|
| 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. |
| Location: |
Northern
Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea,
between Egypt and Tunisia |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
25
00 N, 17 00 E |
| Area: |
total:
1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly
larger than Alaska |
| Land
boundaries: |
total:
4,383 km
border countries: Algeria 982
km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,150 km, Niger
354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
territorial
sea: 12 NM
note: 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
highest point: Bikku Bitti
2,267 m |
| Natural
resources: |
petroleum,
natural gas, gypsum |
| Land
use: |
arable
land: 1%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 8%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 91% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
4,700
sq km (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
hot,
dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind
lasting one to four days in spring and
fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
| 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 |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party
to: Climate Change,
Desertification, Marine Dumping, Ozone
Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test
Ban |
| Geography
- note: |
more
than 90% of the country is desert or
semidesert |
| Population: |
5,240,599
note: includes 662,669
non-nationals, of which an estimated
500,000 or more are Africans living in
Libya (July 2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14
years: 35.41% (male 947,645;
female 907,854)
15-64 years: 60.64% (male
1,645,085; female 1,533,066)
65 years and over: 3.95%
(male 101,701; female 105,248) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
2.42%
(2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
27.67
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
3.51
deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at
birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.97
male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female
(2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
28.99
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 75.65 years
male: 73.53 years
female: 77.88 years (2001
est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
3.64
children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.05%
(1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| Nationality: |
noun:
Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Berber
and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians,
Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians,
Tunisians |
| Religions: |
Sunni
Muslim 97% |
| Languages: |
Arabic,
Italian, English, all are widely
understood in the major cities |
| 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 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 |
| 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
head of government: Secretary
of the General People's Committee
(Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2
March 2000)
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: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH
elected premier; percent of General
People's Congress vote - 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 |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
various
Arab nationalist movements with almost
negligible memberships may be functioning
clandestinely, as well as some Islamic
elements |
| 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,
Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO,
ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
Libya
does not have an embassy in the US |
| Diplomatic
representation 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. In this statist 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
requirements. Higher oil prices in 1999
and 2000 led to an increase in export
revenues, which improved macroeconomic
balances and helped to stimulate the
economy. Following the suspension of UN
sanctions in 1999, Libya has been trying
to increase its attractiveness to foreign
investors, and several foreign companies
have visited in search of contracts. |
| GDP: |
purchasing
power parity - $45.4 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
6.5%
(2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing
power parity - $8,900 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
7%
industry: 47%
services: 46% (1997 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest
10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
18.5%
(2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
1.5
million (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
services
and government 54%, industry 29%,
agriculture 17% (1997 est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
30%
(2000 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$6.85 billion
expenditures: $4.4 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA
(2000 est.) |
| Industries: |
petroleum,
food processing, textiles, handicrafts,
cement |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
NA% |
| Electricity
- production: |
18.9
billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil
fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
17.577
billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0
kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0
kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
wheat,
barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables,
peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
| Exports: |
$13.9
billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
crude
oil, refined petroleum products |
| Exports
- partners: |
Italy
33%, Germany 24%, Spain 10%, France 5%,
Turkey 4%, Tunisia 4% (1999) |
| Imports: |
$7.6
billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
machinery,
transport equipment, food, manufactured
goods |
| Imports
- partners: |
Italy
24%, Germany 12%, Tunisia 9%, UK 7%,
France 6%, South Korea 5% (1999) |
| Debt
- external: |
$4.1
billion (2000 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$8.4
million (1995) |
| Currency: |
Libyan
dinar (LYD) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Libyan
dinars per US dollar - 0.5101 (January
2001), 0.5081 (2000), 0.4616 (1999),
0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997), 0.3651
(1996)
note: Libya currently has two
rates for foreign trade; one for
government operations and foreign
companies and one for Libyan individuals
(0.45 dinars per US dollar in December
1998) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar
year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
380,000
(1996) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
NA |
| 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) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM
17, FM 4, shortwave 3 (1998) |
| Radios: |
1.35
million (1997) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
12
(plus one low-power repeater) (1998) |
| Televisions: |
730,000
(1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.ly |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
1
(2000) |
| Internet
users: |
7,500
(2000) |
| 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) |
| Highways: |
total:
24,484 km
paved: 6,800 km
unpaved: 17,684 km (1996) |
| Pipelines: |
crude
oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km
(includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG
256 km); natural gas 1,947 km |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Al
Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah,
Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli,
Zuwarah |
| Merchant
marine: |
total:
28 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
399,725 GRT/654,843 DWT
ships by type: cargo 10,
chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3,
petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 4,
short-sea passenger 4 (2000 est.) |
| Airports: |
136
(2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
58
over 3,047 m: 23
2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 22
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
78
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 40
under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
| Disputes
- international: |
Libya
claims about 19,400 sq km in northern
Niger and also a part of southeastern
Algeria |
|
