The Republic of Tunisia gained its independence from France in March 1956, and afterwards it became a parliamentary republic. It currently has 24 administrative divisions which are further divided into 264 districts. The official language of the country is Arabic, but French hold a special status in the country's society, being spoken by two-thirds of the population.
Due to the large oil reserves, Tunisia’s economy has been well off in recent years - except for 2020 - amounting to almost 40 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, and registering a -8.59 percent GDP growth rate in the same year. One of its most important and valuable resources is represented by the oil reserves. France is Tunisia’s main import and export partner, and accounts for almost 20 percent of the country’s overall imports, and 30 percent of the overall exports.
Another important industry is represented by tourism, which used to account for roughly 15 percent of the country’s GDP. In recent years, Tunisia had to deal with numerous terrorist attacks aimed specifically at the tourist sector, and as a result, this industry declined sharply. Tunisia is ranked among the 50 countries on the global terrorism index in 2020 and thus has been categorized as being one of the most dangerous travel destinations in the world.
