1985 Edition

Airfields

79 total, 75 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,4403,659 m, 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command

Armed Forces of Liberia, Liberia National Coast Guard

paramount political power and authority rests with the Secretariat of the General People's Congress, which theoretically functions as a parliament with a cabinet called the General People's Committee

Capital

Tripoli

Civil air

2 major transport aircraft

Coastline

307 km People

1,770 km People

Communists

no organized party, negligible membership

Elections

representatives to the General People's Congress are drawn from popularly elected municipal committees

Ethnic divisions

89% mestizo, 10% Indian, 1% white

97% Berber and Arab with some black stock; some Greeks, Maltese, Jews, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, and Tunisians

Government leaders

Col. Mu'ammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (no official title; runs country and is treated as chief of state; Mif tah al-Ista 'UMAR, Secretary of the General People's Congress (chief of state in theory but not treated as such)

Highways

10,087 km total; 603 km bituminous treated, 2,848 km all-weather, 4,313 km dry-weather

Inland waterways

no significant waterways

Labor force

1.7 million (est. 1982); 25% agriculture, 16% manufacturing, 16% commerce, 13% government, 9% financial

1.5 million, of which about 550,000 are resident foreigners Government

Land boundaries

515 km Water

4,345 km Water

Language

Spanish, Nahua (among some Indians)

Arabic; Italian and English widely understood in major cities

Legal system

based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; legal education at Law School at University of Libya at Benghazi; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

200 nm

12 nm (except for Gulf of Sidra where sovereignty is claimed and northern limit of jurisdiction fixed at 32°30'N and the unilaterally proclaimed 100 nm zone around Tripoli)

Literacy

65%

50%

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 30 June 1984, $22.4 million; 5.8% of central government budget Mediterranean TRIPOLI Set Stcr«|loiulntipVII Land 1,759,540 km8; larger than Alaska; 93% desert, waste, or urban; 6% agricultural; 1% forest

Military manpower

males 15-49, 12,035,000; 7,848,000 fit for military service; about 495,000 reach military age (20) annually not necessarily authontativ 60km North Pacific Ocean Land 21,041 km2; the size of Massachusetts; 32% crop (9% corn, 7% coffee, 5% cotton, 11% other), 31% nonagricultural, 26% meadow and pasture, 1 1 % forest

males 15-49, 482,000; 260,000 fit for military service; no conscription

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 September

Nationality

noun — Salvadoran(s); adjective— Salvadoran

noun — Libyan(s); adjective — Libyan

Official name

Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Political parties

none

Political subdivisions

10 administrative provinces closely controlled by central government

Population

5,072,000 (July 1985), average annual growth rate 2.8%

4,003,000 (July 1985), average annual growth rate 6.5%

Ports

1 major (Monrovia), 4 minor

Railroads

487 km total; 342 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 145 km 1.067-meter narrow gauge; all lines single track; rail systems owned and operated by foreign steel and financial interests in conjunction with Liberian Government

Religion

predominantly Roman Catholic (probably 97-98%), with activity by Protestant groups throughout the country

97% Sunni Muslim

Suffrage

universal adult

Telecommunications

telephone and telegraph service via radio-relay network; main center is Monrovia; 7,700 telephones (0.5 per 100 popl.); 3 AM, 4 FM, 5 TV stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station Defense Forces

Type

republic; major overhaul of the constitution and government structure in March 1977 established a system of popular congresses, which theoretically controls the ruling General Secretariat