Libya

Libya,officially theState of Libya,is a country in theMaghrebregion ofNorth Africa. It borders theMediterranean Seato the north,Egypttothe east,Sudantothe southeast,Chadtothe south,Nigertothe southwest,Algeriatothe west, andTunisiatothe northwest, as well as maritime borders withGreece,ItalyandMaltato the north. Libya comprises three historical regions:Tripolitania,Fezzan, andCyrenaica. With an area of almost 1.8 million km(700,000 sq mi), it is the fourth-largest country inAfricaand theArab world, and the16th-largest in the world.Libya claims 32,000 square kilometres of southeastern Algeria, south of the Libyan town ofGhat.The country's official religion isIslam, with 96.6% of the Libyan population beingSunni Muslims.The official language of Libya isArabic, with vernacularLibyan Arabicbeing spoken most widely. The majority of Libya's population isArab.The largest city and capital,Tripoli, is located in northwestern Libya and contains over a million of Libya's seven million people.
Libya has been inhabited byBerberssince the lateBronze Ageas descendants fromIberomaurusianandCapsiancultures.In classical antiquity, thePhoeniciansestablished city-states and trading posts in western Libya, while severalGreek citieswere established in the East. Parts of Libya were variously ruled byCarthaginians,Numidians,Persians, andGreeksbefore the entire region becoming a part of theRoman Empire. Libya was anearly centre of Christianity. After thefall of the Western Roman Empire, the area of Libya was mostly occupied by theVandalsuntil the 7th century wheninvasionsbroughtIslamto the region. From then on, centuries ofArab migration to the Maghrebshifted the demographic scope of Libya in favour ofArabs. In the 16th century, theSpanish Empireand theKnights of St JohnoccupiedTripoliuntilOttomanrulebegan in 1551. Libya was involved in theBarbary Warsof the 18th and 19th centuries. Ottoman rule continued until theItalo-Turkish War, which resulted in theItalianoccupation of Libya and the establishment of two colonies,Italian TripolitaniaandItalian Cyrenaica(1911–1934), later unified in theItalian Libyacolony from 1934 to 1943.
DuringWorld War II, Libya was an area of warfare in theNorth African Campaign. TheItalian populationthen went into decline. Libya became independent as akingdomin 1951. Abloodlessmilitary coup in 1969, initiated by a coalition led by ColonelMuammar Gaddafi, overthrewKing Idris Iand created arepublic.Gaddafi was often described by critics as adictator, and was one of the world's longest serving non-royal leaders, ruling for 42 years.Heruleduntil being overthrown andkilledduring the2011 Libyan Civil War, which was part of the widerArab Spring, with authority transferred to theNational Transitional Councilthen to the electedGeneral National Congress. Since 2011, Libya has been involved in apolitical and humanitarian crisis, and by 2014, two rival authorities claimed to govern Libya,which led to asecond civil war, with parts of Libya split between the Tobruk and Tripoli-based governments as well as various tribal andIslamistmilitias.The two main warring sides signed a permanent ceasefire in 2020, and aunity governmenttook authority to plan for democratic elections, though political rivalries continue to delay this.In March 2022, theHouse of Representativesceased recognising theGovernment of National Unityand proclaimed an alternative government, theGovernment of National Stability(GNS). Both governments have been functioning simultaneously since then, which has led to dual power in Libya. The international community continues to recognise the unity government as the legitimate government of the country.
Libya is a developing country ranking 92nd by HDI,the highest score in mainland Africa, and has the10th-largest proven oil reservesin the world.Libya is a member of theUnited Nations, theNon-Aligned Movement, theAfrican Union, theArab League, theOrganisation of Islamic Cooperation, andOPEC.
