Libya

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

Around US$4.3 billion, or 19.8 percent of its GDP is currently allocated to its military. This budget is mainly focused on restoring its military infrastructure as well as resupplying its destroyed military equipment. This budget makes Libya the 45th highest military spender and represents 0.23 percent of total global military expenditure.

The Armed Forces of Libya, called the Libyan national Army, consists of a Navy, ground forces and an air force. The Army is currently being reorganized due to its participation in the Libyan Civil War.

Military membership

Libya is a member of four international military organizations which makes it the 122nd most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
International Atomic Energy Agency
Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

Since its independence, Libya has partaken in 12 international wars. These are:

Chadian Civil War 1965-1979
Six-Day War 1967-1967
Moro insurgency in the Philippines 1969-present
Libyan–Egyptian War 1977-1977
Uganda–Tanzania War 1978-1979

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Libya is a member of 11 international political organizations which makes it the 109th most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
Asian–African Legal Consultative Organization
African Union
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
Arab League
Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Because of a lack of political representation as well as uncertainty about the allocation of funds, Libya is currently the 142nd most democratic state in the world.

Democracy/Dictatorship

Currently, it is unclear what the politics of Libya are due to a division of power between several parts within Libya.

Interpol
Association of World Election Bodies
South Centre (organization)
World Organization for Animal Health

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Known for its ancient Roman ruins, the Sahara Desert as well as the outbreak and consequences of its civil war, Libya is currently in the process of redefining itself. During ancient times, the territory was inhabited by Berber tribes which were colonized by the Greeks and later on the Roman empire. During the seventh century, Libya was conquered by the Arab conquest and later became incorporated into the Ottoman Empire during the 16th century. At the start of the 20th century, a conflict erupted between Italy and the Ottoman Empire after which the Italians conquered all of Libya by 1914. After conquering the territory, Italy united several parts of North Africa and created the Libyan colony. After losing the Libyan territory to the allies during the second world war, Libya gained its independence in 1951 and became the kingdom of Libya. However, in 1969, a military coup took place which deposed the Libyan king and instated Muammar Gaddafi as head of state. Gaddafi ruled Libya until 2011 when the Arab Spring revolution deposed Gaddafi and plunged Libya into a civil war. Since then, several factions have been fighting for control over the Libyan territory.

The geography of Libya mainly consists of flat desert with some low-lying mountains on its border with Chad and some light vegetation along the coastline. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, Algeria to the west and to Tunesia to the northwest.

It is the 16th largest state in the world with a total surface area of 1.7 million square kilometers or 682,000 square miles. This makes Libya slightly smaller than Sudan and slightly larger than Iran.

There are no permanent bodies of water residing within Libya.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

Virtually all of its water is derived from underground aquifers which are estimated to have a large reserve for the Libyan population in the near future.

The climate of Libya is considered to be a Mediterranean climate to the north and a desert climate to the south. The Mediterranean part enjoys hot and dry summers as well as mild winters. In its southern part, the Libyan desert is prone to extreme heat during the day and extreme cold during the night. With an average temperature of 21 degrees Celsius or 69.7 degrees Fahrenheit, Libya is the 101st warmest state in the world.

During its summer season, from June to September, the average temperature goes up to 25.8 degrees Celsius or 78.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

During winter, the average temperature is 14.3 degrees Celsius or 57.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

Most of its rainfall occurs during the winter between January and February and mainly falls in the northern part of Libya. On average, Libya receives 18.7 centimetres or 7.4 inches of rainfall per year which makes it the 184th state with the highest amount of rainfall.

The capital of Libya, Tripoli, is home to 1.8 million people. The capital that is closest located to Tripoli is Valletta of Malta with a distance of 338 kilometers or 210 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Tripoli is Nuku'alofa Tonga with a distance of 18,486 kilometers or 11,486 miles.

As a result of international incidents under the rule of Gaddafi, the Libyan economy became more isolated. During this period, oil was the main source of revenue and accounted for nearly all of its GDP. However, after seeking rapprochement as well as making concessions on its search for weapons of mass destruction, foreign investment increased, and Libya was able to start diversifying its economy. This has led to Libya attaining the largest GDP per capita of Africa. This, however, was short lived as the Libyan Civil War plunged the Libyan economy into chaos. Currently, most of its exports are gold and oil related products which are mainly exported to China and Italy which combined represent 50 percent of all exports. Most of its imports come from Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, China and Italy which combined represent 40 percent of all imports.

