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Updates: 

Tunisia announced in March 2009 that it would remain on standard time all year. At present, the expectation is that DST will resume in 2010, in the absence of further action.

The Tunisian Industry Portal  site (French version) shows the creation dates of the governorates. It agrees pretty well with the information I already had listed, but differed where I had given approximate dates, so I've used all the dates given on that site. I used to have a date of 1956-06-31, which had to be wrong. There's no 06-31.

FIPS Publication Change Notice No. 9, affecting FIPS PUB 10-4, was issued on 2004-10-01. It assigns a code to the new Manouba governorate. It also changes the name of El Kef governorate to Kef (shown as Le Kef in the tables below).

ISO 3166-2 Newsletter Number I-6 was published on 2004-03-08. It gives "La Manouba" as the correct name for the new governorate of Manouba. I have not yet found confirmation for this change.

ISO 3166-2 Newsletter number I-5, dated 2003-09-05, shows the new Manouba governorate (reported on this page almost three years earlier). The new ISO code for Manouba is shown below.

Country overview: 

Short name	TUNISIA
ISO code	TN
FIPS code	TS
Language	Arabic (ar)
Time zone	+1
Capital	Tunis

 

Tunisia (more commonly called Tunis, formally the Regency of Tunis, until about 1930) began the 20th century as a French protectorate. It gained full independence on 1956-03-20. Tunisia's desert boundaries were indistinct at first, and there is still a border dispute with Algeria.

Other names of country: 

1. Arabic: al Jumhuriya at-Tunisiya (formal)
2. Danish: Tunesien
3. Dutch: Tunesië, Republiek Tunesië (formal)
4. English: Republic of Tunisia (formal), Tunis (obsolete)
5. Finnish: Tunisia
6. French: Tunisie f
7. German: Tunesien n
8. Icelandic: Túnis
9. Italian: Tunisia f
10. Norwegian: Tunisia, Republikken Tunisia (formal)
11. Portuguese: Tunísia, República f da Tunísia f (formal)
12. Spanish: Túnez, Tunisia f, República f de Túnez m (formal)
13. Swedish: Tunisien

Origin of name: 

from the capital, Tunis + -ia (suffix for country)

Primary subdivisions: 

Tunisia is divided into 24 wilayat (governorates).

Governorate	HASC	ISO	FIPS	Pc	Population	Area(km.²)	Area(mi.²)	Arabic
Ariana	TN.AN	12	TS38	20	422,246	1,558	602	Al Aryānah
Béja	TN.BJ	31	TS17	90	304,501	3,558	1,374	Bājah
Ben Arous	TN.BA	13	TS27	11,20	505,773	761	294	Bin `Arūs
Bizerte	TN.BZ	23	TS18	70	524,128	3,685	1,423	Banzart
Gabès	TN.GB	81	TS29	60	342,630	7,175	2,770	Qābis
Gafsa	TN.GF	71	TS10	21	323,709	8,990	3,471	Qafṣah
Jendouba	TN.JE	32	TS06	81	416,608	3,102	1,198	Jundūbah
Kairouan	TN.KR	41	TS03	31	546,209	6,712	2,592	Al Qayrawān
Kassérine	TN.KS	42	TS02	12	412,278	8,066	3,114	Al Qaṣrayn
Kebili	TN.KB	73	TS31	42	143,218	22,084	8,527	Qibilī
Le Kef	TN.KF	33	TS14	71	258,790	4,965	1,917	Al Kāf
Mahdia	TN.MH	53	TS15	51	377,853	2,966	1,145	Al Mahdīyah
Manouba	TN.MN	14	TS39	11,20	335,912			Manubah
Médenine	TN.ME	82	TS28	41	432,503	8,588	3,316	Madanīyīn
Monastir	TN.MS	52	TS16	50	455,590	1,019	393	Al Munastīr
Nabeul	TN.NB	21	TS19	80	693,890	2,788	1,076	Nābul
Sfax	TN.SF	61	TS32	30	855,256	7,545	2,913	Safāqis
Sidi Bou Zid	TN.SZ	43	TS33	91	395,506	6,994	2,700	Sīdī Bū Zayd
Siliana	TN.SL	34	TS22	61	233,985	4,631	1,788	Silyānah
Sousse	TN.SS	51	TS23	40	544,413	2,621	1,012	Sūsah
Tataouine	TN.TA	83	TS34	32	143,524	38,889	15,015	Taţāwīn
Tozeur	TN.TO	72	TS35	22	97,526	4,719	1,822	Tawzar
Tunis	TN.TU	11	TS36	10,20	983,861	346	134	Tūnis
Zaghouan	TN.ZA	22	TS37	11	160,963	2,768	1,069	Zaghwān
24 governorates					9,910,872	154,530	59,665
Governorate: French name, commonly also used in English. HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes. ISO: Codes from ISO 3166-2. For full identification in a global context, prefix "TN-" to the code (ex: TN-61 represents Sfax). FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4. Pc: First two digits of postal codes used in the governorate. Population: 2004-04-28 census. Area: Area of Manouba is included in Ariana. Arabic: Most common transliteration of Arabic governorate name into the Roman alphabet. Capital: All governorates have the same name as their capitals.