The origin of the name "Libya" first appeared in an inscription ofRamesses II, written asrbwin hieroglyphic. The name derives from a generalized identity given to a large confederacy of ancient east "Libyan"Berbers,North Africanpeople(s) and tribes who lived around the lush regions ofCyrenaicaandMarmarica. An army of 40,000 menand a confederacy of tribes known as "Great Chiefs of theLibu" were led by KingMeryeywho fought a war againstpharaohMerneptahin year 5 (1208 BCE). This conflict was mentioned in theGreat Karnak Inscriptionin the western delta during the 5th and 6th years of his reign and resulted in a defeat for Meryey. According to theGreat Karnak Inscription, the military alliance comprised theMeshwesh, theLukka, and the "Sea Peoples" known as theEkwesh,Teresh,Shekelesh, and theSherden.
The Great Karnak Inscription reads:
The name "Libya" was brought back into use in 1903 by Italian geographer Federico Minutilli. It was intended to supplant terms applied toOttoman Tripolitania, the coastal region of what is today Libya, having been ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1551 to 1911 as the Eyalet of Tripolitania.
Libya gained independence in 1951 as theUnited Libyan Kingdom(المملكة الليبية المتحدةal-Mamlakah al-Lībiyyah al-Muttaḥidah), changing its name to the Kingdom of Libya (المملكة الليبيةal-Mamlakah al-Lībiyyah), literally "Libyan Kingdom", in 1963.Following a coup d'état led byMuammar Gaddafiin 1969, the name of the state was changed to the Libyan Arab Republic (الجمهورية العربية الليبيةal-Jumhūriyyah al-'Arabiyyah al-Lībiyyah). The official name was "Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" from 1977 to 1986 (الجماهيرية العربية الليبية الشعبية الاشتراكية), and "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya"(الجماهيرية العربية الليبية الشعبية الاشتراكية العظمى,al-Jamāhīriyyah al-'Arabiyyah al-Lībiyyah ash-Sha'biyyah al-Ishtirākiyyah al-'Udmálisten) from 1986 to 2011.
TheNational Transitional Council, established in 2011, referred to the state as simply "Libya". The UN formally recognized the country as "Libya" in September 2011based on a request from the Permanent Mission of Libya citing theLibyan interim Constitutional Declarationof 3 August 2011. In November 2011, theISO 3166-1was altered to reflect the new country name "Libya" in English,"Libye (la)"in French.
In December 2017 the Permanent Mission of Libya to the United Nations informed the United Nations that the country's official name was henceforth the "State of Libya"; "Libya" remained the official short form, and the country continued to be listed under "L" in alphabetical lists.
The coastal plain of Libya was inhabited byNeolithicpeoples from as early as 8000 BC. TheAfroasiaticancestors of theBerber peopleare assumed to have spread into the area by theLate Bronze Age. The earliest known name of such a tribe was theGaramantes, based inGerma. ThePhoenicianswere the first to establish trading posts in Libya.By the 5th century BC, the greatest of the Phoenician colonies,Carthage, had extended itshegemonyacross much of North Africa, where a distinctive civilization, known asPunic, came into being.
In 630 BC, theancient Greekscolonized the area aroundBarcain Eastern Libya and founded the city ofCyrene.Within 200 years, four more important Greek cities were established in the area that became known asCyrenaica.The area was home to the renowned philosophy school of theCyrenaics. In 525 BC thePersianarmy ofCambyses IIoverran Cyrenaica, which for the next two centuries remained under Persian or Egyptian rule.Alexander the Greatended Persian rule in 331 BC and received tribute from Cyrenaica. Eastern Libya again fell under the control of the Greeks, this time as part of thePtolemaic Kingdom.
After the fall ofCarthagethe Romans did not immediately occupyTripolitania(the region around Tripoli), but left it instead under control of the kings ofNumidia, until the coastal cities asked and obtained its protection.Ptolemy Apion, the last Greek ruler, bequeathed Cyrenaica to Rome, which formally annexed the region in 74 BC and joined it to Crete asa Roman province. As part of theAfrica Novaprovince, Tripolitania was prosperous,and reached a golden age in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, when the city ofLeptis Magna, home to theSeveran dynasty, was at its height.
On the Eastern side, Cyrenaica's first Christian communities were established by the time of the EmperorClaudius.It was heavily devastated during theKitos Warand almost depopulated of Greeks and Jews alike.Although repopulated byTrajanwith military colonies,from then started its decline.Libya was early to convert toNicene Christianityand was the home ofPope Victor I; however, Libya was also home to many non-Nicene varieties of early Christianity, such asArianismandDonatism.
