1987 Edition

Boundary disputes

none; claims Aozou Strip in northern Chad; occupies northern Chad; maritime dispute with Tunisia

Climate

Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior

Coastline

1,770 km

Comparative area

larger than Alaska

Environment

hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting 1-4 days in spring and fall; desertification; sparse natural water resources

Gulf of Sidra closing line

32° 30'N

Land boundaries

4,345 km total

Land use

1% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 8% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 91% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Member of

AfDB, Arab League, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB— Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, W1PO, WMO, WSG

Other political or pressure groups

various Arab nationalist movements and the Arab Socialist Resurrection (Ba'th) party with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements

Special notes

largest water development scheme in world being built to bring water from deep wells under Sahara Desert to coast

Terrain

mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

6 Tobruk Misratah \ Guif of Sidra\ Banghazt 400 km

1,759,540 km?; land area: 1,759,540 km?

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

84/1,000 (1985)

Labor force

1 million, of which about 280,000 are resident foreigners; 31% industry, 27% services, 24% government, 18% agriculture

Language

Arabic; Italian and English widely understood in major cities

Life expectancy

men 56, women 59

Literacy

50-60%

Nationality

noun—Libyan(s); adjective— Libyan

Population

3,306,825 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 3.39%

Religion

97% Sunni Muslim

Administrative divisions

46 municipalities closely controlled by central government

Branches

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

Capital

Tripoli

Communists

no organized party, negligible membership

Elections

representatives to the General People’s Congress are drawn from popularly elected municipal committees Politica] parties: none

Government leaders

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

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

National holiday

Revolution Day, 1 September

Official name

Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Suffrage

mandatory universal adult

Type

republic

Agriculture

wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus fruits, peanuts; 65% of food is imported

Budget

revenues, $10 billion; expenditures, $9.9 billion, including development expenditure of $5.7 billion (1985 est.)

Electric power

4,110,000 kW capacity; 12,600 million kWh produced, 3,250 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$5.0 billion (f.0.b., 1986); petroleum

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

roughly $20 billion (1986 est.), $6,260 per capita; inflation rate 15% (1986)

Imports

$5.0 billion (f.0.b., 1986); manufactures, food

Major industries

petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts

Major trade partners

imports—lItaly, FRG; exports—Italy, FRG, Spain, France, Japan, UK

Monetary conversion rate

.317 dinars=US$1 (November 1986)

Natural resources

petroleum, natural gas, gypsum

Airfields

127 total, 115 usable; 45 with permanent-surface runways, 8 with runways over 3,659 m, 25 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 88 with runways 1,220-2,489 m

Civil air

75 major transport aircraft

Highways

19,300 km total; 10,800 km bituminous and bituminous treated, 8,500 km gravel, crushed stone and earth

Pipelines

crude oil 4,383 km; natural gas 1,947 km; refined products 443 km (includes 256 km liquid petroleum gas)

Ports

4 major (Tobruk, Tripoli, Banghazi, Misratah), 2 secondary, 15 minor, and 6 petroleum terminals

Railroads

none

Telecommunications

16 AM, 3 FM, 12 TV stations; 175,000 TV sets; 167,000 receiver sets; ] satellite ground station

Branches

Armed Forces of the Libyan Arab Jamahariya (including Army, Arab Air Force, Air Defense Command, Arab Navy)

Military manpower

males 15-49, 905,000; 532,000 fit for military service; 44,000 reach military age (17) annually; conscription now being implemented