Postal codes: 

Tunisia uses four-digit postal codes in which the first two digits indicate the governorate.

Further subdivisions:

See the Delegations of Tunisia page.

The provinces are divided into mutamadiyat (delegations, districts). The census reports show a tertiary division, the imada (sector).

Territorial extent: 

1. Bizerte includes the islands of La Galite.
2. Médenine includes the island of Djerba.
3. Nabeul includes the island of Zembra.
4. Sfax includes the Kerkennah Islands. The two main islands are Chergui and Gharbi, and nearby are the small and uninhabited Rhermedi, Roumedia, and Sefnou.

Origins of names: 

1. Bizerte: originally Hippo Diarrhytos (Phoenician hippo: fort, Greek diarrhytos: split in two), rendered in Arabic as Hippo Zarytos, later Banzart.
2. Le Kef: Arabic kef: rock
3. Mahdia: named after Caliph Obaid Allah el Mahdi (early 10th cent.)
4. Monastir: from Greek monasterion: monastery
5. Nabeul: from Greek nea: new, polis: city
6. Tunis: possibly from Tanit, Phoenician moon goddess

Change history: 

1. Tunisia (more commonly called Tunis, formally the Regency of Tunis, until about 1930) began the 20th century as a French protectorate. It gained full independence on 1956-03-20. At the end of the protectorate period, Tunisia consisted of 38 caidates (French: caïdats. A caidat is the jurisdiction of a caïd, or magistrate). They were:

Caidate	Pop-46	Pop-56
Ain Draham	47,920	55,220
Beja	101,909	110,708
Bizerte	148,442	164,791
Djebeniana	53,601	55,242
Djemmal	33,380	43,106
Djerba	59,331	63,219
Gabès	92,261	102,475
Gafsa	75,617	105,525
Kairouan	113,503	126,097
La Skhira	41,153	51,825
Le Kef	101,093	112,490
Mahdia	77,709	99,956
Maktar	39,854	40,492
Mateur	89,842	93,753
Matmata	21,663	25,396
Medjiz-el-Bab	63,740	73,473
Monastir	62,226	74,755
Nabeul	144,102	161,647
Nefzaoua	40,690	48,013
Ouerghemma	99,735	109,588
Sbeitla	86,469	113,016
Sfax	190,805	231,201
Sidi-Bou-Zid	74,594	101,560
Siliana	37,348	39,902
Soliman	67,332	78,706
Souassi	32,115	49,907
Souk-el-Arba	76,107	94,755
Souk-el-Khemis	37,997	46,047
Sousse	122,468	158,440
Tadjerouine	62,524	72,020
Tataouine	48,607	63,413
Teboursouk	59,157	64,344
Thala	36,566	51,379
Tozeur	44,970	52,181
Tunis	239,173	268,484
Tunis (City)	364,593	410,000
Zaghouan	74,732	90,412
Zlass	67,624	78,942
38 caidates	3,230,952	3,782,480
Pop-46: 1946-11-01 census. Pop-56: 1956-02-01 census (preliminary). Source: Encyclopædia Britannica World Atlas, 1957 edition.