Under the command ofAmr ibn al-As, theRashidun armyconqueredCyrenaica.In 647 an army led byAbdullah ibn Saadtook Tripoli from the Byzantines definitively.TheFezzanwas conquered byUqba ibn Nafiin 663. The Berber tribes of the hinterland accepted Islam, however they resisted Arab political rule.
For the next several decades, Libya was under the purview of theUmayyadCaliph of Damascusuntil theAbbasidsoverthrew the Umayyads in 750, and Libya came under the rule of Baghdad. When CaliphHarun al-RashidappointedIbrahim ibn al-Aghlabas his governor ofIfriqiyain 800, Libya enjoyed considerable local autonomy under theAghlabiddynasty. By the 10th century, the ShiiteFatimidscontrolled Western Libya, and ruled the entire region in 972 and appointedBologhine ibn Zirias governor.
Ibn Ziri's BerberZirid dynastyultimately broke away from the Shiite Fatimids, and recognized the Sunni Abbasids of Baghdad as rightful Caliphs. In retaliation, the Fatimids brought about the migration of thousands from mainly two Arab Qaisi tribes, theBanu SulaymandBanu Hilalto North Africa. This act drastically altered the fabric of the Libyan countryside, and cemented the cultural and linguistic Arabisation of the region.
Zirid rule in Tripolitania was short-lived though, and already in 1001 the Berbers of theBanu Khazrunbroke away. Tripolitania remained under their control until 1146, when the region was overtaken by theNormans of Sicily.For the next 50 years, Tripolitania was the scene of numerous battles amongAyyubids, theAlmohadrulers and insurgents of theBanu Ghaniya. Later, a general of the Almohads, Muhammad ibn Abu Hafs, ruled Libya from 1207 to 1221 before the later establishment of the TunisianHafsid Kingdomindependent from the Almohads. In the 14th century, theBanu Thabitdynasty ruled Tripolitania before reverting to direct Hafsid control. By the 16th century, the Hafsids became increasingly caught up in the power struggle between Spain and theOttoman Empire.
After Abbasid control was weakened, Cyrenaica was under Egypt-based states such as theTulunids,Ikhshidids, Ayyubids, andMamluksbefore Ottoman conquest in 1517.Fezzanacquired independence under Awlad Muhammad dynasty afterKanemrule. Ottomans finally conquered Fezzan between 1556 and 1577.
After a successful invasion of Tripoli byHabsburg Spainin 1510,and its handover to theKnights of St. John, theOttomanadmiralSinan Pashatook control of Libya in 1551.His successorTurgut Reiswas named theBeyof Tripoli and laterPasha of Tripoliin 1556. By 1565, administrative authority as regent in Tripoli was vested in apashaappointed directly by thesultaninConstantinople/Istanbul. In the 1580s, the rulers ofFezzangave their allegiance to the sultan, and although Ottoman authority was absent inCyrenaica, abeywas stationed in Benghazi late in the next century to act as agent of the government in Tripoli.Europeanslavesand large numbers of enslaved Blacks transported from Sudan were also a feature of everyday life in Tripoli. In 1551,Turgut Reisenslaved almost the entire population of the Maltese island ofGozo, some 5,000 people, sending them to Libya.
In time, real power came to rest with the pasha's corps ofjanissaries.In 1611 thedeysstaged a coup against the pasha, and Dey Sulayman Safar was appointed as head of government. For the next hundred years, a series ofdeyseffectively ruled Tripolitania. The two most important Deys wereMehmed Saqizli(r. 1631–49) andOsman Saqizli(r. 1649–72), both also Pasha, who ruled effectively the region.The latter conquered also Cyrenaica.
