The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks in the area around Tripoli in 1911 and did not relinquish their hold until 1943 when they were defeated in World War II. Libya then passed to UN administration and achieved independence in 1951. Following a 1969 military coup Col. Muammar al-QADHAFI assumed leadership and began to espouse his political system at home which was a combination of socialism and Islam. During the 1970s QADHAFI used oil revenues to promote his ideology outside Libya supporting subversive and terrorist activities that included the downing of two airliners - one over Scotland another in Northern Africa - and a discotheque bombing in Berlin. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically and economically following the attacks; sanctions were lifted in 2003 following Libyan acceptance of responsibility for the bombings and agreement to claimant compensation. QADHAFI also agreed to end Libya's program to develop weapons of mass destruction and he made significant strides in normalizing relations with Western nations.
Unrest that began in several Middle Eastern and North African countries in late 2010 erupted in Libyan cities in early 2011. QADHAFI's brutal crackdown on protesters spawned a civil war that triggered UN authorization of air and naval intervention by the international community. After months of seesaw fighting between government and opposition forces the QADHAFI regime was toppled in mid-2011 and replaced by a transitional government known as the National Transitional Council (NTC). In 2012 the NTC handed power to an elected parliament the General National Congress (GNC). Voters chose a new parliament to replace the GNC in June 2014 - the House of Representatives (HoR) which relocated to the eastern city of Tobruk after fighting broke out in Tripoli.
In October 2015 the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) to Libya Bernardino LEON brokered an agreement among a broad array of Libyan political parties and social groups - known as the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA). Members of the Libyan Political Dialogue including representatives of the HoR and ex-GNC signed the LPA in December 2015. The LPA called for the formation of an interim Government of National Accord or GNA with a nine-member Presidency Council the HoR and an advisory High Council of State that most ex-GNC members joined. The LPA’s roadmap for a two-year transition to a new constitution and elected government was subsequently endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2,259 which also called upon member states to cease official contact with parallel institutions. In January 2016 the HoR voted to approve the LPA including the Presidency Council while voting against a controversial provision on security leadership positions. In March 2016 the GNA Presidency Council seated itself in Tripoli. In 2016 the GNA twice announced a slate of ministers who operate de facto but the HoR did not endorse the ministerial list. HoR and ex-GNC-affiliated hardliners continued to oppose the GNA and hampered the LPA’s implementation.

arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 0.2%
permanent pasture: 7.6%

Despite continuing unrest Libya remains a destination country for economic migrants. It is also a hub for transit migration to Europe because of its proximity to southern Europe and its lax border controls. Labor migrants have been drawn to Libya since the development of its oil sector in the 1960s. Until the latter part of the 1990s most migrants to Libya were Arab (primarily Egyptians and Sudanese). However international isolation stemming from Libya’s involvement in international terrorism and a perceived lack of support from Arab countries led QADHAFI in 1998 to adopt a decade-long pan-African policy that enabled large numbers of sub-Saharan migrants to enter Libya without visas to work in the construction and agricultural industries. Although sub-Saharan Africans provided a cheap labor source they were poorly treated and were subjected to periodic mass expulsions.
By the mid-2000s domestic animosity toward African migrants and a desire to reintegrate into the international community motivated QADHAFI to impose entry visas on Arab and African immigrants and to agree to joint maritime patrols and migrant repatriations with Italy the main recipient of illegal migrants departing Libya. As his regime neared collapse in 2011 QADHAFI reversed his policy of cooperating with Italy to curb illegal migration and sent boats loaded with migrants and asylum seekers to strain European resources. Libya’s 2011 revolution decreased immigration drastically and prompted nearly 800,000 migrants to flee to third countries mainly Tunisia and Egypt or to their countries of origin. The inflow of migrants declined in 2012 but returned to normal levels by 2013 despite continued hostility toward sub-Saharan Africans and a less-inviting job market.
While Libya is not an appealing destination for migrants since 2014 transiting migrants – primarily from East and West Africa – continue to exploit its political instability and weak border controls and use it as a primary departure area to migrate across the central Mediterranean to Europe in growing numbers. In addition more than 200,000 people were displaced internally as of August 2017 by fighting between armed groups in eastern and western Libya and to a lesser extent by inter-tribal clashes in the country’s south.

urban: 54.2% of population
rural: 54.9% of population
total: 54.4% of population
urban: 45.8% of population
rural: 45.1% of population
total: 45.6% of population (2001 est.)

urban: 96.8% of population
rural: 95.7% of population
total: 96.6% of population
urban: 3.2% of population
rural: 4.3% of population
total: 3.4% of population (2015 est.)

Libya's economy almost entirely dependent on oil and gas exports has struggled since 2014 as the country plunged into civil war and world oil prices dropped to seven-year lows. In early 2015 armed conflict between rival forces for control of the country’s largest oil terminals caused a decline in Libyan crude oil production which never recovered to more than one-third of the average pre-Revolution highs of 1.6 million barrels per day. The Central Bank of Libya continued to pay government salaries to a majority of the Libyan workforce and to fund subsidies for fuel and food resulting in an estimated budget deficit of about 20% of GDP in 2016.
Libya’s economic transition away from QADHAFI’s notionally socialist model has completely stalled as political chaos persists and security continues to deteriorate. Libya’s leaders have hindered economic development by failing to use its financial resources to invest in national infrastructure. The country suffers from widespread power outages in its largest cities caused by shortages of fuel for power generation. Living conditions including access to clean drinking water medical services and safe housing have all declined as the civil war has forced more people to become internally displaced further straining local resources.
Extremists affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) attacked Libyan oilfields in the first half of 2015; ISIL has a presence in many cities across Libya including near oil infrastructure threatening future government revenues from oil and gas.

$40.02 billion (2016 est.)
$40.73 billion (2015 est.)
$44.91 billion (2014 est.)

-3% (2016 est.)
-10.3% (2015 est.)
-53% (2014 est.)

$6,300 (2016 est.)
$6,500 (2015 est.)
$7,300 (2014 est.)

-11% of GDP (2016 est.)
-8% of GDP (2015 est.)
-6.8% of GDP (2014 est.)

7.4% of GDP (2016 est.)
7.1% of GDP (2015 est.)

27.1% (2016 est.)
12.1% (2015 est.)

9.52% (31 December 2010)
3% (31 December 2009)

6% (31 December 2016 est.)
6% (31 December 2015 est.)

$62.57 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$52.53 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$63.76 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$53.84 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$14.14 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$786.9 million (31 December 2015 est.)

$-4.575 billion (2016 est.)
$-4.582 billion (2015 est.)

$11.99 billion (2016 est.)
$13.94 billion (2015 est.)

$11.01 billion (2016 est.)
$11.24 billion (2015 est.)

$66.05 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$73.83 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$3.116 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$3.985 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$18.96 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$18.83 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$22.19 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$21.59 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

Libyan dinars (LYD) per US dollar -
1.3904 (2016 est.)
1.3904 (2015 est.)
1.379 (2014 est.)
1.2724 (2013 est.)
1.26 (2012 est.)