The Tunisian diaspora refers to people of

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n origin living outside that country. It is the direct result of the strong rate of

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

which Tunisia has experienced since its independence in 1956. In the 1960s and 70s, the favourable economic situation in France and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

increased the phenomenon. The beginning of the 1980s saw the clear development of a Tunisian community in Europe as a result of the large number of people.Sonia Mabrouk, « Un diplôme pour visa », ''Jeune Afrique'', 27 avril 2008, pp. 71-72

Population

In 2014 the number of Tunisians residing abroad was numbered at 1,282,371 individuals,of which 87% were living in Europe
. However, this official figure appears to be lower than reality because of the inadequate recording of migration statistics. Thus it is not rare to discover a single data point represents all the members of a family or to discover duplicates. Among the citizens which are underrepresented in the statistics are the third generation in France (according to one estimate, only one in ten of these have been recorded) and the children of mixed-race parents. The illegal immigrants (very numerous in Italy for example) are by definition not included in the official statistics. 750000 have settled in France - one of the most important foreign communities in the country - and two thirds of them hold double citizenship. They are concentrated mostly in the large cities (40% in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, 12% in

Lyons Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

and 8% in

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, with smaller communities in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, and

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

). Sonia Mabrouk connects this clumping phenomenon with the urban origin of the Tunisian migrants (

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

and the littoral), but also with the nature of the different waves of migration. Thus the 1970s mainly saw the arrival of migrants from the south of Tunisia. These settled in the

Rhône Valley The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

and at

which offered the greatest number of opportunities for employment and created connections with their places of origin, which subsequently encouraged other migrants to settle in the same places. According to INSEE, 1.4% of children born in 2011 in Metropolitan France (i.e. 11,466 of 792,996) had a father born in Tunisia, with the greatest proportion in the departments of

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, it ...

(8.6%),

Var Var or VAR may refer to: Places * Var (department), a department of France * Var (river), France * Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran * Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...

(4.5%),

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobigny ...

(3.9%),

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

(3.7%),

Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a pop ...

(3.4%), and

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and large ...

(2.4%).Live births and the father's country of origin, by department and place of domicile of the mother (Insee)
/ref> There are 110,385 Tunisians in the other

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

countries, 44,195 in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, 3359 in

Subsaharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the African ...

and 2365 in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

(excepting the Arab countries); 514 Tunisians are accounted for in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Demographics

Statistics of the Office of Tunisians Abroad show more than 128,000 Tunisian families in Europe with a concentration in France and Germany. Young Tunisians (less than 16 years of age) represent 25% of the Tunisian community abroad.Sonia Mabrouk, « Les Tunisiens dans le monde », ''Jeune Afrique'', 27 avril 2008, p. 71
/ref> Thus there is currently a rejuvenation of the Tunisian diaspora which is now in its third generation. Women represent nearly 26% of the total community. In France, their percentage is estimated at 38.2%. The portion of the diaspora who are over 60 years old is around 7%. 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 Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

: 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. In the

Arab World The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

the Tunisian population is mostly made up of very highly qualified individuals while labourers and other unskilled individuals form the majority in

Asian countries This is a list of sovereign states and dependent territories in Asia. It includes sovereign state, fully recognized states, states with limited but substantial international recognition, ''de facto'' states with little or no international recogn ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Economic impact

The contribution of Tunisians abroad encapsulates the projects which they support directly or indirectly in Tunisia. According to the Office of Tunisians Abroad, there were more than 8,845 such projects between 1987 and 2004, for a total investment of around 321 million

dinar The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread. The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of ...

, generating 39,381 jobs, principally in services (64%) and industry (26%):Abou Sarra, « Les transferts des Tunisiens à l’étranger : Une manne pas assez exploitée », ''Webmanagercenter'', 3 septembre 2008
/ref> * 5,649 projects related to services mobilised 140.1 million dinars and generated 17,397 jobs; * 2,423 projects in the industrial sector with 133.7 million in investment and 20,513 employed; * 773 projects in the agricultural sector for 47.2 million dinars of investment and 1,471 employed. According to the Office of Tunisians Abroad, the Tunisians abroad make average of 1.1 billion dinars worth of transfers every year, 76% in the form of money transfers, which constitutes the fourth largest source of currency for the country, representing 5% of the

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is often ...

and 23% of national savings. But, although these transfers increase by 8.9% per year, the importance of this source of income has been decreasing continuously since 1996 and the number of projects created by Tunisians abroad has seemed to stagnate.

Notable persons of Tunisian descent

Ghali (Italy),

Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose "Claudia" Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938) is an Italian actress. She has starred in some of the most iconic European films of the 1960s and 1970s, acting in Italian, French, and English. Born and raised in La Goulette, a ...

(Italy),

Salah Mejri Salah Mejri ( ar, صالح الماجري; born June 15, 1986) is a Tunisian professional basketball player for Beirut Club. He also represents the senior Tunisian national basketball team internationally. Standing at , he plays at the center p ...