Libya is a member of eight international economic organizations which makes it the 179th most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

International Monetary Fund
Islamic Development Bank
OPEC Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
Arab Maghreb Union
Group of 77

Its GDP is the 99th highest in the world and is estimated at US$36.2 billion.

Its GDP per service area is the 184th highest in the world with US$20,443 per square kilometer or US$52,948 per square mile.

Its GDP per capita is the 100th highest in the world with US$5374 per year.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power is the 123rd highest in the world with US$10.131 per capita.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

With 6.7 million inhabitants, Libya is the 107th most populous state in the world. The majority of its population originates from Bedouin Arab tribes that entered the territory of Libya along with the Arab invasion. Currently, Arab the official language with English and Italian being widely spoken.

Libya has the 188th highest population density in the world with four people per square kilometer or 10 people per square mile.

Before the Libyan Civil War, around 150,000 people, or 2.5 percent of its population have migrated to other states. However, after the start of the Libyan Civil War, the true number is are hard to estimate. Some estimations range around 800,000 people, but this excludes an extra estimated 1.5 million migrant workers that were present in Libya at the time.

More than 800,000 people, or 12.5 percent of its population have migrated to Libya. Despite its internal tensions, Libya is used as a gateway for illegal migration from Africa to Europe.

Libya has a literacy rate of 89.1 percent. There is a large discrepancy between the older generation and the younger generation. At the end of the 20th century, the literacy rate was estimated to be around 50 percent. At the start of the 21st century, education became free and compulsory and had an attendance rate of nearly 100 percent. This generation also has a literacy rate of nearly 100 percent. However, due to the Civil War, the literacy rates of the next generation are a likely to be lower as schools and school supplies have been limited.

The Libyan Civil War also has larger drawbacks on its healthcare system. Before the war, healthcare was provided for free to all of its citizens. However, major health care facilities were closed due to severe damage or security threats. This has led to a decrease of its healthcare capacity of 50 percent. Another factor of the Civil War is the lack of medical supplies that can be delivered to these facilities. Currently, Libya has the 86th highest life expectancy in the world which stands at 73.5 years. Women reach 76.5 years while men reach 70.6 years.

Despite having Islam as its state religion with the sharia being the basis for its laws, Libya has granted religious freedom towards Jews and Christians that are allowed to deviate from Libyan laws within the private sphere. However, some forms of discrimination have been observed towards religious minorities and currently there has been an increase in violence against religious minorities.

2.3 percent of the population adheres to Christianity. These are mainly Coptic Christians that are related to the Ethiopian church. During the Civil War, these Christians have been subject to torture and execution by Islamic radicals.

On the right, the global share of Christians per state is displayed

Islam is followed by 96.7 percent of the population with the Sunni branch of Islam being the largest denomination. This makes Libya the 17th most Islamic state in the world. Islam was first introduced during the seventh century by Islamic missionaries and later on was forced upon Libyans during the 11th century by Bedouin tribes. This has resulted in a blend between Islam and native religions that are still present today. However, since the rise of Gaddafi, Orthodox Islam has started to play a more prominent role within Libya.

Before the Civil War, Libya housed one of the largest Buddhist minorities in Africa with 0.3 percent of the population. The largest denomination within was the Theravada denomination. These were mainly Buddhists from Sri Lanka and Korea and were part of the Libyan labour force.

Around 0.07 percent of the population adheres to Hinduism. These are also migrant workers that mainly arrived from India.

At the turn of the first century, there was a large Jewish minority living under Greek rule within Libya. With the arrival of Islam, many Jewish communities were discriminated against and under Fascist Italian rule, many Jews were deported. A wave of Jewish emigration came when Israel was established, and the last large migration of Jews came when Gaddafi confiscated Jewish properties. Currently, there are no Jews residing within Libya.

Other religions are professed by 0.07 percent of the population. These are mainly remnants of indigenous beliefs that coexist with Islam.

Around 0.13 percent of the population does not adhere to any religion. However, this number is disputed as atheism is punishable by death.

Chadian–Libyan conflict 1978-1987
Iran–Iraq War 1980-1988
United States bombing of Libya 1986-1986
First Liberian Civil War 1989-1997
Eritrean–Ethiopian War 1998-2000

War in Darfur 2003-present
Libyan civil war 2011-present