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Tunisians () are the citizens and nationals of Tunisia in North Africa, who speak Tunisian Arabic and share a common Tunisian culture. In addition to the approximately 12 million residents in Tunisia, a Tunisian diaspora has been established with modern migration, particularly in Western Europe, namely France, Italy and Germany. The vast majority of Tunisians are Arabs who adhere to Sunni Islam.
When Carthage fell in 146 BC to the Roman Republic,Appian of Alexandria (162). The Punic Wars. Roman HistoryAppian of Alexandria (162). " The Third Punic War. Roman History" the coastal population was mainly Punic, but that influence decreased away from the coast.Jongeling, K., & Kerr, R.M. (2005). Late Punic epigraphy: an introduction to the study of Neo-Punic and Latino- Punic inscriptions. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, pp. 114, . From the Roman period until the Islamic conquest, Italic peoples, Greeks and further influenced the Tunisians, which prior to the modern era, Tunisians were known as Afāriqah, The Muslim conquest and settlement of North Africa and Spain, Abdulwahid Thanun Taha, Routledge Library Edition: Muslim Spain p21 from the ancient name of Tunisia, Ifriqiya or Africa in the antiquity, which gave the present-day name of the continent Africa. Article « Ifriqiya » (Larousse.fr).
From the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb in 673, many Arabs settled with Arab tribes in Tunisia which was called Ifriqiya, in places like Kairouan which soon became one of the purely Arab settlements in the Umayyad Caliphate. This accelerated in the 11th century with the large migrations of the Arab tribes of Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym to Ifriqiya and the rest of the Maghreb. Some Persians and other Middle-Eastern populations also settled in Ifriqiya, which had its name from the ancient name, the Roman province of Africa.Holt, P. M., Lambton, A. K., & Lewis, B. (1977). The Cambridge History of Islam (Vol. 2). Cambridge University Press. In the early-11th century, Normans from the Kingdom of Sicily took over Ifriqiya and founded the Kingdom of Africa, which lasted from 1135 to 1160.All the Arabic sources can be found in Michele Amari, Biblioteca arabo-sicula (Rome and Turin: 1880). (1985). 9780851154169, Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 9780851154169 Muslim refugees from Sicily and Malta were encouraged by the Normans to settle in Tunisia during this period.
After the Reconquista and expulsion of non-Christians and 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."
During the 17th to the 19th centuries, Ifriqiya came under Spanish Empire, then Ottoman Empire rule and hosted Morisco then Italian diaspora immigrants from 1609. Quitout, M. (2002). Parlons l'arabe tunisien: langue & culture. Editions L'Harmattan. Tunis was officially integrated into the Ottoman Empire as the Ottoman Tunisia (province), eventually including all of the Maghreb except Morocco and Mauritania.
Under the Ottoman Empire, the boundaries of the territory inhabited by Tunisians contracted; Ifriqiya lost territory to the west (Constantine) and to the east (Tripoli). In the 19th century, the rulers of Tunisia became aware of the ongoing efforts at political and social Tanzimat. The Bey of Tunis then, by his own lights but informed by the Turkish example, attempted to effect a modernizing reform of institutions and the economy. Tunisian international debt grew unmanageable. This was the reason or pretext for French forces to establish a Protectorate in 1881.
A remnant of the centuries of Turkish rule is the presence of a population of Turkish origin, historically the male descendants were referred to as the Kouloughlis.
The 84-year-old President Bourguiba was overthrown and replaced by Ben Ali his Prime Minister on 7 November 1987. However, the Ben Ali regime came to an end 23 years later on 14 January 2011, in the events of the Tunisian Revolution, following nationwide demonstrations precipitated by high unemployment, food inflation, corruption, a lack of political freedoms like freedom of speech and poor living conditions. The Revolution would also be the catalyst that would start the Arab Spring.
