Background: Berbers have inhabited central north Africa since ancient times, but the region has been settled and ruled by Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Vandals. In the the 7th century, Islam spread through the region; in the mid-16th century, Ottoman rule began. 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.

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
Rank: 18
Comparative: about 2.5 times the size of Texas; slightly larger than Alaska

Land boundaries
Total: 4,339 km
Border countries: (6) Algeria 989 km; , Chad 1050 km; , Egypt 1115 km; , Niger 342 km; , Sudan 382 km; , Tunisia 461 km

Coastline: 1770 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive fishing zone: 62
Note:

Climate: Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior

Terrain: mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions

Elevation
Mean elevation: 423 m
Lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
Highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, gypsum

Land use
Agricultural land: 8.8% (2011 est.)
Forest: 0.1% (2011 est.)
Other: 91.1% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 4,700 km² (2012)

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: note 1: more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesertnote 2: the volcano Waw an Namus lies in south central Libya in the middle of the Sahara; the caldera is an oasis - the name means 'oasis of mosquitoes' - containing several small lakes surrounded by vegetation and hosting various insects and a large diversity of birds

Population
Distribution rank: population distribution map: 6,890,535 (July 2020 est.)
Note: immigrants make up just over 12% of the total population, according to UN data (2017)
Rank: 107
Growth rate: 1.94% (2020 est.)
Growth rate rank: 49
Below poverty line note: about one-third of Libyans live at or below the national poverty line

Nationality
Noun: Libyan(s)
Adjective: Libyan

Ethnic groups: Berber and Arab 97%, other 3% (includes Egyptian, Greek, Indian, Italian, Maltese, Pakistani, Tunisian, and Turkish)

Languages: Arabic (official), Italian, English (all widely understood in the major cities); Berber (Nafusi, Ghadamis, Suknah, Awjilah, Tamasheq)

Religions: Muslim (official; virtually all Sunni) 96.6%, Christian 2.7%, Buddhist 0.3%, Hindu <0.1, Jewish <0.1, folk religion <0.1, unafilliated 0.2%, other <0.1 (2010 est.)
Note: non-Sunni Muslims include native Ibadhi Muslims (<1% of the population) and foreign Muslims

Demographic profile: 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.

Age structure
0-14 years: 33.65% (male 1,184,755/female 1,134,084)
15-24 years: 15.21% (male 534,245/female 513,728)
25-54 years: 41.57% (male 1,491,461/female 1,373,086)
55-64 years: 5.52% (male 186,913/female 193,560)
65 years and over: 4.04% (male 129,177/female 149,526) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 47.7
Youth dependency ratio: 41
Elderly dependency ratio: 6.7
Potential support ratio: 15 (2020 est.)

Median age
Total: 25.8 years
Male: 25.9 years
Female: 25.7 years (2020 est.)
Rank: 156

Population growth rate: 1.94% (2020 est.)
Rank: 49

Birth rate: 23 births/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 58

Death rate: 3.5 deaths/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 218

Net migration rate: -0.7 migrant(s)/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 131

Population distribution
Rank: population distribution map

Urbanization
Urban population: 80.7% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 1.68% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 1.165 million TRIPOLI (capital), 881,000 Misratah, 824,000 Benghazi (2020)

Environment
Current issues: desertification; limited natural freshwater resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, brings water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities; water pollution is a significant problem; the combined impact of sewage, oil byproducts, and industrial waste threatens Libya's coast and the Mediterranean Sea
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 11.5 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 12.9 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 10 deaths/1000 live births (2020 est.)
Rank: 112

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.7 years
Male: 74.4 years
Female: 79.1 years (2020 est.)
Rank: 90

Total fertility rate: 3.17 children born/woman (2020 est.)
Rank: 47

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 27.7% (2014)

Physicians density: 2.09 physicians/1000 population (2017)

Hospital bed density: 3.2 beds/1000 population (2017)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2019)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 103
People living with hivaids: 9,500 (2019)
People living with hivaids rank: 106
Deaths note: <500 (2019)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 32.5% (2016)
Rank: 16

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 11.7% (2014)
Rank: 56

Education expenditures
Note: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 91%
Male: 96.7%
Female: 85.6% (2015)

Country name
Conventional long form: State of Libya
Conventional short form: Libya
Local long form: Dawiat Libiya
Local short form: Libiya
Etymology: name derives from the Libu, an ancient Libyan tribe first mentioned in texts from the 13th century B.C.

