Sfax is a city in Tunisia, located 270 km (170 mi) southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD 849 on the ruins of Taparura and Thaenae, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 860,000 inhabitants in 2005), and a Mediterranean port. Sfax has a population of 340,000 (2005 estimate). The economic activities of Sfax are industries (industrial center for processing phosphates), agriculture (Olive and Olive Oil transformation, nuts), fishing (first fishing port in Tunisia and trade (import-export activities). The city is often described as Tunisia's "second city", Tunis being the capital and having more inhabitants. Sfax was considered as the economic capital of Tunisia during the 1980s but no longer
