Jerba, a small island of Africa, off the south-east coast of Tunis, to which country it belongs. It is situated in the Gulf of Gabes, being separated from the mainland by a narrow channel. Area, 425 sq. m.; pop. 40,000, seven-eighths Berbers, the rest
Jews. The soil is very fertile, and is laid out in gardens, which produce olives, dates, &c. Fine woolen textiles are made. Jerba is a centre for the Tunisian sponge-fishing. It has been held to be the home of the ancient Lotophagi; ruins of the former capital, Meninx, still exist. See Exiga-Kayser, Description Historique de l'Île Djerba (1885).