1.
[syn: Libya, Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Libya \Libya\ prop. n.
A country in Northern Africa, between Egypt and Tunisia,
bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It also borders on Algeria,
Chad, Niger, and Sudan. It is an Arabic-speaking country with
over 97% of the population Sunni Moslem. The population in
1995 was about 5,248,000. The capital is Tripoli.
[WordNet 1.5]
Note: Until the formation of the modern nation of Libya in
1952, the name had been applied to the same territory
that had been ruled by Italy, and after World War II,
by Britain and France. In ancient times, Libya was the
name given to all of that part of Africa between Egypt
and the Atlantic Ocean, and sometimes to Africa as a
whole.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Libya
n 1: a military dictatorship in northern Africa on the
Mediterranean; consists almost entirely of desert; a major
exporter of petroleum [syn: Libya, Socialist People's
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya]
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary:
Libya
the country of the Ludim (Gen. 10:13), Northern Africa, a large
tract lying along the Mediterranean, to the west of Egypt (Acts
2:10). Cyrene was one of its five cities.
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (late 1800's):
Libya, the heart of the sea; fat
CIA World Factbook 2002:
Libya
Introduction Libya
------------------
Background: Since he took power in a 1969
military coup, Col. Muammar Abu
Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his
own political system - a combination
of socialism and Islam - which he
calls the Third International
Theory. Viewing himself as a
revolutionary leader, he used oil
funds during the 1970s and 1980s to
promote his ideology outside Libya,
even supporting subversives and
terrorists abroad to hasten the end
of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan
military adventures failed, e.g.,
the prolonged foray of Libyan troops
into the Aozou Strip in northern
Chad was finally repulsed in 1987.
Libyan support for terrorism
decreased after UN sanctions were
imposed in 1992. Those sanctions
were suspended in April 1999.
Geography Libya
---------------
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the
Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and
Tunisia
Geographic coordinates: 25 00 N, 17 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 1,759,540 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Alaska
Land boundaries: total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km,
Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger
354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km
Coastline: 1,770 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 NM
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line -
32 degrees, 30 minutes north
Climate: Mediterranean along coast; dry,
extreme desert interior
Terrain: mostly barren, flat to undulating
plains, plateaus, depressions
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47
m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, gypsum
Land use: arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.17%
other: 98.8% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 4,700 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a
southern wind lasting one to four
days in spring and fall; dust
storms, sandstorms
Environment - current issues: desertification; very limited
natural fresh 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
Environment - international party to: Biodiversity, Climate
agreements: Change, Desertification, Hazardous
Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer
Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the
Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
Geography - note: more than 90% of the country is
desert or semidesert
People Libya
------------
Population: 5,368,585
note: includes 662,669 non-
nationals, of which an estimated
500,000 or more are Africans living
in Libya (July 2002 est.)
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) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.41% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 27.59 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 3.5 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002
est.)
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 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 27.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.86 years
female: 78.11 years (2002 est.)
male: 73.71 years
Total fertility rate: 3.57 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.05% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ NA
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan
Ethnic groups: 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: definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 76.2%
male: 87.9%
female: 63% (1995 est.)
Government Libya
----------------
Country name: conventional long form: Great
Socialist People's Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya
local short form: none
local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al
Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al
Ishtirakiyah al Uzma
Government 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 (baladiyat,
singular - baladiyah); 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; note - the 25
municipalities may have been
replaced by 13 regions
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. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI
(since 1 September 1969); note -
holds no official title, but is de
facto chief of state
elections: national elections are
indirect through a hierarchy of
people's committees; head of
government elected by the General
People's Congress; election last
held 2 March 2000 (next to be held
NA)
election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH
elected premier; percent of General
People's Congress vote - NA%
cabinet: General People's Committee
established by the General People's
Congress
head of government: Secretary of the
General People's Committee (Premier)
Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March
2000)
Legislative branch: unicameral General People's Congress
(NA seats; members elected
indirectly through a hierarchy of
people's committees)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: none
Political pressure groups and various Arab nationalist movements
leaders: with almost negligible memberships
may be functioning clandestinely, as
well as some Islamic elements
International organization ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU,
participation: CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC,
OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US: Libya does not have an embassy in
the US
Diplomatic representation from the the US suspended all embassy
US: activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980
Flag description: plain green; green is the
traditional color of Islam (the
state religion)
Economy Libya
-------------
Economy - overview: 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%
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% 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 51% devaluation of the official
exchange rate of the dinar is
another fiscal plus, although it
will also bring higher inflation.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $40
billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $7,600
(2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 7%
industry: 47%
services: 46% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: NA%
percentage share: highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 13.6% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 1.5 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: services 54%, industry 29%,
agriculture 17% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate: 30% (2000 est.)
