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Libya
Arabic Jamahiria of Libya
Arabic:
jamāhiriyya lībiyā l-carabiyya
INTRODUCTION
1. Political situation
2. Economy
3. Health & Education
4. Religions & Peoples
5. History
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MAJOR CITIES
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Tripoli (1.2 million)
Benghazi (660,000)
Misrata (380,000)
Al-Khoms (230,000)
Zawiya (210,000)
Derna (180,000)
Gharyan (170,000)
Sirte (170,0000)
Al-Bayda (160,000)
Tobruk (150,000)
Ajdabiyya (150,000)
Sebha (150,000)
Zliten (140,000)
Al-Marj (120,000)
Brayqa (45,000)
Ghadames (20,000)
Ghat (18,000)
All figures are 2005 estimates
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STATUS
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Independent jamahirian republic, divided into 25 municipalities (baladiya(t)).
"Jamahiria" is a system defined to be the populace governing through local councils, then represented at national councils. However, most decisions are taken by the leaders of Libya, then implemented on a local scale.
Day of independence:
December 24, 1951 (from Italy)
| GOVERNMENT
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Head of state: Mu'ammar Gadhafi.
Second-in-command: Abdussalam Jalloud.
Government is made up of 12 secretariats, corresponding to ministries.
| GEOGRAPHY
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Inhabitants: 5.75 million (2005 estimate). 660,000 are non-nationals.
Population growth rate: 2.4%
Total area: 1,759,540 kmē
Density: 3 per kmē
Border: 4,348 km (Tunisia 459 km, Algeria 982 km, Niger 354 km, Chad 1,055 km, Sudan 383 km, Egypt 1,115 km).
Coastline: 1,770 km
Highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m
Arable land: 1.03%
Capital: Tripoli
| HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX
| World rank (of 177): 64
Index (1.0 max): 0.798
Explanation
| DEMOGRAPHY
| Languages: Arabic (official), Berber. The major foreign languages are English and Italian.
Religions: Sunni Islam. Small communities of Christians.
| ECONOMY
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Currency: Dinar=pjasters
100 dinars=US$4.69. US$1=21.30 dinars (January 2002)
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CLIMATE AND GEOGRAPHY
Libya is almost only desert. Even the coastal areas are quite dry. There is very little forest, and the only true exceptions are in the mountain ranges in the northwest and east of Benghazi.
There are no rivers and the only lakes are small, and normally found in the Sahara together with oases.
Even if Libya has had the highest GNP/capita in North Africa, many years of international sanctions have had a strong and negative impact on the economy. The sanctions are now history, and the country is gradually returning to old standards of infrastructure and services.
Recently, the country has also seen internal tensions, which have been best illustrated by numerous demonstrations and small-scale riots from the immigrant workers' communities.
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By: Tore Kjeilen
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