Tunisia's population of 8.8 million which has grown 2.3 per cent per year during the past 10 years is very young: 36% under 15 years of age. At tertiary level of education (20-24 years), the enrolment ratio has grown from 7,3% in 1983 to 12,4% in 1996 and it is expected to reach 15% by the year 2001. This reflects a national policy priority of investing heavily in the higher levels of education. As a result of this policy and of the demographic growth, the total number of students in tertiary education in Tunisia has grown from around 30 000 in 1980 to reach 120 000 in 1996 and, although a slower demographic growth is expected in the next decade (1.5%), it should follow the same trend for some years to come. This will mean a considerable pressure on the teaching staff to devote more time to their teaching activities at the expense of research. On the other hand this could be a good opportunity to develop new forms of teaching such as telelearning
Table 3. Third Level Students and Teachers, 1980-1996
| 1980 | 1985 | 1990 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | |
| Students | 31827 | 41595 | 68535 | 87780 | 102791 | 112634 | 120000 |
| Teachers | 4031 | 5194 | 4550 | 5360 | 5979 | 6481 | 6800 |
| Student : Teacher Ratio | 7,9 | 8 | 15,0 | 16,4 | 17,2 | 17,4 | 17,6 |
All the Tunisia's tertiary level students are in the 89 higher education institutes within the six universities of Tunis I, Tunis II, Tunis III, Zitouna, the University of the Centre at Sousse, and the University of the South at Sfax. Just under a third are studying in the S&T areas: engineering, agriculture, medicine and dentistry. These areas account for nearly 56% of teaching staff because of the higher teacher : student ratios typical of science and technology areas internationally.
Table 4 : Registered undergraduate and post graduate students, and teaching staff in Tunisian higher education, 1995
| Subject Area | Students | Teaching Staff(1) | ||
| Number | % | Number | % | |
| Humanities and Social Sciences | 31871 | 31 | 1280 | 21,5 |
| Law, Economics and Management | 33641 | 32,8 | 1013 | 17 |
| Education | 3426 | 3,3 | 346 | 5,8 |
| Sciences | 12710 | 12,4 | 770 | 12,9 |
| Medical and Dental Studies | 9330 | 9,1 | 1090 | 18,3 |
| Engineering | 9556 | 9,3 | 1105 | 18,6 |
| Agriculture | 2148 | 2,1 | 340 | 5,8 |
| All S&T Subjects | 33744 | 32,9 | 3305 | 55,6 |
| All Subject Areas | 102682 | 100 | 5944 | 100 |