France Guérin-Pace
France Guérin-Pace answers our questions on the sociological survey that was conducted throughout the Tunisian territory and whose results are now available in the form of a book in the collection Grandes enquêtes de l’Ined
(Interview conducted in January 2023)
Tunisia was the first country in the Arab world to rise up against an authoritarian regime. On January 14, 2011, Ben Ali fled the country after 23 years of dictatorial rule. More than 10 years later, the hopes raised by the 2011 revolution have been largely disappointed, as Tunisia struggles to achieve political stability, overcome persistent economic difficulties, and reduce longstanding inequalities between its coastal and inland regions.
A majority of the Tunisian population, and especially young people, rose up in 2011 to put an end to decades of dictatorship. But what of the realities and experiences of the population at large since the revolution? To answer this question, a wide-ranging sociological survey conducted throughout Tunisia collected the geographic, family, and occupational trajectories of a representative sample of the country’s inhabitants—close to 3,500 individuals. This is the first survey of its kind ever to be done in Tunisia. The book analyses survey results in the hope of deciphering the paradoxes that run through Tunisian society, a society torn between conservatism and modernity. A wide variety of themes were investigated: experiences of the revolution, employment, couple relations, singlehood, political and religious convictions, languages spoken, and an entire set of opinion questions whose answers shed light on Tunisians’ representations of their evolving society.
Is this the first survey INED has conducted in Tunisia? Why was it done at the particular moment it was?
Study of transformations in the Arab world began in 2012 in the framework of a wide-ranging project run jointly by INED and IRD (Research Institute for Development) and entitled Observation des Transformations dans le Monde Arabe. Then, in 2016, in response to interest in learning more about Tunisia specifically, our ESTS survey [Enquete sur les Transformations de la Société Tunisienne] was developed. The many studies already conducted in Tunisia since the revolution targeted either specific themes or specific population groups, particularly young people. ESTS, a different type of survey, unprecedented in Tunisia, was developed collaboratively by INED and the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty of Tunis.
How were young researchers trained and brought into the survey process?
Experienced French and Tunisian researchers ran workshops for every stage of survey development and data analysis (exploratory interviews, questionnaire drafting, pilot survey, fieldwork, life grid interviewing, analysis of survey data, scientific writing). The book is the fruit of this collective work. It is important to stress that the fieldwork was done by a team of mainly female doctoral students trained and accompanied by supervisors. Their field notes are the subject of Chapter 2. The survey sample was constructed together with Tunisia’s Institut National de Statistique (INS) and the questionnaire was approved by the country’s Conseil National de la Statistique. The survey innovated in many areas: in addition to the themes covered and our use of a life grid to collect information, we used GPS-based sampling and tablets to collect questionnaire responses.
What are some of the survey findings?
The first striking result was that when questioned on events that had marked their lives, only 14% of respondents cited the 2011 revolution. While freedom of speech is considered an undeniable acquisition of the events of January 14, 2011, a considerable majority of the population complained of falling purchasing power, greater insecurity in the country, and a preoccupying political situation. Economic and political changes have nonetheless impacted Tunisian society, as indicated by ETST findings on several matters. To begin with, we observe developments that favorable to gender equality, particularly among the highly educated, and more equitable division of domestic work within couples, though some types of tasks still fall almost invariably to women. Despite clear improvement in women’s educational attainment—2.3 women have a higher education degree for 1 man—women most commonly hold unstable, low-paid jobs and their access to decision-making positions remains limited.
Despite an increase of single persons in the younger generations, definitive singlehood remains rare (2.5% among persons over 60). The proportion of single women with higher education is greater than for other educational levels; the reasons cited suggest a desire to postpone marital life and even a increase in definitive singlehood. The difficulty of finding a job leads young men in cities to remain single longer. Moreover, marriage within the kinship network is a minority phenomenon, and analysis of the ways people meet their life partner reflect young people’s desire to choose that person themselves. This overall reduction in the weight of the family has led to individuals making more personal choices: in 40% of marriages in the 18-25 age bracket, respondents chose their spouse through their network of friends, whereas for the 56-65 age bracket the figure is 14%.
Survey findings confirm the importance of religion in Tunisian society: 57% report regular religious practice; 22%, occasional; and 19%, a feeling of belonging to their religion without formally practicing it. Despite women’s emancipation, Tunisian women are relatively observant of religious recommendations and prohibitions, especially concerning the five prayers and fasting during Ramadan. While most women in Tunisia—over two-thirds—wear the headscarf, that practice may have several meanings: a sign of religious belief, of feminine identity, a demand to be treated with respect, a sign of being married. For 90% of female respondents it is a personal choice that may change over time and in conjunction with life events.
The right to vote democratically is a very recent acquisition; in fact, most young people do not use it. In general, we observe a lack of interest in politics, with 43% of respondents reporting that it does not interest them at all. The available political choices are considered non-satisfactory, and fewer than one in five persons say they feel close to a political party. The level of non-voting is high and seems to be rising: 89% of voters did not turn out for the legislative elections of early 2023.
Last, despite a longstanding tradition of internal mobility, more than half the Tunisian population have never moved out of the intermediate-level administrative area they were born in (54%), and only 3% have lived abroad for over a year. Although a peak in mobility— particularly departures from Tunisia—was observed after 2011, only 2.5% of the population express a desire to live abroad. And while France is still the preferred destination, Germany and Canada are also attracting candidates for emigration.
