Background: Since he took power in a 1969 military coup Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed e.g. the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999.

Geographic coordinates: 25 00 N 17 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 1,759,540 km²
Water: 0 km²
Land: 1,759,540 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: 0.17%
Other: 98.8% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 4,700 km² (1998 est.)

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

Population
Note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya (July 2002 est.)
Growth rate: 2.41% (2002 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%

Age structure
0-14 years: 35% (male 958,243; female 917,940)
15-64 years: 61% (male 1,694,986; female 1,581,400)
65 years and over: 4% (male 105,500; female 110,516) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.41% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 27.59 births/1000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 3.5 deaths/1000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2002 est.)

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, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban

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 (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 27.9 deaths/1000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.86 years
Female: 78.11 years (2002 est.)
Male: 73.71 years

Total fertility rate: 3.57 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.05% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 76.2%
Male: 87.9%
Female: 63% (1995 est.)

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

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

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

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
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: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA%
Cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress
Head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000)

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 AL AMF AMU CAEU CCC ECA FAO G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC ISO ITU NAM OAPEC OAU OIC OPEC PCA UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Libya does not have an embassy in the US
From the us: the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980

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

Economy overview: The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector which contributes 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. Import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil 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. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. The suspension of UN sanctions in 1999 also boosted growth. Libya's January 2002 51% devaluation of the official exchange rate of the dinar is another fiscal plus although it will also bring higher inflation.

Real gdp growth rate: 3% (2001 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2001 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 7%
Industry: 47%
Services: 46% (1997 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: 1.5 million (2000 est.)
By occupation services: 54%
By occupation industry: 29%
By occupation agriculture: 17% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate: 30% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Budget
Revenues: $9.3 billion
Expenditures: $9.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 13.6% (2001 est.)

Exports: $13.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Commodities: crude oil refined petroleum products
Partners: Italy 42% Germany 19% Spain 13% Turkey 6% France 4% Switzerland 3% Tunisia 2% (2000)

Imports: $8.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Commodities: machinery transport equipment food manufactured goods
Partners: Italy 25% Germany 10% UK 8% France 7% Tunisia 7% South Korea 4% (2000)

Debt external: $4.7 billion (2001 est.)

Exchange rates
Note: Libya devalued its official rate for foreign trade on 1 January 2002 to 21.30 dinars per US dollar; the previous official rate was 0.63 dinar per US dollar (Dec 2001 )

Electricity
Production: 19.4 billion kWh (2000)
Production by source fossil fuel: 100%
Production by source hydro: 0%
Production by source other: 0% (2000)
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Consumption: 18.042 billion kWh (2000)
Exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Imports: 0 kWh (2000)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 500,000 (1998)
Mobile cellular: 20,000 (1998)

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: 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)

Internet
Country code: .ly
Service providers isps: 1 (2002)
Users: 20,000 (2001)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $1.3 billion (FY99/00)
Percent of gdp: 3.9% (FY99/00)

Airports: 136 (2001)
With paved runways total: 58
With paved runways over 3047 m: 23
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 6
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 5
With paved runways under 914 m: 2 (2002)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 22
With unpaved runways total: 78
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 18 (2002)
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 5
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 39
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 14

Heliports: 1 (2002)

Pipelines: crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km); natural gas 1947 km

Railways
Note: Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard-gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (2001)

Waterways: none

Merchant marine
Total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 209,000 GRT/278,277 DWT
Ships by type: cargo 9, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4
Note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 1, Kuwait 1, United Arab Emirates 1 (2002 est.)

Disputes international: Chadian rebels from Aozou region reside in Libya; Libya claims about 19,400 km² in Niger as well as part of southeastern Algeria in currently dormant disputes