489,900	211,649	46,300	165,349	24.9	5.5	19.5	0.7	2.064	3.25
1993	8,657,400	207,786	49,400	158,386	24.0	5.7	18.3	1.0	1.973	3.12
1994	8,815,300	200,223	50,300	149,923	22.7	5.7	17.0	0.9	1.824	2.90
1995	8,957,500	186,416	52,000	134,416	20.8	5.8	15.0	0.9	1.613	2.67
1996	9,089,300	178,801	49,800	129,001	19.7	5.5	14.2	0.3	1.471	2.51
1997	9,214,900	173,757	51,700	122,057	18.9	5.6	13.2	0.4	1.382	2.38
1998	9,333,300	166,718	52,300	114,418	17.9	5.6	12.3	0.4	1.285	2.23
1999	9,455,900	160,169	54,400	105,769	16.9	5.8	11.2	1.8	1.314	2.09
2000	9,552,500	163,089	53,700	109,389	17.1	5.6	11.5	-1.3	1.022	2.08
2001	9,650,600	163,919	53,210	110,709	17.0	5.5	11.5	-1.2	1.027	2.05
2002	9,748,900	163,011	57,048	105,963	16.7	5.9	10.9	-0.7	1.019	2.00
2003	9,839,841	168,022	59,779	108,243	17.1	6.1	11.0	-1.8	0.933	2.06
2004	9,932,431	166,551	59,234	107,317	16.8	6.0	10.8	-1.5	0.941	2.02
2005	10,038,508	170,999	58,673	112,326	17.0	5.8	11.2	-1.6	0.973	2.04
2006	10,141,800	173,390	56,998	116,392	17.1	5.6	11.5	-1.7	0.985	2.03
2007	10,225,200	177,503	56,743	120,760	17.4	5.5	11.8	-2.3	0.961	2.04
2008	10,328,700	182,990	59,975	123,015	17.7	5.8	11.9	-1.9	1.012	2.06
2009	10,458,095	198,010	59,499	138,511	18.9	5.7	13.2	-1.9	1.253	2.05
2010	10,477,321	204,288	53,780	150,508	19.5	5.1	14.4	-2.7	1.029	2.13
2011	10,610,629	206,403	59,930	146,473	19.5	5.6	13.8	-2.7	1.029	2.29
2012	10,748,166	217,738	63,260	154,478	20.3	5.9	14.4	-4.1	1.029	2.39
2013	10,880,853	222,962	61,730	161,232	20.5	5.7	14.8	-4.6	1.029	2.43
2014	11,017,049	225,887	62,790	163,097	20.5	5.7	14.8	-4.2	1.076	2.46
2015	11,158,628	222,534	69,644	152,890	19.9	6.2	13.7	-0.2	1.364	2.42
2016	11,292,778	219,441	66,298	153,143	19.4	5.9	13.6	-1.0	1.270	2.40
2017	11,418,218	209,474	74,002	135,472	18.3	6.5	11.9	-0.3	1.155	2.29
2018	11,532,078	202,693	72,716	129,977	17.6	6.3	11.3	-2.8	0.849	2.23
2019	11,638,066	195,823	76,091	119,732	16.8	6.5	10.3	-1.2	0.919	2.17
2020	11,726,178	174,116	79,891	94,225	14.8	6.8	8.0	-0.5	0.757	1.96
2021	11,783,723	160,268	107,006	53,262	13.6	9.1	4.5	0.4	0.491	1.82
2022	11,826,910	147,978	81,334	66,644	12.5	6.9	5.6	-2.2	0.366	1.70
2023	11,868,822	135,148	77,967	57,181	11.4	6.6	4.8	-1.3	0.354	1.56
2024	11,916,318	120,983	67,914	53,069	10.0	5.6	4.4			1.45
2025

Current vital statistics

Period	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase
January—December 2023	133,322	72,531	+60,791
January—December 2024	120,983	67,914	+53,069
Difference	-12,339	-4,740	-7,722

