The primary crops include wheat, tomatoes, melons and grapes. Oranges are grown on the Cap Bon Peninsula and are a particularly important crop for export to Europe. Although not as fortunate as its neighboring countries, Tunisia does have several substantial petroleum deposits. Tunisia has the best example of a democratic government in North Africa due to its constitution of 1959 that deemed it a free, independent and sovereign country. Libya was an agricultural society until the discovery of petroleum in the late 1950's, which significantly boosted their economy.
Agriculture accounts for only a small percentage of Libya's yearly domestic product.
Petroleum is the leading product and main source of revenue. A portion of the profits are used to support revolutionary Arab-Islamic causes abroad. The U.S. bombed Libya in 1986 due to their repeated confrontations concerning the Gulf of Sidra, and the speculation of their nuclear and chemical weapons production. The former Spanish colony was invaded and annexed by Morocco in the late 1970s, a move resisted by the majority of the local populace. Western Sahara contains substantial mineral deposits.