1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 1,759,540 km2 land area: 1,759,540 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than Alaska
Climate
Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior
Coastline
1,770 km
Environment
hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; desertification; sparse natural surface-water resources
Gulf of Sidra closing line
32 degrees 30 minutes north
International disputes
claims and occupies the Aozou Strip in northern Chad; maritime boundary dispute with Tunisia; Libya claims part of northern Niger and part of southeastern Algeria
Irrigated land
2,420 km2 (1989 est.)
Land boundaries
total 4,383 km, Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,150 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km
Land use
arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 8% forest and woodland: 0% other: 90%
Location
Northern Africa, on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia
Map references
Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
petroleum, natural gas, gypsum
Note
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
Terrain
mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions
People and Society
Birth rate
45.66 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
8.37 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians
Infant mortality rate
65.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Labor force
1 million includes about 280,000 resident foreigners by occupation: industry 31%, services 27%, government 24%, agriculture 18%
Languages
Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 63.47 years male: 61.35 years female: 65.7 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 64% male: 75% female: 50%
Nationality
noun: Libyan(s) adjective: Libyan
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population
4,872,598 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
3.73% (1993 est.)
Religions
Sunni Muslim 97%
Total fertility rate
6.44 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
25 municipalities (baladiyah, singular - baladiyat); 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
Capital
Tripoli
Chief of State
Revolutionary Leader Col. Mu'ammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969)
Constitution
11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977
Digraph
LY
Diplomatic representation in US
none
Elections
national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of peoples' committees
Executive branch
revolutionary leader, chairman of the General People's Committee (premier), General People's Committee (cabinet)
Flag
plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion)
Head of Government
Chairman of the General People's Committee (Premier) Abu Zayd 'umar DURDA (since 7 October 1990)
Independence
24 December 1951 (from Italy)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court
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
Legislative branch
unicameral General People's Congress
Member of
ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Names
conventional long form: Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishirakiyah local short form: none
National holiday
Revolution Day, 1 September (1969)
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
Political parties and leaders
none
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Type
Jamahiriya (a state of the masses) in theory, governed by the populace through local councils; in fact, a military dictatorship
US diplomatic representation
none
Economy
Agriculture
5% of GNP; cash crops - wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus fruits, peanuts; 75% of food is imported
Budget
revenues $8.1 billion; expenditures $9.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.1 billion (1989 est.)
Currency
1 Libyan dinar (LD) = 1,000 dirhams
Economic aid
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $242 million; no longer a recipient
Electricity
4,935,000 kW capacity; 14,385 million kWh produced, 2,952 kWh per capita (1992)
Exchange rates
Libyan dinars (LD) per US$1 - 0.2998 (January 1993), 0.3013 (1992), 0.2684 (1991), 0.2699 (1990), 0.2922 (1989), 0.2853 (1988)
Exports
$9.71 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas partners: Italy, former USSR, Germany, Spain, France, Belgium/Luxembourg, Turkey
External debt
$3.5 billion excluding military debt (1991 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Imports
$8.66 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods partners: Italy, former USSR, Germany, UK, Japan, Korea
Industrial production
growth rate 10.5%; accounts for 7.6% of GDP (not including oil) (1990)
Industries
petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
7% (1991 est.)
National product
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $26.1 billion (1992 est.)
National product per capita
$5,800 (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate
0.2% (1992 est.)
Overview
The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-third of GDP. In 1990 per capita GDP was the highest in Africa at $5,410, but GDP growth rates have slowed and fluctuate sharply in response to changes in the world oil market. Import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs, although the reopening of the Libyan-Tunisian border in April 1988 and the Libyan-Egyptian border in December 1989 have eased shortages. Austerity budgets and a lack of trained technicians have undermined the government's ability to implement a number of planned infrastructure development projects. Windfall revenues from the hike in world oil prices in late 1990 improved the foreign payments position and resulted in a current account surplus for the first time in five years. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Although agriculture accounts for only 5% of GDP, it employs about 20% of the labor force. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit farm output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food requirements.
Unemployment rate
NA%
Communications
Airports
total: 138 usable: 124 with permanent-surface runways: 56 with runways over 3,659 m: 9 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 27 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 47
Highways
19,300 km total; 10,800 km bituminous/bituminous treated, 8,500 km crushed stone or earth
Inland waterways
none
Merchant marine
32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 694,883 GRT/1,215,494 DWT; includes 4 short-sea passenger, 11 cargo, 4 roll-on/roll-off, 10 oil tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 2 liquefied gas
Pipelines
crude oil 4,383 km; natural gas 1,947 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquified petroleum gas 256 km)
Ports
Tobruk, Tripoli, Banghazi, Misratah, Marsa al Burayqah, Ra's Lanuf, Ra's al Unif
Railroads
Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a standard gauge (1.435 m) line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral rich area, but there has been no progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt to Tobruk with completion set for mid-1994, progress unknown
Telecommunications
modern telecommunications system using radio relay, coaxial cable, tropospheric scatter, and domestic satellite stations; 370,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 17 AM, 3 FM, 12 TV; satellite earth stations - 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, and 14 domestic; submarine cables to France and Italy; radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; planned ARABSAT and Intersputnik satellite stations
Military and Security
Branches
Armed Peoples of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriyah (including Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Command)
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $3.3 billion, 15% of GDP (1989 est.)
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 1,058,134; fit for military service 628,285; reach military age (17) annually 50,997 (1993 est.); conscription now being implemented