Structure of the population

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
Total	5 472 333	5 510 420	10 982 753	100
0–4	505 509	466 662	972 171	8.85
5–9	440 644	408 362	849 006	7.73
10–14	407 938	381 684	789 622	7.19
15–19	421 716	405 792	827 508	7.53
20–24	459 814	465 595	925 409	8.43
25–29	449 932	484 685	934 617	8.51
30–34	477 322	506 459	983 781	8.96
35–39	397 594	419 392	816 986	7.44
40–44	357 353	370 495	727 848	6.63
45–49	331 283	351 673	682 956	6.22
50–54	324 423	326 185	650 608	5.92
55–59	268 380	266 788	535 168	4.87
60–64	212 900	212 524	425 424	3.87
65–69	127 168	135 135	262 303	2.39
70–74	107 097	113 584	220 681	2.01
75–79	81 732	85 164	166 896	1.52
80+	101 528	110 241	211 769	1.93
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	1 354 091	1 256 708	2 610 799	23.77
15–64	3 700 717	3 809 588	7 510 305	68.38
65+	417 525	444 124	861 649	7.85

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	5 845 771	5 937 951	11 783 722	100
0–4			926 069	7.86
5–9			1 070 239	9.08
10–14			944 533	8.02
15–19			805 973	6.84
20–24			769 307	6.53
25–29			845 867	7.18
30–34			862 847	7.32
35–39			900 584	7.64
40–44			858 461	7.29
45–49			780 961	6.63
50–54			680 158	5.77
55–59			665 392	5.65
60–64			544 471	4.62
65-69			461 708	3.92
70-74			286 317	2.43
75-79			181 675	1.54
80+			199 161	1.69
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14			2 940 841	24.96
15–64			7 714 020	65.46
65+			1 128 861	9.58

Life expectancy

Period	Life expectancy in Years	Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	38.8	1985–1990	67.1
1955–1960	40.7	1990–1995	70.3
1960–1965	43.7	1995–2000	72.4
1965–1970	48.3	2000–2005	73.7
1970–1975	54.1	2005–2010	74.6
1975–1980	59.4	2010–2015	75.0
1980–1985	64.3

Source: ''UN World Population Prospects''

Ethnic groups

The majority of the population of Tunisia is made up of Arabs. The first people known to history in what is now Tunisia were the Berbers, who currently make up 1% of the population, and were ultimately conquered by the Arabs in the 7th century. There was a continuing inflow of nomadic Arab tribes to the Maghreb from the Arabian Peninsula since the 7th century with a major wave in the 11th century.
Whilst the Ottoman influence has been particularly significant in forming the Turco-Tunisian community, other peoples have also migrated to Tunisia during different periods of time, including Sub-Saharan Africans, Greeks, Romans, Phoenicians, Jews, and French settlers. The Tunisian, by 1870 the distinction between the Arabic-speaking mass and the Turkish elite had blurred. There is also a small Berber population located in the Dahar mountains and on the island of Djerba in the south-east and in the Khroumire mountainous region in the north-west.
From the late 19th century to after World War II, Tunisia was home to large populations of French and Italians, although nearly all of them, along with the Jewish population, left after Tunisia became independent. The history of the Jews in Tunisia goes back some 2,000 years. In 1948 the Jewish population was an estimated 105,000, but by 2013 only about 900 remained.
After the Reconquista and expulsion of non-Christians and Moriscos from Spain, many Spanish Muslims and Jews also arrived. According to Matthew Carr, "As many as eighty thousand Moriscos settled in Tunisia, most of them in and around the capital, Tunis, which still contains a quarter known as Zuqaq al-Andalus, or Andalusia Alley."

Genetics

Tunisians mainly carry haplogroup J1 and haplogroup E.
"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.",
However, other research has suggested instead that Tunisians exhibit a mostly indigenous North African ancestral component similar to other Northwest African populations; characterized by a high amount of native Northwest African genes, but with higher Middle Eastern input than in Algeria or Morocco.

Y-Chromosome

Listed here are the human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups in Tunisia.

Haplogroup	Marker	Tunisia
n		601
B
E1a	M33
E1b1a	M2
E1b1b1	M35
E1b1b1a3	V22
E1b1b1a4	V65
E1b1b1b	M81
E1b1b1c	M34
F	M89
G	M201
I
J1
J2
K
P,R
R1a1
R1b1a	V88
R1b1b	M269
T	M70

Emigration

According to statistics from the Tunisian Office for Foreign Nationals., the Tunisian diaspora consists of approximately 2.54 million people, with 49% of them residing in France. France has historically hosted a large portion of the Tunisian emigrants, due to historical ties and labor agreements between the two countries.
Detailed article : Tunisian diaspora

Country

Total

Percentage

Europe

76.4 %

Franceformatnum:1338000

Languages

Religion

Muslim 99%, other <1%