Tunisian diaspora

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The Tunisian diaspora refers to people of Tunisian origin living outside that country. It is the direct result of the strong rate of emigration which Tunisia has experienced since its independence in 1956. [1] In the 1960s and 70s, the favourable economic situation in France and Europe 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. [2] [3]

Contents

Population

In 2014 the number of Tunisians residing abroad was numbered at 1,282,371 individuals, [4] 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. [5] 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 [6] have settled in France [4] - 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, 12% in Lyons and 8% in Marseilles, with smaller communities in Nice, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Strasbourg, and Lille). Sonia Mabrouk connects this clumping phenomenon with the urban origin of the Tunisian migrants (Tunis 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 and at Paris 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 (8.6%), Var (4.5%), Seine-Saint-Denis (3.9%), Rhône (3.7%), Val-de-Marne (3.4%), and Bouches-du-Rhône (2.4%). [7]

In Germany the Rhein-Ruhr region has 7,200 Tunisians, Berlin has 3,400 Tunisians, Braunschweig has 2,200 Tunisians due to the city being a twin city of Sousse and having many other connections with Tunisia, [8] Hamburg has 1,700 Tunisians, [9] Munich has 957 Tunisians,Hanover has 842 Tunisians, Stuttgart has 767 Tunisians, Frankfurt has 557 Tunisians, Düsseldorf has 473 Tunisians. Tunisians are dispersed throughout Germany in many medium-sized cities and villages especially in the states Lower Saxony, North Rhine Westphalia, Bavaria, Hessen and Baden Württemberg. The Braunschweig region, having an estimate of 5,700 Tunisians and Rhein Ruhr region, roughly 8,000, have the highest amount of Tunisian migrants in Germany as of year 2023. [10] [11]

There are 110,385 Tunisians in the other Arab countries, 44,195 in North America, 3359 in Subsaharan Africa and 2365 in Asia (excepting the Arab countries); 514 Tunisians are accounted for in Australia. [4]

CountryTotal
1,942,000
Flag of France.svg  France 1,338,000
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 370,000 [12]
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 188,000
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium and Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 38,000
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 23,600
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 20,000
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom and Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland 13,400
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 11,900
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 10,000
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria and Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia and Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia and Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 9,200
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 3,722
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia and Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 1,851
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 1,624
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 1,555
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 1,420
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 1,340
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 1,219
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech 1,125
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 981
Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 437
231,085
Flag of Libya.svg  Libya 83,633
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 34,500
Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar 31,500
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 28,500
Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 20,300
Flag of Oman.svg  Oman 8,000
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 5,300
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt 3,600
Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait 3,500
Flag of Syria.svg  Syria 2,300
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 1,605
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon 1,323
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan 950
65,000
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 40,000
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 150,000
3,359
Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast 1,991
Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal 1,110
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 349
Flag of Gabon.svg  Gabon 298
Flag of Mali.svg  Mali 216
3,652
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 778
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 514
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia, Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia, Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore, Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand, Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 497
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 279
Total2,625,000
Source :https://www.leaders.com.tn/article/19702-ces-tunisiens-dans-le-monde-qui-sont-ils-ou-resident-ils

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. [13] 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. [13] 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). [3]

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, [3] 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. [3] In the Arab World the Tunisian population is mostly made up of very highly qualified individuals while labourers and other unskilled individuals form the majority in Asian countries like India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

Employment of Tunisians Abroad in hundreds (2011)
AreaTotal
Education and research2,083
Architecture1,938
Medicine and pharmacology893
IT381
Legal89
Business1,105
Other1,860
Total8,348
RegionNumber Employed
Europe4,194
Americas1,609
Arab World1,226
Africa136
Asia68
Australia11
Total7,243
Sources : Office of Tunisians Abroad [14]

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, generating 39,381 jobs, principally in services (64%) and industry (26%): [15]

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 and 23% of national savings. [15] 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. [15]

Notable persons of Tunisian descent

Ghali (Italy), Claudia Cardinale (Italy), Salah Mejri (United States), Max Azria (United States), M. Salah Baouendi (United States), Mustapha Tlili (United States), Ferrid Kheder (United States), Mounir Laroussi (United States), Oussama Mellouli (United States), Leila Ben Youssef (United States), Bushido (rapper) (Germany), Loco Dice (Germany), Sami Allagui (Germany), Änis Ben-Hatira (Germany), Mounir Chaftar (Germany), Sofian Chahed (Germany), Nejmeddin Daghfous (Germany), Rani Khedira (Germany), Sami Khedira (Germany), Ayman (Germany), Elyas M'Barek (Germany), Adel Tawil (Germany), Amel Karboul (Germany), Michel Boujenah (France), Azzedine Alaïa (France), Tarak Ben Ammar (France), Lââm (France), Nolwenn Leroy (France), Yoann Touzghar (France), Isleym (France), Hatem Ben Arfa (France), Sadek (France), Tunisiano (France), Afef Jnifen (Italy), Sana Hassainia (Canada), Hinda Hicks (England), Mohamed Hechmi Hamdi (England), Hend Sabry (Egypt), Ghassan bin Jiddo (Lebanon), Cyril Hanouna (France), Kev Adams (France), Marwan Kenzari (The Netherlands), Mohamed Challouf (Italy)

In Tunisia, free courses of instruction in Tunisian Arabic 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.

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. ↑ A., Brand, Laurie (2006-01-01). Citizens abroad : emigration and the state in the Middle East and North Africa. Cambridge University Press. OCLC   62132937.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ "Statistical Abstract of Italy". CBS. 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Sonia Mabrouk, « Un diplôme pour visa », Jeune Afrique, 27 avril 2008, pp. 71-72
  4. 1 2 3 (in French) [https://www.leaders.com.tn/article/19702-ces-tunisiens-dans-le-monde-qui-sont-ils-ou-resident-ils
  5. ↑ (in French) « Combien sommes-nous ? », 216 le mag, n°9, October 2009, p. 10 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Répartition de la Communauté tunisienne à l'étranger en 2012 OTE (PDF). Tunis: OTE. 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  7. ↑ (in French) Live births and the father's country of origin, by department and place of domicile of the mother (Insee)
  8. ↑ Infoline_StaFo_BS_2024-07_MigraPro_2023_ee (5)
  9. ↑ A_I_4_j_23_HHkorr.pdf
  10. ↑ (in French) « Combien sommes-nous ? », 216 le mag, n°9, October 2009, p. 10 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/560540/umfrage/in-deutschland-lebende-tunesier/#:~:text=Am%20Ende%20des%20Jahres%202023,mit%20tunesischer%20Staatsb%C3%BCrgerschaft%20kontinuierlich%20an.
  12. ↑ "Tunisini in Italia 2022".
  13. 1 2 (in French) Sonia Mabrouk, « Les Tunisiens dans le monde », Jeune Afrique, 27 avril 2008, p. 71
  14. ↑ (in French) Compétences tunisiennes à l'étranger (Office of Tunisians Abroad)
  15. 1 2 3 (in French) Abou Sarra, « Les transferts des Tunisiens à l’étranger : Une manne pas assez exploitée », Webmanagercenter, 3 septembre 2008

Bibliography

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