Government type: in transition

Capital
Name: Tripoli (Tarabulus)
Geographic coordinates: 32 53 N, 13 10 E
Time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time): etymology: originally founded by the Phoenicians as Oea in the 7th century B.C., the city changed rulers many times over the successive centuries; by the beginning of the 3rd century A.D. the region around the city was referred to as Regio Tripolitana by the Romans, meaning 'region of the three cities' - namely Oea (i.e., modern Tripoli), Sabratha (to the west), and Leptis Magna (to the east); over time, the shortened name of 'Tripoli' came to refer to just Oea, which derives from the Greek words 'tria' and 'polis' meaning 'three cities'

Administrative divisions: 22 governorates (muhafazah, singular - muhafazat); Al Butnan, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jabal al Gharbi, Al Jafarah, Al Jufrah, Al Kufrah, Al Marj, Al Marqab, Al Wahat, An Nuqat al Khams, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi (Benghazi), Darnah, Ghat, Misratah, Murzuq, Nalut, Sabha, Surt, Tarabulus (Tripoli), Wadi al Hayat, Wadi ash Shati

Independence: 24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship)

National holiday: Liberation Day, 23 October (2011)

Constitution
History: previous 1951, 1977; in July 2017, the Constitutional Assembly completed and approved a draft of a new permanent constitution; in September 2018, the House of Representatives passed a constitutional referendum law in a session with contested reports of the quorum needed to pass the vote, and submitted it to the High National Elections Commission in December to begin preparations for a constitutional referendum

Legal system: Libya's post-revolution legal system is in flux and driven by state and non-state entities

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICC

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent or grandparent must be a citizen of Libya
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: varies from 3 to 5 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Chairman, Presidential Council, Fayiz al-SARAJ (since December 2015)
Head of government: Prime Minister Fayiz al-SARAJ (since December 2015)
Cabinet: GNA Presidency Council (pending approval by the House of Representatives - as of December 2018)
Electionsappointments: 

direct presidential election to be held pending election-related legislation and constitutional referendum law

Election results: NA

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral House of Representatives (Majlis Al Nuwab) or HoR (200 seats including 32 reserved for women; members directly elected by majority vote; member term NA); note - the High Council of State serves as an advisory group for the HoR
Elections: last held on 25 June 2014 ( parliamentary election to be held pending election-related legislation); note - the Libyan Supreme Court in November 2014 declared the HoR election unconstitutional, but the HoR and the international community rejected the ruling
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 158, women 30, percent of women 16%; note - only 188 of the 200 seats were filled in the June 2014 election because of boycotts and lack of security at some polling stations; some elected members of the HoR also boycotted the election

Judicial branch: NA; note - government is in transition

Political parties and leaders: NA

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: 

Ambassador Wafa M.T. BUGHAIGHIS (since 29 November 2017)

In the us chancery: 

1460 Dahlia Street NW, Washington, DC

In the us telephone: [1] (202) 944-9,601
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 944-9,606
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Richard B. NORLAND (since 22 August 2019)
From the us telephone: [218] (0) 91-220-3,239
From the us embassy: Sidi Slim Area/Walie Al-Ahed Road, Tripoli (temporarily closed); please direct inquiries regarding US citizens in Libya to LibyaEmergencyUSC@state.gov
From the us mailing address: US Embassy, 8,850 Tripoli Place, Washington, DC 20,521-8,850
From the us note: the US Embassy in Tripoli closed in July 2014 due to fighting near the embassy related to Libyan civil unrest; embassy staff and operations temporarily first relocated to Valetta, Malta and currently are temporarily relocated to Tunis, Tunisia

Flag description: three horizontal bands of red (top), black (double width), and green with a white crescent and star centered on the black stripe; the National Transitional Council reintroduced this flag design of the former Kingdom of Libya (1951-1969) on 27 February 2011; it replaced the former all-green banner promulgated by the QADHAFI regime in 1977; the colors represent the three major regions of the country: red stands for Fezzan, black symbolizes Cyrenaica, and green denotes Tripolitania; the crescent and star represent Islam, the main religion of the country

National symbols: star and crescent, hawk; national colors: red, black, green

National anthem
Name: Libya, Libya, Libya
Lyricsmusic: Al Bashir AL AREBI/Mohamad Abdel WAHAB
Note: also known as 'Ya Beladi' or 'Oh, My Country!'; adopted 1951; readopted 2011 with some modification to the lyrics; during the QADHAFI years between 1969 and 2011, the anthem was 'Allahu Akbar,' (God is Great) a marching song of the Egyptian Army in the 1956 Suez War

Real gdp purchasing power parity
Real:
Real note: data are in 2010 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 1

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2010 dollars
Rank: 126

Gross national saving:
Rank: 177

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 71.6% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 19.4% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 2.7% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1.3% (2016 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 38.8% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -33.8% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1.3% (2017 est.)
Industry: 52.3% (2017 est.)
Services: 46.4% (2017 est.)