Budget: revenues: $9.3 billion
expenditures: $9.2 billion,
including capital expenditures of
$NA (2001 est.)
Industries: petroleum, food processing,
textiles, handicrafts, cement
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 19.4 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 18.042 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, olives, dates,
citrus, vegetables, peanuts,
soybeans; cattle
Exports: $13.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: crude oil, refined petroleum
products
Exports - partners: Italy 42%, Germany 19%, Spain 13%,
Turkey 6%, France 4%, Switzerland
3%, Tunisia 2% (2000)
Imports: $8.7 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery, transport equipment,
food, manufactured goods
Imports - partners: Italy 25%, Germany 10%, UK 8%,
France 7%, Tunisia 7%, South Korea
4% (2000)
Debt - external: $4.7 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $7 million (1999 est.)
Currency: Libyan dinar (LYD)
Currency code: LYD
Exchange rates: Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.6501
(December 2001), 0.6501 (2001),
0.5403 (2000), 0.5403 (1999), 0.3785
(1998), 0.3891 (1997); market rate
for Libyan dinars per US dollar -
1.55 (January 2002)
note: Libya devalued its official
rate for foreign trade on 1 January
2002 to 21.30 dinars per US dollar;
the previous official rate was 0.63
dinar per US dollar (Dec 2001)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Libya
--------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 380,000 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular: NA
Telephone system: general assessment:
telecommunications system is being
modernized; mobile cellular
telephone system became operational
in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay,
coaxial cable, cellular,
tropospheric scatter, and a domestic
satellite system with 14 earth
stations
international: satellite earth
stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat,
and NA Intersputnik; submarine
cables to France and Italy;
microwave radio relay to Tunisia and
Egypt; tropospheric scatter to
Greece; participant in Medarabtel
(1999)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 17, FM 4, shortwave 3 (1998)
Radios: 1.35 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 12 (plus one low-power repeater)
(1998)
Televisions: 730,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .ly
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: 20,000 (2001)
Transportation Libya
--------------------
Railways: note: Libya has had no railroad in
operation since 1965, all previous
systems having been dismantled;
current plans are to construct a
1.435-m standard-gauge line from the
Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and
Misratah, then inland to Sabha,
center of a mineral-rich area, but
there has been little progress;
other plans made jointly with Egypt
would establish a rail line from As
Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with
completion originally set for mid-
1994; Libya signed contracts with
two private companies - Bahne of
Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios
of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of
crossings and pointwork (2001)
Highways: total: 24,484 km
paved: 6,798 km
unpaved: 17,686 km
note: data for the length of unpaved
roads include the assumption that
because they were listed as
secondary roads, they are unpaved;
some may be paved and some part of
the primary roads may not be paved
(1996)
Waterways: none
Pipelines: crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum
products 443 km (includes liquefied
petroleum gas or LPG 256 km);
natural gas 1,947 km
Ports and harbors: Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al
Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf,
Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah
Merchant marine: total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 209,000 GRT/278,277 DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, chemical
tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum
tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4, short-
sea passenger 4
note: includes some foreign-owned
ships registered here as a flag of
convenience: Algeria 1, Kuwait 1,
United Arab Emirates 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 136 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 58
over 3,047 m: 23
2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 2 (2001)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 22
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 78
under 914 m: 18 (2001)
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 40
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
Heliports: 1 (2001)
Military Libya
--------------
Military branches: Armed Peoples on Duty (Army), Navy,
Air and Air Defense Command
(includes Air Force)
Military manpower - military age: 17 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,503,647 (2002
est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 890,783 (2002 est.)
service:
Military manpower - reaching males: 61,694 (2002 est.)
military age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar $1.3 billion (FY99/00)
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of 3.9% (FY99/00)
GDP:
Transnational Issues Libya
--------------------------
Disputes - international: Chadian rebels from Aozou region
reside in Libya; Libya claims about
19,400 sq km in Niger as well as
part of southeastern Algeria in
currently dormant disputes