1. 1956-06-21: Tunisia reorganized from caidats into wilayats (governorates). The Statesman's Year Book, 1959 edition, says there were fourteen of them, but all the lists I've found from this period show only thirteen.

Governorate	Population	Area(km.²)	Capital
Béja	244,610	5,260	Béja
Bizerte	232,720	3,510	Bizerte
Cap Bon	241,790	2,890	Grombalia
Gabès	181,130	64,050	Gabès
Gafsa	252,070	18,530	Gafsa
Kairouan	212,970	7,030	Kairouan
Kasserine	167,050	9,040	Kasserine
Le Kef	259,800	8,060	Le Kef
Médenine	244,630	22,220	Médenine
Sfax	341,140	8,870	Sfax
Souk el Arba	199,270	3,050	Souk el Arba
Sousse	453,910	6,080	Sousse
Tunis and Suburbs	570,710	5,560	Tunis
13 governorates	3,943,273	164,150
Population: 1956-02-01 census. Source: Encyclopædia Britannica World Atlas, 1964 edition.

1. Kasserine appears to have been called Sbeitla at some time.
2. ~1967: Name of Souk el Arba governorate, and its capital, changed to Jendouba; name of Cap Bon changed to Nabeul, perhaps because the capital had moved from Grombalia to Nabeul.
3. 1973-05-24: Tunis South governorate created from parts of Béja, Bizerte, Nabeul, and Tunis and Suburbs. Part of Nabeul governorate transferred to Sousse.
4. 1973-12-04: Sidi Bou Zid governorate created from parts of Gafsa, Kasserine, and Sfax.
5. 1974-03-09: Mahdia governorate created from parts of Sfax and Sousse; Monastir governorate split from Sousse.
6. 1974-06-05: Siliana governorate created from parts of Béja and Le Kef.
7. 1976-11: Tunis North and Tunis South reorganized into Zaghouan (mostly from Tunis South) and Tunis.
8. 1981-01-20: Tataouine governorate split from Médenine.
9. 1981-09: Kebili governorate split from Gabès.
10. 1983-12: Tozeur governorate split from Gafsa.
11. 1983-03: Ariana governorate split from Tunis.
12. 1983-12-03: Ben Arous governorate split from Tunis.
13. 2000-07-01: Manouba governorate split from Ariana (former HASC code TN.AN, FIPS code TS26).

Other names of subdivisions: 

There are numerous methods for transliterating from Arabic to the Roman alphabet. The names here labeled Arabic are not the only possible versions.