Lacking direction from the Ottoman government, Tripoli lapsed into a period of military anarchy during which coup followed coup and few deys survived in office more than a year. One such coup was led by Turkish officerAhmed Karamanli.TheKaramanlisruled from 1711 until 1835 mainly in Tripolitania, and had influence in Cyrenaica and Fezzan as well by the mid-18th century. Ahmed's successors proved to be less capable than himself, however, the region's delicate balance of power allowed the Karamanli. The1793–95 Tripolitanian civil waroccurred in those years. In 1793, Turkish officerAli Pashadeposed Hamet Karamanli and briefly restored Tripolitania to Ottoman rule. Hamet's brotherYusuf(r. 1795–1832) re-established Tripolitania's independence.
In the early 19th century war broke out between the United States and Tripolitania, and a series of battles ensued in what came to be known as theFirst Barbary Warand theSecond Barbary War. By 1819, the various treaties of theNapoleonic Warshad forced the Barbary states to give up piracy almost entirely, and Tripolitania's economy began to crumble. As Yusuf weakened, factions sprung up around his three sons. Civil war soon resulted.
Ottoman SultanMahmud IIsent in troops ostensibly to restore order, marking the end of both the Karamanli dynasty and an independent Tripolitania.Order was not recovered easily, and the revolt of the Libyan under Abd-El-Gelil and Gûma ben Khalifa lasted until the death of the latter in 1858.The second period of direct Ottoman rule saw administrative changes, and greater order in the governance of the three provinces of Libya. Ottoman rule finally reasserted to Fezzan between 1850 and 1875 for earning income from Saharan commerce.
After theItalo-Turkish War(1911–1912), Italy simultaneously turned the three regions into colonies.From 1912 to 1927, the territory of Libya was known asItalian North Africa. From 1927 to 1934, the territory was split into two colonies,Italian CyrenaicaandItalian Tripolitania, run by Italian governors. Some 150,000 Italians settled in Libya, constituting roughly 20% of the total population.
Omar Mukhtarrose to prominence as aresistance leaderagainst Italian colonization and became a national hero despite his capture and execution on 16 September 1931.His face is currently printed on the Libyan ten dinar note in memory and recognition of his patriotism. Another prominent resistance leader, Idris al-Mahdi as-Senussi (laterKing Idris I), Emir of Cyrenaica, continued to lead the Libyan resistance until the outbreak of theSecond World War.
The so-called "pacification of Libya" by the Italians resulted in mass deaths of the indigenous people in Cyrenaica, killing approximately one quarter of Cyrenaica's population of 225,000.Ilan Pappéestimates that between 1928 and 1932 the Italian military "killed half the Bedouin population (directly or through disease and starvation inItalian concentration camps in Libya)."
In 1934, Italy combinedCyrenaica,TripolitaniaandFezzanand adopted the name "Libya" (used by the Ancient Greeks for all of North Africa except Egypt) for the unified colony, with Tripoli as its capital.The Italians emphasized infrastructure improvements and public works. In particular, they greatly expanded Libyan railway and road networks from 1934 to 1940, building hundreds of kilometres of new roads and railways and encouraging the establishment of new industries and dozens of new agricultural villages.
In June 1940,Italy entered World War II. Libya became the setting for the hard-foughtNorth African Campaignthat ultimately ended in defeat for Italy and itsGerman allyin 1943.
From 1943 to 1951, Libya was underAllied occupation. The British militaryadministeredthe two former Italian Libyan provinces of Tripolitana and Cyrenaïca, while the Frenchadministeredthe province of Fezzan. In 1944, Idris returned from exile inCairobut declined to resume permanent residence in Cyrenaica until the removal of some aspects of foreign control in 1947. Under the terms of the1947 peace treatywith theAllies, Italy relinquished all claims to Libya.
A national assembly crafted a constitution that established amonarchyand extended an offer for the throne toSayyid Idris, theEmir of Cyrenaica.Sayyid Idris held the esteemed position as the leader of the influentialSenussi religious brotherhood, which was founded by his grandfather in the preceding century as a response to Western influence in theArab world.This devout Islamic movement garnered significant support from thedesert Bedouinand became a major political force in Libya. During the declining years of theOttoman Empire, it effectively governed the Libyan interior.Born in an oasis inCyrenaicain 1890, Sayyid Idris assumed leadership of the Senussi at a young age. He spent a considerable period of exile inEgyptunder Italian rule and returned to Libya after theAxis powerswere ousted in 1943.On December 24, 1951, as King Idris I, he addressed the nation via radio fromBenghazi.On November 21, 1949, theUN General Assemblypassed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before January 1, 1952.Idris represented Libya in the subsequent UN negotiations. By December 24, 1951, Libya declared its independence as theUnited Kingdom of Libya, a constitutional and hereditarymonarchyunder KingIdris.
