Tunisia ranges from the Sahara to the Mediterranean in one easy swoop, encompassing a fine collection of Roman and Greek ruins, oases and hill villages, and Tunis' renowned casbah. And its devotedly friendly people and government are a welcome plus.

• TOTAL AREA: 163,610 sq km

• LAND AREA: 155,360 sq km

• WATER AREA: 8,250 sq km

• POPULATION: 10,175,014

• RELIGIONS: Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish and other 1%

• LANGUAGES: Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce)

• GOVERNMENT TYPE: Republic

• CAPITAL CITY: Tunis

• OFFICIAL CURRENCY: Tunisian dinar (TND)

• TIME ZONE: GMT/UTC + 1