Tunisia has a population of 9,705,102 (2001 estimate), yielding an average population density of 59 persons per sq km . About three-quarters of the population lived in the coastal region. The arid central and southern parts make up 70% of the total land area, but contain less than 30% of the population.

Nearly two-fifths of Tunisia's population is under 15 years of age. The annual rate of population growth is high by world standards but is comparatively low for the Middle East and North Africa. Governmental efforts to promote family planning and a high rate of emigration have in part suppressed the rate of population growth. The nation's population density is the highest in North Africa, with most people living near the coast and more than half living in urban areas. The entire southern half of Tunisia is only lightly populated.

Nearly all Tunisians are Muslim. There has been a Jewish population on the southern island of Djerba for 2000 years, and there remains a small Jewish population in Tunis which is descended from those who fled Spain in the late 15th century. There is no indigenous Christian population. Small nomadic indigenous minorities have been mostly assimilated into the larger population.