(United States),

Max Azria Max Azria (January 1, 1949 – May 6, 2019) was a Tunisian-Jewish-born American fashion designer who founded the contemporary women's clothing brand BCBG MAX AZRIA. Azria was also the designer, chairman and CEO of the BCBG Max Azria Group,Musta ...

(United States), M. Salah Baouendi (United States),

Mustapha Tlili Mustapha Tlili (Tunisian Arabic: مصطفى التليلي; born 17 October 1937 – 20 October 2017) was a Tunisian novelist. Born in Fériana, Tunisia, Mustapha Tlili was educated at the Sorbonne and in the United States. He worked at the Unit ...

(United States),

Ferrid Kheder Ferrid Kheder (born 3 March 1975) is a retired French judo Olympian who placed seventh at the Olympic Games in Sydney(2000) and a former professional mixed martial artist who fought from 2004 to 2013. Judo career Kheder began training judo ...

(United States),

Mounir Laroussi Mounir Laroussi (born August 9, 1955) is a Tunisian-American scientist. He is known for his work in plasma science, especially low temperature plasmas and their biomedical applications. Biography Early life Mounir Laroussi was born and rais ...

(United States),

Oussama Mellouli Oussama "Ous" Mellouli ( ar, أسامة الملولي; born 16 February 1984) is a Tunisian swimmer who competes in the freestyle and medley events. He is a three-time Olympic medalist, is an African record holder, and trains with the USC Tr ...

(United States),

Leila Ben Youssef Leila Maryam Ben Youssef ( ar, ليلى مريم بن يوسف; born November 13, 1981 in Sidney, Montana, United States) is a Tunisian-American pole vaulter. She is a multiple-time Tunisian record holder in the pole vault, and a gold medalist at ...

(United States),

Bushido (rapper) Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi (born 28 September 1978), better known by his alias Bushido, is a German rapper, hip-hop producer, and entrepreneur. He is also the co-founder of the record label ersguterjunge. Raised in Berlin, Ferchichi came ...

(Germany),

Loco Dice Loco Dice (born Yassine Ben Achour on 10 August 1974) is a German DJ and electronic music producer born and based in Düsseldorf, Germany. He is best known for his work in the house and tech house genres and his residencies at Ibiza nightclubs ...

(Germany),

Sami Allagui Sami Allagui (born 28 May 1986) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent most of his career in Germany. At international level, he represented the Tunisia national team. Club career Allagui was awarded a three-year ...

(Germany),

Änis Ben-Hatira Änis Ben-Hatira (born 18 July 1988) is a Tunisian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. Between 2012 and 2016 he made 12 appearances for the Tunisia national team scoring one goal. Club career Born in Berlin, Ben-Hatir ...

(Germany), Mounir Chaftar (Germany),

Sofian Chahed Sofian Chahed (born 18 April 1983) is a football coach and former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is the head coach of 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam in the Frauen-Bundesliga. Born in Germany, Chahed represented Tunisia at senio ...

(Germany), Nejmeddin Daghfous (Germany),

Rani Khedira Rani Khedira (born 27 January 1994) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club Union Berlin. Club career VfB Stuttgart Khedira started his youth career at TV Oeffingen before moving to VfB Stuttgart in 200 ...

(Germany),

Sami Khedira Sami Khedira (; born 4 April 1987) is a German former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He began his career at VfB Stuttgart, winning the Bundesliga in 2007, before moving to Real Madrid in 2010. In his five seasons i ...

(Germany),

Ayman Ayman ( ar, أيمن, also spelled as Aiman, Aimen, Aymen, or Eymen in the Latin alphabet) is an Arabic masculine given name. It is derived from the Arabic Semitic root () for ''right'', and literally means ''righteous'', ''he who is on the right'' ...

(Germany),

Elyas M'Barek Elyas M'Barek (born 29 May 1982) is an Austrian actor based in Germany. He gained recognition for his roles in the comedy television series ''Türkisch für Anfänger'' and the 2013 comedy film ''Fack ju Göhte.'' Early life M'Barek was born ...

(Germany),

Adel Tawil Adel Salah Mahmoud Eid El-Tawil (born 15 August 1978) is a German singer, songwriter and producer. Besides his solo career, he is part of the popular German duo Ich + Ich and a former member of the boy band The Boyz. Early life Tawil was born ...

(Germany), Amel Karboul (Germany),

Michel Boujenah Michel Boujenah (born 3 November 1952) is a French-Tunisian Jewish actor, comedian, film director, and screenwriter. Life and career Michel Boujenah was born on 3 November 1952 in Tunis, Tunisia. He is the brother of Paul Boujenah, a film d ...

(France), Azzedine Alaïa (France),

Tarak Ben Ammar Tarak Ben Ammar ( ar, طارق بن عمّار; born June 12, 1949) is a Tunisian-French film producer and distributor; the owner of French production and distribution company Quinta Communications. He is famous for his interest in artistic movies ...