However, the new kingdom faced challenging prospects.It lacked significant industry and agricultural resources.The kingdom's primary exports consisted of hides, wool, horses, and ostrich feathers.Despite having one of the lowest income per capita figures globally, it also suffered from one of the highest illiteracy rates.King Idris I, already in his sixties, had no direct heir to succeed him.His cousin, whom he had married in 1932, reportedly experienced numerous miscarriages, and their son, born in 1953, tragically died shortly after birth.Crown Prince Rida, Idris's brother, was the designated heir, but the royal family was riddled with incessant disputes.King Idris's devout Muslim piety, which solidified his support among theBedouin population, clashed with the modernizing and urban intellectual currents in Libya.To address the rivalry between Cyrenaica and Tripolitania, Benghazi and Tripoli alternated as the capital every two years.
The swift emergence of a large number of bureaucrats resulted in a costly royal government.The discovery of significantoil reservesin 1959 and the subsequent income frompetroleumsales enabled one of the world's poorest nations to establish an extremely wealthy state.Although oil drastically improved the Libyan government's finances, popular resentment began to build over the increased concentration of the nation's wealth in the hands of King Idris and the national elite.This discontent continued to mount with the rise ofNasserismandArab nationalismthroughout North Africa and theMiddle East.
On 1 September 1969, a group of rebel military officers led byMuammar Gaddafilaunched acoup d'état against King Idris, which became known as the Al Fateh Revolution.Gaddafi was referred to as the "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution" in government statements and the official Libyan press.He began dominating history and politics of Libya for the next four decades.Moving to reduce Italian influence, in October 1970 all Italian-owned assets were expropriated and the 12,000-strongItalian communitywasexpelledfrom Libya alongside the smaller community ofItalian Libyan Jews.The day became anational holidayknown as "Day of Revenge";it was later renamed the "Day of Friendship" because of improvement inItaly–Libya relations.
Libya's increase in prosperity was accompanied by increased internal political repression, and political dissent was made illegal under Law 75 of 1973.Widespread surveillance of the population was carried out through Gaddafi's Revolutionary Committees.Gaddafi also wanted to ease the strict social restrictions imposed on women by the previous regime, establishing theRevolutionary Women's Formationto encourage reform.In 1970, a law was introduced affirming equality of the sexes and wage parity.In 1971, Gaddafi sponsored the creation of a Libyan General Women's Federation.In 1972, a law was passed criminalizing the marriage of girls under the age of sixteen and making the woman's consent a necessary prerequisite for a marriage.
On 25 October 1975, a coup attempt was launched by a group of 20 military officers, mostly from the city ofMisrata.This resulted in the arrest and executions of the coup plotters.In March 1977, Libya officially became the "Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya".Gaddafi officially passed power to theGeneral People's Committeesand henceforth claimed to be no more than a symbolic figurehead.The newjamahiriya(Arab for "republic") governance structure he established was officially referred to as "direct democracy".Gaddafi, in his vision of democratic government andpolitical philosophy, publishedThe Green Bookin 1975. His short book inscribed a representative mix of utopian socialism and Arab nationalism with a streak ofBedouinsupremacy.
In February 1977, Libya started delivering military supplies toGoukouni Oueddeiand thePeople's Armed Forcesin Chad.TheChadian–Libyan Warbegan in earnest when Libya's support of rebel forces in northern Chad escalated into aninvasion.Later that same year, Libya andEgyptfought a four-day border war that came to be known as theEgyptian–Libyan War.Both nations agreed to aceasefireunder the mediation of the Algerian presidentHouari Boumédiène.Hundreds of Libyans lost their lives in the country's support forIdi Amin'sUgandain itswar against Tanzania.Gaddafi financed various other groups from anti-nuclear movements to Australian trade unions.On 2 March 1977, Libya officially became Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.
