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Country Facts - Libya

The People

Nationality

Libyan(s)

Ethnic Composition

Berber and Arab  97%
Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks,
Indians, and Tunisians 		 3%

Religious Composition

Sunni Muslim  97%

Languages Spoken

Arabic, Italian, and English are spoken in most large urban areas.

Education and Literacy

The government has invested heavily in education, funding free schooling at all levels. Seven years are compulsory. Adult literacy is 76.2 percent; male literacy is at 87.9 percent, while famale literacy stands at 63 percent. (1995)

Labor Force

Total:   1.5 million (2000)
By occupation:
Services and government 54%
Industry 29%
Agriculture 17%
(1997)

Geography

Land Mass Total

679,362 sq mi (1,759,540 sq km)

Land

679,362 sq mi (1,759,540 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 2,701 mi (4,348 km)
Border countries: Algeria 610 mi (982 km) Chad 655 mi (1,055 km), Egypt 692 mi(1,115 km), Niger 219 mi (354 km), Sudan 237 mi (383 km), Tunisia 285 mi (459 km)

Coastline

1,099 mi (1,770 km)

Maritime claim

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees 30 minutes north.

Climate/Weather

Mediterranean along the coast; dry, extreme desert interior.

Terrain

Mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, and depressions.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil 154 ft (47 m)
Highest: Bikku Bitti 7,437 ft (2,267 m)

Natural Resources

Petroleum, natural gas, gypsum.

Land use

Arable land 1%
Permanent crops 0%
Other 99%
(1998)

Natural hazards

Hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; constant dust storms and sandstorms.

Environment - current issues

Desertification due to very limited natural freshwater 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.

Geography Note

More than 90% of the country is desert or semi-desert

Demographics

Population

5,368,585 (July 2002)
Note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya.

Age structure

0-14 years: 35% Male: 958,243  Female: 917,940
15-64 years: 61% Male: 1,694,986 Female: 1,581,400
65 years and over: 4% Male: 105,500 Female: 110,516

Growth Rate

2.41% (2002)

Life Expectancy

75.86 years
Female: 78.11 years
Male: 73.71 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$7,600 (2001)

Infant Mortality

27.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

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: 0.95 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.06 male(s)/female
(2002)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade
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. 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 percent 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 percent of its food. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. The suspension of UN sanctions in 1999 also boosted growth. Libya's January 2002 devaluation of the official exchange rate of the dinar by 51 percent was originally devised to boost exports but only brought on higher inflation. Foreign direct investment into the petroleum and gas sectors during 2002 and 2003 is expected to pay off with GDP growth topping 3.5 percent by 2004. Libya continues to overproduce against its OPEC quotas, although these quotas are expected to change in the wake of the Iraqi-U.S. conflict. Libya has been trying as of late to pay back long-standing debt in an effort to ingratiate itself with the international finance community.

Unemployment

30% (2000)

Inflation Rate

13.6% (2001)

Industries

Petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement.

Exports

US$13.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$8.7 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$40 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

Italy 42%, Germany 19%, Spain 13%, Turkey 6%, France 4%, Switzerland 3%, Tunisia 2% (2000)

Top Import Partners

Italy 25%, Germany 10%, UK 8%, France 7%, Tunisia 7%, South Korea 4% (2000)

Top Exports

Crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas.

Top Imports

Machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods.

Debt - external

US$4.7 billion (2001)

Economic aid

US$7 million (1999)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek
  Saturday - Thursday (Islamic workweek) Friday
Offices 7:30a.m. to 2:30p.m. and
4p.m. to 5:30p.m. (Saturday to Wednesday only)		 Closed
Retail 7:30a.m. to 2:30p.m.
4p.m. to 5:30p.m. (Saturday to Wednesday only)		 Closed
Banks Winter: 8a.m. to 1p.m.
Summer: 8a.m. to 12:30p.m.
4p.m. to 7p.m. (Saturday to Wednesday)		 Closed
Government Winter (Nov. 1 - Mar. 31):  7:30a.m. to 2:30p.m.
Summer: 7a.m. to 2p.m.		 Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays 2003 2004 2005
New Year's Day January 1 January 1 January 1
Festival of Sacrifice (Eid Al Adha)¹ February 12 February 2 February 10
Declaration of Central Authority March 3 March 3 March 3
Islamic New Year² March 5 February 22 February 10
British Evacuation Day March 28 March 28 March 28
Birthday of Prophet Mohammad (Mawlid an Nabi)³ May 14 May 2 April 21
Evacuation Day June 11 June 11 June 11
Revolution Day July 23 July 23 July 23
National Day September 1 September 1 September 1
Italian Evacuation Day October 7 October 7 October 7
Start of Ramadan*¹   October 27 October 15 October 4
End of Ramadan (Eid Al Fitr)*² November 26 November 14 November 3

¹ Culmination of the Haj or Holy Pilgrimage.
² The lunar Islamic Hijra calendar is made up of 12 months, each month alternating between 29 and 30 days per month, culminating in a total of 354 days per year.  The Hijra calendar is based on the cycles of the moon and annually moves 11 days backward through the seasons. 
³  The Birthday of the Prophet Mohammad is celebrated on the twelfth day in the month of Rabi'l of the Islamic calendar.
*¹ Ramadan (the month of fasting) begins with the first appearance of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic Hijra calendar, and lasts 30 days. 
*¹ Feasting that officially marks the end of Ramadan, and commonly lasts for 3 days.
Country information used by permission of World Trade Press