Libya




                                 Geography


Location:
     Northern Africa, on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea,
     between Egypt and Tunisia
Map references:
     Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     1,759,540 sq km
land area:
     1,759,540 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly larger than Alaska
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
Coastline:
     1,770 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea:
     12 nm
Gulf of Sidra closing line:
     32 degrees 30 minutes north
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     withdrawn its forces in response to the ICJ ruling, but as of June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
Climate:
     Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior
Terrain:
     mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions
Natural resources:
     petroleum, natural gas, gypsum
Land use:
arable land:
     2%
permanent crops:
     0%
meadows and pastures:
     8%
forest and woodland:
     0%
other:
     90%
Irrigated land:
     2,420 sq km (1989 est.)




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


                                  People


Population:
     5,057,392 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     3.72% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     45.29 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     8.14 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     63.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     63.88 years
male:
     61.73 years
female:
     66.13 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     6.38 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Libyan(s)
adjective:
     Libyan
Ethnic divisions:
     Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis,
     Turks, Indians, Tunisians
Religions:
     Sunni Muslim 97%
Languages:
     Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major
     cities
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
     64%




male:
     75%
female:
     50%
Labor force:
     1 million (includes about 280,000 resident foreigners)
by occupation:
     industry 31%, services 27%, government 24%, agriculture 18%


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishirakiyah
local short form:
     none
Digraph:
     LY
Type:
     Jamahiriya (a state of the masses) in theory, governed by the populace
     through local councils; in fact, a military dictatorship
Capital:
     Tripoli
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
Independence:
     24 December 1951 (from Italy)
National holiday:
     Revolution Day, 1 September (1969)
Constitution:
     11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977
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
Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal and compulsory
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
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
General People's Congress:
     national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of peoples'
     committees
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
     none
Other political or pressure groups:
     various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships
     may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements
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
Diplomatic representation in US:
     none
US diplomatic representation:
     none
Flag:
     plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state
     religion)


                                  Economy


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.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $32 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     1% (1993 est.)




National product per capita:
     $6,600 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     6% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     NA%
Budget:
revenues:
     $8.1 billion
expenditures:
     $9.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.1 billion (1989
     est.)
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
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
External debt:
     $3.5 billion excluding military debt (1991 est.)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 10.5% (1990)
Electricity:
capacity:
     4,935,000 kW
production:
     14.385 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     2,952 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement
Agriculture:
     5% of GNP; cash crops - wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus fruits,
     peanuts; 75% of food is imported
Economic aid:
recipient:
     Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
     (1970-87), $242 million
note:
     no longer a recipient
Currency:
     1 Libyan dinar (LD) = 1,000 dirhams
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)
Fiscal year:
     calendar year




                              Communications


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
Highways:
total:
     19,300 km
paved:
     bituminous 10,800 km
unpaved:
     gravel, earth 8,500 km
Inland waterways:
     none
Pipelines:
     crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquified
     petroleum gas 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km
Ports:
     Tobruk, Tripoli, Banghazi, Misratah, Marsa al Burayqah, Ra's Lanuf,
     Ra's al Unif
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
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
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


                              Defense Forces




Branches:
     Armed Peoples of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriyah (including Army, Navy,
     Air and Air Defense Command)
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 1,094,052; fit for military service 649,976; reach
     military age (17) annually 52,723 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $3.3 billion, 15% of GDP (1989 est.)