Libya adopted its plain green national flag on 19 November 1977.The country had the only plain-coloured flag in the world until 2011, when Libya adopted its current flag.From 1977 onward, per capita income in the country rose to more than US$11,000, the fifth-highest in Africa,while theHuman Development Indexbecame the highest in Africa and greater than that ofSaudi Arabia.This was achieved without borrowing any foreign loans, keeping Libyadebt-free.TheGreat Manmade Riverwas also built to allow free access to fresh water across large parts of the country.In addition, financial support was provided for university scholarships and employment programs.Much of Libya's income from oil, which soared in the 1970s, was spent on arms purchases and on sponsoring dozens of paramilitaries and terrorist groups around the world.
AnAmerican airstrikeled by then US presidentRonald Reaganintended to kill Gaddafi failed in 1986.Libya was finally put under sanctions by the United Nations after thebombingof a commercial flight atLockerbiein 1988 killed 270 people.In the 1990s, the government's rule was threatened by militant Islamism and an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Gaddafi.The government responded with repressive measures.Riots and Islamic activisim were crushed byRevolutionary Guard Corps.Nevertheless,Cyrenaicabetween 1995 and 1998 was politically unstable, due to the tribal allegiances of the local troops.In 2003, Gaddafi announced that all of his regime'sweapons of mass destructionwere disassembled, and that Libya was transitioning towardnuclear power.
The first civil war came during theArab Springmovements which overturned the rulers ofTunisiaandEgypt. Libya first experienced protests against Gaddafi's regime on 15 February 2011, with a full-scale revolt beginning on17 February.Libya's authoritarian regime led by Muammar Gaddafi put up much more of a resistance compared to the regimes in Egypt and Tunisia. While overthrowing the regimes in Egypt and Tunisia was a relatively quick process, Gaddafi's campaign posed significant stalls on the uprising in Libya.The first announcement of a competing political authority appeared online and declared theInterim Transitional National Councilas an alternative government. One of Gaddafi's senior advisors responded by posting a tweet, wherein he resigned, defected, and advised Gaddafi to flee.By 20 February, the unrest had spread to Tripoli. On 27 February 2011, theNational Transitional Councilwas established to administer the areas of Libya under rebel control. On 10 March 2011, the United States and many other nations recognised the council headed byMahmoud Jibrilas acting prime minister and as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people and withdrawing the recognition of Gaddafi's regime.
Pro-Gaddafi forces were able to respond militarily to rebel pushes inWestern Libyaand launched a counterattack along the coast toward Benghazi, thede factocentre of the uprising.The town ofZawiya, 48 kilometres (30 mi) from Tripoli, was bombarded byair force planesand army tanks and seized byJamahiriya troops, "exercising a level of brutality not yet seen in the conflict."Organizations of the United Nations, includingUnited Nations Secretary GeneralBan Ki-moonand theUnited Nations Human Rights Council, condemned the crackdown as violating international law, with the latter body expelling Libya outright in an unprecedented action.On 17 March 2011 the UN Security Council passedResolution 1973,with a 10–0 vote and five abstentions including Russia, China, India, Brazil and Germany. The resolution sanctioned the establishment of ano-fly zoneand the use of "all means necessary" to protect civilians within Libya.On 19 March, the first act of NATO allies to secure the no-fly zone began by destroying Libyan air defenses when French military jets entered Libyan airspace on areconnaissancemission heralding attacks on enemy targets.