(France),

Lââm Lââm (born 1 September 1971) is a French singer of Tunisian descent. She has sold more than 4,000,000 singles & albums. Biography Lââm (whose real name is LamiaNolwenn Leroy Nolwenn Le Magueresse (; born 28 September 1982), known by her stage name Nolwenn Leroy (), is a French singer-songwriter, musician and actress. Originally classically trained (violin and opera singing), she rose to fame after winning the second ...

(France),

Yoann Touzghar Yoann Touzghar (born 28 November 1986) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Ajaccio. Born in France, he represents Tunisia at international level. Club career In the 2015–16 season Touzghar played for Club Africain ...

(France),

Isleym Isleym (; born 13 June 1994) is a French singer-songwriter. A member of the 7th Magnitude record label, she released her debut studio album, ''Où ça nous mène'', on 21 April 2014. Career Isleym began writing songs at the age of 10, and says t ...

(France),

Hatem Ben Arfa Hatem Ben Arfa ( ar, حاتم بن عرفة, ; born 7 March 1987) is a French professional association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), winger and attacking midfielder. Known for his flair and Dribbling#Associat ...

(France), Sadek (France),

Tunisiano Bachir Baccour (born 19 May 1979), better known by his stage name Tunisiano, is a Tunisian rapper living in France. Prior to pursuing a solo career, he was a member of M, Sniper and other rap groups. Career Bachir Baccour's parents were born in ...

(France),

Afef Jnifen Afef Jnifen (born 3 November 1963) is a Tunisian-born Italian fashion model, actress and television presenter. Biography Jnifen was born in 1963 in Ben Gardane, Tunisia and naturalized Italian citizen. She is the daughter of the former Tunisia ...

(Italy), Sana Hassainia (Canada),

Hinda Hicks Hinda Hicks (born 1976) is a British and Tunisian-born singer, actress and artist who first gained notability with her musical career in the late '90s. She is best known for her debut album ''Hinda'', that charted at #20 on the 1998 UK Top 40 ...

(England),

Mohamed Hechmi Hamdi Mohamed Hechmi Hamdi ( ar, محمد الهاشمي الحامدي), also spelled Mohamed el Hachmi El-Hamdi, Hechmi Haamdi, or Hachmi Hamdi is a Tunisian journalist, media entrepreneur and politician, who lives in London. He is founder and owner ...

(England),

Hend Sabry Hend Sabry ( ar, هند صبري, born 20 November 1979) is a Tunisian people, Tunisian Egyptians, Egyptian actress working in Cinema of Egypt, Egypt. Career Sabry starred as "'Ola" in the Egyptian Television Network, Egyptian television drama ...

(Egypt),

Ghassan bin Jiddo Ghassan bin Jiddo ( ar, غسان بن جدو, Ghassan Ben Jeddou), (born 8 August 1962) is a veteran Tunisian- Lebanese journalist, activist and the director of Beirut-based pan-Arab satellite television channel, Al Mayadeen. He has been recog ...

(Lebanon),

Cyril Hanouna Cyril Valéry Isaac Hanouna (; ar, سيريل فاليري إسحاق حنونة, link=no; born 23 September 1974) is a French radio and television presenter, writer, author, columnist, producer, singer and occasional actor and comedian of Tunis ...

(France),

Kev Adams Kev Adams or Kev' Adams (born Kevin Smadja; 1 July 1991) is a French comedian, actor, humorist, screenwriter and film producer. Early life Adams was born in 1991 in the 16th district of Paris. His father is a real estate agent of Algerian Jews, ...

(France), Marwan Kenzari (The Netherlands), Mohamed Challouf (Italy)

Links with Tunisia

In Tunisia, free courses of instruction in

Tunisian Arabic Tunisian Arabic, or simply Tunisian, is a set of dialects of Maghrebi Arabic spoken in Tunisia. It is known among its over 11 million speakers aeb, translit=Tounsi/Tounsiy, label=as, تونسي , "Tunisian" or "Everyday Language" to distingu ...

are organised during the summer holidays for the children of Tunisian residents abroad, who are heavily influenced by the culture of the countries in which they live. Trips are also organised for them to experience Tunisian culture, history and civilisation.

References

Bibliography

* Janice Alberti Russell, The Italian community in Tunisia. 1861-1961. A viable minority, éd. Université Columbia, Columbia, 1977 * Salah Rimani, ''Les Tunisiens de France : une forte concentration parisienne'', éd. L'Harmattan, Paris, 1988 * Bruce Allen Watson, Exit Rommel. The Tunisian Campaign. 1942-43, coll. Stackpole Military History Series, éd. Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg (Pennsylvanie), 1999, () * Maastricht university, ''An analysis of the Engagement of the Tunisian Diaspora in Germany and the Potentials for Cooperation'', 2013

External links

Office des Tunisiens à l'étranger
(Office of Tunisians Abroad) {{Tunisian diaspora Demographics of Tunisia

Population

Demographics

Economic impact

Notable persons of Tunisian descent

Links with Tunisia

See also

References

Bibliography

External links