Following the overthrow of Ben Ali, Tunisians elected a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution and an interim government known as the Troika because it was a coalition of three parties; the Islamist Ennahda Movement in the lead, with the centre-left Congress for the Republic and the left-leaning Ettakatol as minority partners. Widespread discontent remained however, leading to the 2013–14 Tunisian political crisis. As a result of the efforts made by the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, the Constituent Assembly completed its work, the interim government resigned, and new elections were held in 2014, completing the transition to a democratic state. The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet was awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for "its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Tunisian Revolution of 2011".
Beyond the political changes, which lead to Tunisia becoming a recognised democracy in 2014, those events also brought important changes to the post-2011 Tunisian culture.
From the late 19th century to after World War II, Tunisia was home to large populations of French and Italians (255,000 Europeans in 1956), 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 2,600 years, with the El Ghriba Synagogue in Djerba believed one of, if not the oldest synagogue in the world. In 1948 the Jewish population was an estimated 105,000, but by 2013 only about 900 remained.
The majority of Tunisians follow the Maliki of Sunni Islam, and their mosques are marked by square minarets. During Ottoman Empire, the Turkish people introduced the Hanafi, which is still practiced by families of Turkish descent. Their mosques are characterized by octagonal minarets. (2025). 9781858287485, Rough Guides. ISBN 9781858287485 Sunnis make up the majority of Muslims, with non-denominational Muslims as the second-largest group, Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation retrieved 4 September 2013 followed by the Ibadite . "Les mosquées ibadites du Maghreb" The. Remmm.revues.org. Retrieved on 5 September 2015.
The Church of Carthage, in particular, became significant in the history of Christianity, playing a key role in the development of Christian philosophy and theology, and producing many prominent religious scholars and theologians. Before Tunisia's independence, the country was home to over 250,000 Christians, mostly of Italian and Maltese descent. Many Italian settlers left for Italy or France following independence from France. (2025). 9781512824971, University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 9781512824971 Today, Tunisia's Christian population is around 35,000, primarily Catholics (22,000), with a smaller number of Protestants. Historically, Berber Christians lived in some Nefzaoua villages until the early 15th century, and a community of Tunisian Christians existed in Tozeur until the 18th century. (1992). 9780852550939, UNESCO. International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa. J. Currey. . ISBN 9780852550939 According to the International Religious Freedom Report for 2007, thousands of Tunisian Muslims have converted to Christianity.
Judaism is the third largest religion in Tunisia, with an estimated population of between 1,000 and 1,400 members. About one-third of Tunisia's Jewish population resides in and around the capital, while the rest live on the island of Djerba, known for its 39 synagogues, with the community dating back over 2,600 years. Djerba is home to the El Ghriba synagogue, one of the oldest and continuously used synagogues in the world. It is considered a pilgrimage site, with annual celebrations due to its historical significance and the belief that it was constructed with stones from Solomon's temple.
Furthermore, jasmine is the subject of a specific sign language. A man who wears jasmine on his left ear indicates that he is single and in addition, offering white jasmine is seen as a proof of love while on the contrary, offering odorless winter jasmine is a sign of insolence.
Moreover, Tunisian Arabic is closely related to the Maltese language,Borg and Azzopardi-Alexander Maltese (1997:xiii) "The immediate source for the Arabic vernacular spoken in Malta was Muslim Sicily, but its ultimate origin appears to have been Tunisia. In fact, Maltese displays some areal traits typical of Maghrebi Arabic although during the past 800 years of independent evolution it has drifted apart from Tunisian Arabic". that descended from Maghrebi Arabic and Siculo-Arabic.Borg, Albert J.; Azzopardi-Alexander, Marie (1997). Maltese. Routledge. .
Like all Mediterranean cultures, Tunisian culture offers a "sun cuisine", based mainly on olive oil, spices, tomatoes, seafood (a wide range of fish) and meat from rearing (lamb).
The influential role of the various dynasties that ruled the country, particularly in building cities and princes of Raqqada Mahdia, illuminates the role of the geopolitical context in the architectural history of the country. Thus, many original fortresses that protected the coast from Byzantine invasions evolved into cities, like Monastir, Sousse or Lamta.