In the weeks that followed, US American forces were in the forefront of NATO operations against Libya. More than 8,000 US personnel in warships and aircraft were deployed in the area. At least 3,000 targets were struck in 14,202 strike sorties, 716 of them in Tripoli and 492 inBrega.The US air offensive included flights of B-2 Stealth bombers, each bomber armed with sixteen 2000-pound bombs, flying out of and returning to their base in Missouri in the continental United States.The support provided by the NATO air forces contributed to the ultimate success of the revolution.By 22 August 2011,rebel fightershad entered Tripoli and occupiedGreen Square,which they renamed Martyrs' Square in honour of those killed since 17 February 2011. On 20 October 2011, the last heavy fighting of the uprising came to an end in the city ofSirte. TheBattle of Sirtewas both the last decisive battle and the last one in general of theFirst Libyan Civil Warwhere Gaddafi was captured and killed byNATO-backed forces on 20 October 2011. Sirte was the last Gaddafi loyalist stronghold and his place of birth. The defeat ofloyalistforces was celebrated on 23 October 2011, three days after the fall of Sirte. At least 30,000 Libyans died in the civil war.In addition, theNational Transitional Councilestimated 50,000 wounded.
Following the defeat of loyalist forces, Libya was torn among numerous rival, armed militias affiliated with distinct regions, cities and tribes, while the central government had been weak and unable to effectively exert its authority over the country. Competing militias pitted themselves against each other in a political struggle between Islamist politicians and their opponents.On 7 July 2012, Libyans held their first parliamentary elections since the end of the former regime. On 8 August, theNational Transitional Councilofficially handed power over to the wholly-electedGeneral National Congress, which was then tasked with the formation of an interim government and the drafting of a newLibyan Constitutionto be approved in a generalreferendum.On 25 August 2012, in what Reuters reported as "the most blatant sectarian attack" since the end of the civil war, unnamed organized assailants bulldozed aSufimosque with graves in the centre of the Libyan capitalTripoli. It was the second such razing of a Sufi site in two days.Numerous acts of vandalism and destruction of heritage were carried out by suspected Islamist militias, including the removal of the Nude Gazelle Statue and the destruction and desecration of World War II-era British grave sites near Benghazi.Many other cases of heritage vandalism were reported to be carried out by Islamist-related radical militias and mobs that either destroyed, robbed, or looted a number of historic sites.
On 11 September 2012, Islamist militants mounted anattack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi,killing the US ambassador to Libya,J. Christopher Stevens, and three others. The incident generated outrage in the United States and Libya.On 7 October 2012, Libya's Prime Minister-electMustafa A.G. Abushagurwas ousted after failing a second time to win parliamentary approval for a new cabinet.On 14 October 2012, the General National Congress elected former GNC member and human rights lawyerAli Zeidanas prime minister-designate.Zeidan was sworn in after his cabinet was approved by the GNC.On 11 March 2014, after having been ousted by the GNC for his inability to halt a rogue oil shipment,Prime Minister Zeidan stepped down, and was replaced by Prime MinisterAbdullah al-Thani.
TheSecond Civil Warbegan in May 2014 following fighting between rival parliaments with tribal militias andjihadistgroups soon taking advantage of the power vacuum. Most notably, radical Islamist fighters seizedDernain 2014 andSirtein 2015 in the name of theIslamic State. In February 2015, neighbouring Egyptlaunched airstrikesagainst IS in support of the Tobruk government.In June 2014,elections were heldto theHouse of Representatives, a new legislative body intended to take over from theGeneral National Congress. The elections were marred by violence and low turnout, with voting stations closed in some areas.Secularists and liberals did well in the elections, to the consternation of Islamist lawmakers in the GNC, who reconvened and declared a continuing mandate for the GNC, refusing to recognise the new House of Representatives.Armed supporters of the General National Congress occupied Tripoli, forcing the newly elected parliament to flee toTobruk.
In January 2015, meetings were held with the aim to find a peaceful agreement between the rival parties in Libya. The so-called Geneva-Ghadames talks were supposed to bring the GNC and the Tobruk government together at one table to find a solution of the internal conflict. However, the GNC actually never participated, a sign that internal division not only affected the "Tobruk Camp", but also the "Tripoli Camp". Meanwhile, terrorism within Libya steadily increased, also affecting neighbouring countries. Theterrorist attack against the Bardo MuseuminTunisiaon 18 March 2015 was reportedly carried out by two Libyan-trained militants.During 2015 an extended series of diplomatic meetings and peace negotiations were supported by the United Nations, as conducted by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), Spanish diplomatBernardino León.UN support for the SRSG-led process of dialogue carried on in addition to the usual work of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).In July 2015 SRSG Leon reported to the UN Security Council on the progress of the negotiations, which at that point had just achieved a political agreement on 11 July setting out "a comprehensive framework... includ[ing] guiding principles... institutions and decision-making mechanisms to guide the transition until the adoption of a permanent constitution."
