Numerous finds from the Gafsa region have shown how Tunisia was already inhabited in the Paleolithic; in historical times the country found itself located along the migration route of the peoples of the eastern Mediterranean, Cretans, Greeks and Phoenicians who, the latter, mainly dedicated to maritime traffic, established numerous offices on the coast of present-day Tunisia. This then greatly contributed to the prosperity of the Carthaginians who, merchants par excellence, began to exploit its minerals, to improve its agriculture, to develop its commercial capabilities, introducing among other things the use of currency. Prospero was also the period corresponding to the dominion of Rome, which rationally colonized the country and founded numerous cities that remained at the basis of the subsequent territorial organization. However, the arrival of the Arabs was fundamental (VII century), who gave a totally new course to Tunisian civilization, Berbers, today very small and mostly relegated to some areas of the southern mountains. The prosperity generally enjoyed with the Arabs ceased with the subsequent Turkish domination; when in 1881 the French imposed their protectorate, the country was economically depressed, the population scarce. Despite the subsequent conspicuous migratory movement, which occurred from the end of the century. XIX, mainly by the French and Italians, still at the first census (1911) the population was just 1.9 million residents, which in 1931 rose to 2.4 million, of which approx. 200,000, that is over 8%, foreigners. The European presence was consistent until the 1950s, but the exodus of the Jewish community to the new State of Israel had already begun in 1948. With the’ independence came the great repatriation of French and Italian colonists (about 110,000 left in two years); however, in a short time, thanks to the high demographic index, the previous values were exceeded to exceed 8 million; the annual growth coefficient was 2.4% in the years 1985-90 and fell to 1% in the five-year period 2015-2020. This trend of rapid demographic increase, which persists despite the official propaganda for birth control, leads to the emergence of serious economic problems and the search for new jobs, resulting in a significant flow of emigration from Tunisia to various European states. among which obviously France, whose language Tunisians generally know, and Italy; no less intense are internal migratory movements from the South to the North, where industries and businesses are more developed and agriculture is more profitable. The traditional disparity in the distribution of the population is thus accentuated, linked primarily to the quantity of rainfall (i.e. to agricultural and settlement possibilities), therefore to the presence of coagulating centers of other economic activities The current population is composed almost exclusively of Arabs (96.2 %), followed by Berbers (1.4%) and a small percentage of other groups (2.4%. Visit health-beauty-guides.com for Africa population and transportation.
The average density of northern Tunisia is 63 residents / km² (but in large areas it now exceeds 100 residents)../km²), compared to 4-5 residents /km² in the far south, where among other things there are still rare nomadic populations, however, in the process of sedentarization, and where the major stable centers correspond to scattered oases. More widespread is the population of the North, with numerous villages spread out both in the valleys and in the mountain depressions and on the slopes of the mountains themselves, between fields of cereals and olive groves; urbanism in Tunisia is however quite developed (in 2008 67% of the population lived in the city), although to a lesser extent than in neighboring Algeria. The capital, Tunis, heir of the ancient one, clearly prevails Carthage, which has always remained the most important center in the country; with the French, and even more so with independence, the seat of many industrial and commercial activities, it has taken on a distinctly modern appearance, alongside which the old Arab city, the picturesque medina, remains intact.. Since 1956 it has tripled its population and reaches 2 million residents on a very vast extension that includes prestigious sites such as Carthage, the lake of Tunis but also vast suburbs and towns that exceed 100,000 residents. Among the other centers, all of significantly lower economic and demographic weight and all with eminently port functions, are, on the east coast, Sfax, the maritime outlet of central Tunisia, Susa (Sūsah) and Gabès, already an active caravan hub; on the north coast is Bizerte (Banzart), once a French naval base in one of the most protected bays in the entire Mediterranean, but which has had little economic development due to the limited hinterland. In the interior, not far from Susa, is Kairouan, the “holy city” of Tunisia, the oldest Arab city in the whole of the Maghreb (it was founded in 671); it was the capital of the Aghlabite dynasty and boasts one of the most important religious buildings in the Arab world in the Great Mosque. Once also called the “capital of the steppes”, today it is an agricultural and tourist center, with a developing artistic handicraft. Finally, among the oasis centers, the largest is Gafsa, in central Tunisia.