The medina of Tunis, is World Heritage Site of UNESCO, and is a typical example of Islamic architecture. However, in the areas between the ports of Bizerte and Ghar El Melh, settlements founded by the Moors fleeing Andalusia were reconquered by Catholic sovereigns and has more of a Christian influence. Given the cosmopolitan nature of cities in Tunisia, they have retained a diversity and juxtaposition of styles. Many buildings were designed by many different architects, artisans and entrepreneurs during the French protectorate. Among the most famous architects of that time were Victor Valensi, Guy Raphael, Henri Saladin, Joss Ellenon and Jean-Emile Resplandy.Noura Borsali, « Le mois du patrimoine. Que soit sauvegardée la richesse architecturale de nos villes », Réalités, n°1062, 4 mai 2006 Five distinct architectural and decorative styles are particularly popular: those of the eclectic style (neo-classical, baroque, etc..) Between 1881 and 1900 and then again until 1920 the style was neo-Mauresque, between 1925 and 1940 it was in the Art Deco style and then the modernist style between 1943 and 1947.
The emergence of new patterns of racial and improvised music since the late 1990s changed the musical landscape of Tunisia. At the same time, the majority of the population is attracted by the music of Levantine origin (Egyptian, Lebanese or Syrian). Popular western music has also had major success with the emergence of many groups and festivals, including rock music, hip hop, reggae and jazz.
Among the major Tunisian contemporary artists include Hedi Habbouba, Saber Rebaï, Dhafer Youssef, Belgacem Bouguenna, Sonia M'barek and Latifa. Other notable musicians include Salah El Mahdi, Anouar Brahem, Zied Gharsa and Lotfi Bouchnak.
Oriental dance would arrive later with the Ottomans, although some experts in the history of Northwest African art have said it was brought to Tunisia by the first Turkish corsairs in the sixteenth century while others say that the origin of this dance goes back further to the era of matriarchy in Mesopotamia and founded by the early Phoenicians.Hosni (1996), p.144 This form of oriental dance usually performed in Tunisia insists on the movements of the human pelvis in rhythm, movement highlighted by the elevation of the arms to horizontal, and feet moving in rhythm and transferring weight onto the right leg or left.Bedhioufi Hafsi, « Enjeux privés et sociaux du corps », Unité et diversité. Les identités culturelles dans le jeu de la mondialisation, éd. L'Harmattan, Paris, 2002, p. 321
The Nuba, more rooted in popular practice, is linked to the dancers and the Kerkennah Djerba to a lesser extent.Hosni (1996), p. 150 Some experts say that their dress is of Greek origin. Structured into several scenes, the dance is often accompanied by acrobatic games with jars filled with water.
The national bibliography lists 1249 non-school books published in 2002 in Tunisia. Littérature tunisienne (Ministère de la Culture et de la Sauvegarde du patrimoine) In 2006 this figure had increased to 1,500 and 1,700 in 2007. Nearly a third of the books are published for children.
Originally, the largest part of the Tunisians in Europe worked in sectors requiring minimal qualifications. In effect the migrants of the 1960s and 70s were less educated (mostly farmers or manual labourers).
Subsequently, the majority of Tunisians settled in France have worked in the service sector (hotels, restaurants or retail) or have headed small businesses. In 2008, Tunisia became the first of the Maghreb countries to sign a management agreement concerning the flow of migrants, at the impetus of President Nicolas Sarkozy: it provides easy access for almost 9,000 Tunisian students enrolled in French institutions, but also almost 500 titres de séjour (residency permits) for highly qualified individuals so that they can acquire experience in France, valid for a maximum of six years.
Listed here are the human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups in Tunisia.
| M70 |
| 1.16 |
Elkamel, Sarra et al. (2021) wrote that: "Considering Tunisian populations as a whole, the majority part of their paternal haplogroups are of autochthonous Berber origin (71.67%), which co-exists with others assumedly from the Middle East (18.35%) and to a lesser extent from Sub-Saharan Africa (5.2%), Europe (3.45%) and Asia (1.33%)."
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