1994 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1994 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
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
Agriculture
5% of GNP; cash crops - wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus fruits, peanuts; 75% of food is imported
Airports
total: 145 usable: 132 with permanent-surface runways: 57 with runways over 3,659 m: 8 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 28 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 52
Area
total area: 1,759,540 sq km land area: 1,759,540 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Alaska
Birth rate
45.29 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Branches
Armed Peoples of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriyah (including Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Command)
Budget
revenues: $8.1 billion expenditures: $9.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.1 billion (1989 est.)
Capital
Tripoli
Climate
Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior
Coastline
1,770 km
Constitution
11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977
Currency
1 Libyan dinar (LD) = 1,000 dirhams
Death rate
8.14 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $3.3 billion, 15% of GDP (1989 est.)
Digraph
LY
Diplomatic representation in US
none
Economic aid
recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $242 million note: no longer a recipient
Electricity
capacity: 4,935,000 kW production: 14.385 billion kWh consumption per capita: 2,952 kWh (1992)
Environment
current issues: desertification; sparse natural surface-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 natural hazards: hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall international agreements: party to - Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Ethnic divisions
Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians
Exchange rates
Libyan dinars (LD) per US$1 - 0.3233 (January 1994), 0.3250 (1993), 0.3013 (1992), 0.2684 (1991), 0.2699 (1990), 0.2922 (1989)
Executive branch
chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Mu'ammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969) head of government: Chairman of the General People's Committee (Premier) Abd al Majid al-Qa'ud (since 29 January 1994) cabinet: General People's Committee; established by the General People's Congress note: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of peoples' committees
Exports
$7.7 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas partners: Italy, Germany, Spain, France, UK, Turkey, Greece, Egypt
External debt
$3.5 billion excluding military debt (1991 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Flag
plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion)
General People's Congress
national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of peoples' committees
Gulf of Sidra closing line
32 degrees 30 minutes north
Highways
total: 19,300 km paved: bituminous 10,800 km unpaved: gravel, earth 8,500 km
Imports
$8.26 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods partners: Italy, Germany, UK, France, Spain, Turkey, Tunisia, Eastern Europe
Independence
24 December 1951 (from Italy)
Industrial production
growth rate 10.5% (1990)
Industries
petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement
Infant mortality rate
63.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
6% (1993 est.)
Inland waterways
none
International disputes
the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in February 1994 that the 100,000 sq km Aozou Strip between Chad and Libya belongs to Chad, and that Libya must withdraw from it by 31 May 1994; Libya had withdrawn its forces in response to the ICJ ruling, but as of June 1994 still maintained an airfield in the disputed area; maritime boundary dispute with Tunisia; claims part of northern Niger and part of southeastern Algeria
Irrigated land
2,420 sq km (1989 est.)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court
Labor force
1 million (includes about 280,000 resident foreigners) by occupation: industry 31%, services 27%, government 24%, agriculture 18%
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%
Languages
Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the 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; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
unicameral
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 63.88 years male: 61.73 years female: 66.13 years (1994 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 64% male: 75% female: 50%
Location
Northern Africa, on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 1,094,052; fit for military service 649,976; reach military age (17) annually 52,723 (1994 est.)
Map references
Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 12 nm
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, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Merchant marine
31 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 690,703 GRT/1,211,184 DWT, cargo 10, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 2, oil tanker 10, roll-on/roll-off cargo 4, short-sea passenger 4
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)
National product
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $32 billion (1993 est.)
National product per capita
$6,600 (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate
1% (1993 est.)
Nationality
noun: Libyan(s) adjective: Libyan
Natural resources
petroleum, natural gas, gypsum
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Other political or pressure groups
various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements
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. Windfall revenues from the hike in world oil prices in late 1990 improved the foreign payments position and resulted in a current account surplus through 1992. 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. The UN sanctions imposed in April 1992 have not yet had a major impact on the economy because Libya's oil revenues generate sufficient foreign exchange that, along with Libya's large currency reserves, sustain food and consumer goods imports as well as equipment for the oil industry and ongoing development projects.
Pipelines
crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquified petroleum gas 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km
Political parties and leaders
none
Population
5,057,392 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate
3.72% (1994 est.)
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
Religions
Sunni Muslim 97%
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
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
Terrain
mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions
Total fertility rate
6.38 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Type
Jamahiriya (a state of the masses) in theory, governed by the populace through local councils; in fact, a military dictatorship
Unemployment rate
NA%
US diplomatic representation
none