1. Ariana: Al Ariānah, L'Ariana, Tunis Ariana (variant); Al Aryānah (Arabic)
2. Béja: Bājah (Arabic); Béjah (variant)
3. Ben Arous: Bin `Arūs (Arabic); Tunis Ben Arous (variant)
4. Bizerte: Banzart (Arabic); Bensert, Binzart (variant); Biserta (German, Italian); Bizerta (Portuguese, Spanish)
5. Gabès: Gābis (variant); Qābis (Arabic)
6. Gafsa: Gafṣah (variant); Qafṣah (Arabic)
7. Jendouba: Jendoûbah, Jenduba, Jondouba (variant); Jundūbah (Arabic); Souk-El-Arba (obsolete)
8. Kairouan: Al Qayrawān (Arabic); Al Qīrwān, Qairouân (variant); Kairuã (Portuguese)
9. Kassérine: Al Gaṣrīn, Al Qasrin, Kasserim (variant); Al Qaṣrayn (Arabic); Sbeitla (obsolete)
10. Kebili: Kebilli, Qbili (variant); Qibilī (Arabic)
11. Le Kef: Al Kāf (Arabic); El Kef, Kaf, Kef (variant)
12. Mahdia: Al Madīyah, Al Mahdiyya, Mahdiâh (variant); Al Mahdīyah (Arabic)
13. Manouba: Mannouba (variant)
14. Médenine: Madanīn, Medenin (variant); Madanīyīn (Arabic)
15. Monastir: Al Munastīr (Arabic)
16. Nabeul: Cap Bon (obsolete); Nabil, Nābol (variant); Nābul (Arabic)
17. Sfax: Ṣafāqis (Arabic); Ṣfāqis (variant)
18. Sidi Bou Zid: Qamudah, Sidi Boû Sa`îd, Sidi Buzid, Sidi Bū Sa`īd (variant); Sīdī Bū Zayd (Arabic)
19. Siliana: Siliānah (variant); Silyānah (Arabic)
20. Sousse: Sousa, Sussa, Susse (variant); Susa (Italian, Spanish); Sūsah (Arabic)
21. Tataouine: Foum Tataouine, Tatahouine, Tatuine (variant); Taţāwīn (Arabic)
22. Tozeur: Tawzar (Arabic); Touzar, Tūzar (variant)
23. Tunis: Tounis, Tunis City, Tūnus (variant); Túnez (Spanish); Túnis (Portuguese); Tunisi (Italian); Tūnis (Arabic)
24. Zaghouan: Tunis South (obsolete); Zachouan, Zaguan (variant); Zaghwān (Arabic)

Population history:

Governorate	1975-05-08	1984-04-30	1994-04-20	2004-04-28
Ariana		374,192	566,247	422,246
Béja	248,800	274,706	301,898	304,501
Ben Arous		246,193	369,552	505,773
Bizerte	343,700	394,670	475,053	524,128
Gabès	255,700	240,016	310,643	342,630
Gafsa	218,300	235,723	304,665	323,709
Jendouba	299,700	359,429	402,487	416,608
Kairouan	338,500	421,607	528,899	546,209
Kassérine	238,500	297,959	385,450	412,278
Kebili		95,371	131,661	143,218
Le Kef	233,100	247,672	270,996	258,790
Mahdia	218,200	270,435	334,208	377,853
Manouba				335,912
Médenine	293,000	295,889	382,699	432,503
Monastir	223,100	278,478	363,126	455,590
Nabeul	368,100	461,405	577,813	693,890
Sfax	474,900	577,992	732,471	855,256
Sidi Bou Zid	218,500	288,528	374,825	395,506
Siliana	192,700	222,038	243,536	233,985
Sousse	254,600	322,491	432,312	544,413
Tataouine		100,329	133,676	143,524
Tozeur	19,600	67,943	89,088	97,526
Tunis	944,100	774,364	881,560	983,861
Zaghouan	205,100	118,743	143,010	160,963
Totals	5,588,200	6,966,173	8,785,364	9,910,872

 

Sources: 1975 census from Encyclopædia Britannica, 1984 edition; 1984 census from The Statesman's Year-Book (SY), 1993-94 edition; 1994 census from "Ershiyi (21) Shiji Shijie Diming Lu", a Chinese three-volume world gazetteer; 2004 census from Tunisian National Statistics Institute . However, the total for 1994 is taken from this summary report .

This UNDP document  has 1994 and 2004 census data, rounded to the nearest thousand. Its 1994 figures differ from Ershiyi by no more than 1.85% in each governorate. The 1994 total in the UNDP document and the one in the summary report are the same, within rounding error. Unfortunately, the total of the populations given in Ershiyi is 8,735,875, off by almost 50,000. If we could assume that Ershiyi had transposed the second and fourth digits in the population of Gabès, and that it was actually 360,143, that would make the total for Tunisia come out with an error of only 11. However, if that were the case, Ershiyi and the UNDP would be in excessive disagreement over Gabès.