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

Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, aluminum, iron and steel, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement

Industrial production growth rate: 60.3% (2017 est.)
Rank: 1

Labor force: 1.114 million (2017 est.)
Rank: 137
By occupation agriculture: 17%
By occupation industry: 23%
By occupation services: 59% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate: 30% (2004 est.)
Rank: 207

Population below poverty line
Note: about one-third of Libyans live at or below the national poverty line

Budget
Revenues: 15.78 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 23.46 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -25.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 219

Taxes and other revenues: 51.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 14

Public debt:
Rank: 205

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 223

Current account balance:
Rank: 36

Exports:
Rank: 80
Partners: Italy 19%, Spain 12.5%, France 11%, Egypt 8.6%, Germany 8.6%, China 8.3%, US 4.9%, UK 4.6%, Netherlands 4.5% (2017)
Commodities: crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas, chemicals

Imports:
Rank: 101
Commodities: machinery, semi-finished goods, food, transport equipment, consumer products
Partners: China 13.5%, Turkey 11.3%, Italy 6.9%, South Korea 5.9%, Spain 4.8% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 31

Debt external:
Rank: 143

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100% (2019)
Production: 34.24 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Production note: persistent electricity shortages have contributed to the ongoing instability throughout the country
Production rank: 61
Consumption: 27.3 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 65
Exports: 0 kWh (2015 est.)
Exports rank: 160
Imports: 376 million kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 83
Installed generating capacity: 9.46 million kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 62
Generation sources fossil fuels: 100% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 11
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 129
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 183
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 199

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 1.039 million bbl/day (2018 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 19
Crude oil exports: 337,800 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports note: Libyan crude oil export values are highly volatile because of continuing protests and other disruptions across the country
Crude oil exports rank: 23
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 154
Crude oil proven reserves: 48.36 billion bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 9

Refined petroleum
Products production: 89,620 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 69
Products consumption: 260,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 49
Products exports: 16,880 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 71
Products imports: 168,200 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 36

Natural gas
Production: 9.089 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 43
Consumption: 4.446 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 64
Exports: 4.644 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 31
Imports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 150
Proven reserves: 1.505 trillion m³ (1 January 2018 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 21

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 46.48 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 62

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 1,618,511
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 23.95 (2019 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 62
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 6,182,105
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 91.48 (2019 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 111

Broadcast media: state-funded and private TV stations; some provinces operate local TV stations; pan-Arab satellite TV stations are available; state-funded radio (2019)

Internet
Country code: .ly
Users total: 1,440,859
Users percent of population: 21.76% (July 2018 est.)
Users rank: 131

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 168,920
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 3 (2017 est.)
Rank: 113

Military and security forces: note - in transition; the Government of National Accord (GNA) has various ground, air, naval, and coast guard forces under its command; the forces are comprised of a mix of semi-regular military units, tribal militias, civilian volunteers, and foreign troops and mercenariesforces under Khalifa HAFTER, known as the Libyan National Army (LNA), also include various ground, air, and naval units comprised of semi-regular military personnel, tribal militias, and foreign troops and mercenaries (2019)

Terrorist groups: Ansar al-Sharia groups; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham - Libya; al-Mulathamun Battalion (al-Mourabitoun); al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (2019)
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in a title='Appendix-T' href='../appendix/appendix-t.html'>Appendix-T/a>

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 9 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 55
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 927,153 (2018)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: 5A (2016)

Airports: 146 (2013)
Rank: 39
With paved runways total: 68 (2017)
With paved runways over 3047 m: 23 (2017)
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 7 (2017)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 30 (2017)
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 7 (2017)
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2017)
With unpaved runways total: 78 (2013)
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 2 (2013)
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 5 (2013)
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 14 (2013)
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 37 (2013)
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 20 (2013)

Heliports: 2 (2013)

Pipelines: 882 km condensate, 3,743 km gas, 7,005 km oil (2013)

Roadways
Total: 37,000 km (2010)
Paved: 34,000 km (2010)
Unpaved: 3,000 km (2010)
Rank: 92

Merchant marine
Total: 94
By type: general cargo 2, oil tanker 12, other 80 (2019)
Rank: 94

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Marsa al Burayqah (Marsa el Brega), Tripoli
Oil terminal: Az Zawiyah, Ras Lanuf
LNG terminal: Marsa el Brega

Disputes international: dormant disputes include Libyan claims of about 32,000 km² still reflected on its maps of southeastern Algeria and the FLN's assertions of a claim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 16,820 (Syria) (refugees and asylum seekers), 12,220 (Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers), 5,899 (Eritrea) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2019)
IDPs: 392,241 (conflict between pro-QADHAFI and anti-QADHAFI forces in 2011; post-QADHAFI tribal clashes 2014) (2020)