Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"The smallest of the Maghreb states, Tunisia, lies at the eastern end of the region. Tunisia in many ways outranks surrounding countries: it has a higher urbanization level, more favorable social indicators, and a much lower growth rate (among its population of 11.4 million) than elsewhere in the Maghreb. Most of the country’s productive capacity lies in the north in the hinterland of its historic capital, Tunis. As noted previously, this country took center stage as the source of the Arab Spring uprisings that diffused across [North Africa]. Of all the revolutions sparked by this movement, Tunisia’s seems to have been one of the more successful. Still, preserving its democratic gains remains a major challenge, and being the region’s most Westernized country also attracts trouble . . . " [Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts, 17th Edition, p. 272]