Map of Libya | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: From the earliest days of his rule following his 1969 military coup Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system the Third Universal Theory. The system is a combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal practices and is supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people themselves in a unique form of 'direct democracy.' QADHAFI has always seen himself as a revolutionary and visionary leader. He used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. In addition beginning in 1973 he engaged in military operations in northern Chad's Aozou Strip - to gain access to minerals and to use as a base of influence in Chadian politics - but was forced to retreat in 1987. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie Scotland. Libyan support for terrorism appears to have decreased after the sanction imposition. During the 1990s QADHAFI also began to rebuild his relationships with Europe. UN sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally lifted in September 2003 after Libya resolved the Lockerbie case. In December 2003 Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction and QADHAFI has made significant strides in normalizing relations with western nations since then. He has received various Western European leaders as well as many working-level and commercial delegations and made his first trip to Western Europe in 15 years when he traveled to Brussels in April 2004. QADHAFI also finally resolved in 2004 several outstanding cases against his government for terrorist activities in the 1980s by paying compensation to the families of victims of the UTA and La Belle disco bombings.


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Location: Northern Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea between Egypt and Tunisia

Geographic coordinates: 25 00 N 17 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 1,759,540 km²
Land: 1,759,540 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Alaska

Land boundaries
Total: 4,348 km
Border countries: (6) Algeria 982 km; , Chad 1,055 km; , Egypt 1,115 km; , Niger 354 km; , Sudan 383 km; , Tunisia 459 km

Coastline: 1770 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north

Climate: Mediterranean along coast; dry extreme desert interior

Terrain: mostly barren flat to undulating plains plateaus depressions

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
Extremes highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m

Natural resources: petroleum natural gas gypsum

Land use
Arable land: 1.03%
Permanent crops: 0.19%
Other: 98.78% (2001)

Irrigated land: 4,700 km² (1998 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: hot dry dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms sandstorms

Geography
Note: more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert


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Population
Note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2004 est.)
Growth rate: 2.37% (2004 est.)
Below poverty line: NA

Nationality
Noun: Libyan
Adjective: Libyan

Ethnic groups: Berber and Arab 97% Greeks Maltese Italians Egyptians Pakistanis Turks Indians Tunisians

Languages: Arabic Italian English all are widely understood in the major cities

Religions: Sunni Muslim 97%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 34.2% (male 983,050; female 941,603)
15-64 years: 61.7% (male 1,794,396; female 1,679,828)
65 years and over: 4.1% (male 113,391; female 119,317) (2004 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 22.4 years
Male: 22.5 years
Female: 22.2 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.37% (2004 est.)

Birth rate: 27.17 births/1000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate: 3.48 deaths/1000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2004 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project the largest water development scheme in the world is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male/female
65 years and over: 0.95 male/female
Total population: 1.06 male/female (2004 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 25.7 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 28.04 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 23.26 deaths/1000 live births (2004 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.28 years
Male: 74.1 years
Female: 78.58 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.42 children born/woman (2004 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 7,000 (2001 est.)
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 82.6%
Male: 92.4%
Female: 72% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Conventional short form: Libya
Local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma
Local short form: none

Government type: Jamahiriya (a state of the masses) in theory governed by the populace through local councils; in fact a military dictatorship

Capital: Tripoli

Administrative divisions: 25 municipalities (baladiyat singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya Al 'Aziziyah Al Fatih Al Jabal al Akhdar Al Jufrah Al Khums Al Kufrah An Nuqat al Khams Ash Shati' Awbari Az Zawiyah Banghazi Darnah Ghadamis Gharyan Misratah Murzuq Sabha Sawfajjin Surt Tarabulus Tarhunah Tubruq Yafran Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions

Dependent areas

Independence: 24 December 1951 (from Italy)

National holiday: Revolution Day 1 September (1969)

Constitution: 11 December 1969 amended 2 March 1977

Legal system: based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch
Chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
Head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Prime Minister) Shukri Muhammad GHANIM (since 14 June 2003)
Cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress
Elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA)
Election results: NA

Legislative branch: unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: none

International organization participation: ABEDA AfDB AFESD AMF AMU AU CAEU FAO G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM ISO ITU LAS MIGA NAM OAPEC OIC OPCW OPEC PCA UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO (observer) WToO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Libya does not have an embassy in the US but maintains an interest section under the protective power of the United Arab Emirates Embassy in the US
From the us: the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli in May 1980 resumed embassy activities in February 2004 under the protective power of the US interests section of the Belgian Embassy in Tripoli then opened a Liaison Office in Tripoli in June 2004

Flag description: plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion)

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector which contribute practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Libyan officials in the past three years have made progress on economic reforms as part of a broader campaign to reintegrate the country into the international fold. This effort picked up steam after UN sanctions were lifted in September 2003 and as Libya announced in December 2003 that it would abandon programs to build weapons of mass destruction. Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the socialist-oriented economy but initial steps - including applying for WTO membership reducing some subsidies and announcing plans for privatization - are laying the groundwork for a transition to a more market-based economy. The non-oil manufacturing and construction sectors which account for about 20% of GDP have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals iron steel and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output and Libya imports about 75% of its food.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 3.2% (2003 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,400 (2003 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 8.6%
Industry: 46.1%
Services: 45.3% (2003 est.)

Agriculture products: wheat barley olives dates citrus vegetables peanuts soybeans; cattle

Industries: petroleum food processing textiles handicrafts cement

Industrial production growth rate: NA

Labor force: 1.51 million (2003 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 17%
By occupation industry: 29%
By occupation services: 54% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate: 30% (2001)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA
Highest 10: NA

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $10.28 billion
Expenditures: $7.86 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 16.6% of GDP (2003)

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.8% (2003 est.)

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance: $6.641 billion (2003)

Exports: $14.32 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Commodities: crude oil refined petroleum products (1999)
Partners: Italy 38.8% Spain 13.4% Germany 13.4% Turkey 7.1% France 6.1% (2003)

Imports: $6.282 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Commodities: machinery transport equipment food manufactured goods (1999)
Partners: Italy 27.8% Germany 10.5% Tunisia 7.6% UK 7.1% France 6% Turkey 4.6% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $4.194 billion (2003 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.2929 (2003) 1.2707 (2002) 0.6051 (2001) 0.4994 (2000) 0.3936 (1999)


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Electricity
Production: 20.18 billion kWh (2001)
Consumption: 18.77 billion kWh (2001)
Exports: 0 kWh (2001)
Imports: 0 kWh (2001)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 6.18 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Consumption: 5.41 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Exports: 770 million m³ (2001 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2001 est.)
Proven reserves: 1.321 trillion m³ (1 January 2002)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 750,000 (2003)
Mobile cellular: 100,000 (2003)

Telephone system
General assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
Domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations
International: country code - 218; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .ly
Hosts: 67 (2003)
Users: 160,000 (2003)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $1.3 billion (FY99)
Percent of gdp: 3.9% (FY99)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 140 (2003 est.)
With paved runways total: 59
With paved runways over 3047 m: 23
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 6
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 23
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 5
With paved runways under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 80
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 5
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 14
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 41
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2003 est.)

Pipelines: condensate 225 km; gas 3,611 km; oil 7,252 km (2004)

Railways
Note: Libya is working on 7 lines totaling 2,757 km of 1.435-m gauge track; it hopes to open a 191 km line by the end of 2004 (2003)

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 129,627 GRT/105,110 DWT
By type: cargo 8, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea/passenger 4
Foreign owned: Algeria 1, Kuwait 1 (2004 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: Libya has claimed more than 32,000 km² in southeastern Algeria and about 25,000 km² in Niger in currently dormant disputes; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs