Tunisia — Stamps & Postal Service

Postal Service Overview

Poste Tunisienne is Tunisia’s national postal operator. Tunisia was a French Protectorate from 1881 and issued its first stamps in 1888. Tunisia gained independence in March 1956 and has maintained a distinguished national stamp programme since. Tunisia’s stamps reflect the country’s extraordinary layered history: ancient Carthage (founded 814 BC and destroyed by Rome in 146 BC), Roman North Africa (the breadbasket of the Roman Empire), Islamic Arab civilization, Ottoman rule, French colonialism, and the modern Tunisian republic. The 2011 Jasmine Revolution, which sparked the Arab Spring, is documented on modern stamps.

Notable Stamp Issues

Tunisia’s first stamps in 1888 used the standard French colonial design. The 1906–1916 definitive series depicting a Tunisian woman and the Carthage ruins are charming French colonial issues. French Tunisia stamps (1916–1956) include many attractive pictorial issues featuring Tunis medina, Carthage harbour, and Roman ruins. Independence stamps from 1956 depicted President Habib Bourguiba. Notable Tunisian stamps feature the Bardo Museum (housing the world’s finest Roman mosaic collection), the El Jem Amphitheatre, and the Dougga Roman ruins (UNESCO heritage).

Collecting Tips

Yvert & Tellier covers French Tunisia stamps; Scott Africa covers the independent republic. Tunisian stamps on Carthaginian and Roman heritage attract ancient history collectors. The Bardo Museum collection stamps (particularly Ulysses mosaic stamps) are among Africa’s most culturally significant philatelic images. Tunisia’s medina architecture (Kairouan, Tunis, Sousse) is popular with Islamic heritage collectors. The Jasmine Revolution stamps have attracted modern political history collectors. Tunisia’s mosaic art appears beautifully on stamps.

Part of the Africa Postal Directory.