突尼斯共和国位于北非、隶属于马格里布地区，东北部紧邻地中海。突尼斯有两个邻国，分别为西方的阿尔及利亚（公共国界线长965公里）与东南方的利比亚（公共国界线长459公里）。突尼斯因其坐落于国家北方的首都突尼斯市而得名。

突尼斯的官方语言为阿拉伯语，但法语和英语的通用性也很高。

突尼斯盛产橄榄油，产量居世界第4位，被称为“世界橄榄油园”、“橄榄之邦”。除了出口纺织品与橄榄油之外，观光业也是其重要的收入之一。

突尼斯曾经是迦太基的发源地和国家中枢。这个位于北非的国家统治了西班牙，北非，地中海沿岸等零星地区，成为当时地中海最强盛的国家，并因此成为以后罗马的强敌，迦太基名将汉尼拔曾经一度要攻入罗马的首都。后来北非第三次布匿战争后，迦太基被征服并成为罗马共和国的阿非利加行省。后来此地又陆续受到汪达尔王国、拜占庭帝国、阿拉伯帝国的统治。突尼斯在很长一段时间内受到奥斯曼帝国统治（这一时期被称为突尼斯摄政时期）。在1881年时，随着法国对殖民地的开拓，转而成为法国的被保护国。

1956年3月20日，在殖民地独立风潮之际，突尼斯赢得了独立，正式改名为突尼斯王国。罗尔斯贝伊成为首任统治者，享有国王尊号和至高无上的君权。1957年7月25日，共和国宣告成立，民族主义领袖哈比卜·布尔吉巴就任首届总统，他使突尼斯共和国迈向了现代化。然而他30年统治的结果是以收买人心的政策以及伊斯兰运动的崛起为标志的，继任总统扎因·阿比丁·本·阿里将之废除，但延续了布尔吉巴主义的现代化目标，即经济自由化。

Tunisia, officially the Tunisian Republic, is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area is almost 165,000 square kilometres (64,000 sq mi), with an estimated population of just over 10.4 million. Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-east.

Tunisia is the smallest of the nations situated along the Atlas mountain range. The south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert, with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline. Both played a prominent role in ancient times, first with the famous Phoenician city of Carthage, then as the Roman province of Africa which was known as the "bread basket" of Rome. Later, Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD, Byzantines in the 6th century, and Arabs in the 8th century. Under the Ottoman Empire, Tunisia was known as "Regency of Tunis". It passed under French protectorate in 1881. After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the "Kingdom of Tunisia" at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty. With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25, 1957, the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president.