Talks, negotiations and dialogue continued on during mid-2015 at various international locations, culminating at Skhirat in Morocco in early September.
Also in 2015, as part of the ongoing support from the international community, the UN Human Rights Council requested a report about the Libyan situationand the High Commissioner for Human Rights,Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, established an investigative body (OIOL) to report on human rights and rebuilding the Libyan justice system.Chaos-ridden Libya emerged as a major transit point forpeople trying to reach Europe. Between 2013 and 2018, nearly 700,000 migrants reached Italy by boat, many of them from Libya.In May 2018 Libya's rival leaders agreed to hold parliamentary and presidential elections following a meeting in Paris.In April 2019,Khalifa HaftarlaunchedOperation Flood of Dignity, in an offensive by theLibyan National Armyaimed to seize Western territories from theGovernment of National Accord(GNA).In June 2019, forces allied to Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord successfully captured Gharyan, a strategic town where military commander Khalifa Haftar and his fighters were based. According to a spokesman for GNA forces, Mustafa al-Mejii, dozens of LNA fighters under Haftar were killed, while at least 18 were taken prisoner.In March 2020, UN-backed government ofFayez Al-Sarrajcommenced Operation Peace Storm. The government initiated the bid in response to the state of assaults carried byField MarshalHaftar'sLNA. "We are a legitimate, civilian government that respects its obligations to the international community, but is committed primarily to its people and has an obligation to protect its citizens," Sarraj said in line with his decision.On 28 August 2020, theBBCAfrica EyeandBBC Arabic Documentariesrevealed that a drone operated by theUnited Arab Emirates(UAE) killed 26 young cadets at a military academy inTripoli, on 4 January. Most of the cadets were teenagers and none of them were armed. The Chinese-made droneWing Loong IIfired Blue Arrow 7 missile, which was operated from UAE-run Al-Khadim Libyan air base. In February, these drones stationed in Libya were moved to an air base nearSiwain the western Egyptian desert.The Guardianprobed and discovered the blatant violation ofUNarms embargo by theUAEandTurkeyon 7 October 2020. As per the reporting, both the nations sent large-scale military cargo planes to Libya in support of their respective parties.On 23 October 2020,a permanent ceasefirewas signed to end the war.
In December 2021, thecountry's first presidential electionwas scheduled, but was delayed to June 2022and later postponed further.
Fathi Bashaghawas appointed prime minister by the parliament in February 2022 to lead a transitional administration, but standing prime ministerAbdul Hamid Dbeibehrefused to hand over power as of April 2022. In protest against the Dbeibah government, tribal leaders from the desert town ofUbarishut down theEl Sharara oil field, Libya's largest oil field, on 18 April 2022. The shut down threatened to cause oil shortages domestically in Libya, and preclude the state-run National Oil Corp. from exploiting the high oil prices on the international market resulting from theRussian invasion of Ukraine.On 2 July, theHouse of Representativeswas burned down by protesters.
On September 10, 2023, catastrophic floods due todam failuresgenerated byStorm Danieldevastated the port city ofDerna, killing more than 5,900 and possibly as many as 24,000.The floods were the worst natural disaster in Libya's modern history.
In November 2024, theGovernment of National Unitywould instate a morality police to crack-down on "weird haircuts", enforce “modest” clothing, and require male guardians for women.
Libya extends over 1,759,540 square kilometres (679,362 sq mi), making it the16th-largest nation in the world by size. Libya is bounded to the north by theMediterranean Sea, the west byTunisiaandAlgeria, the southwest byNiger, the south byChad, the southeast bySudan, and the east byEgypt. Libya lies between latitudes19°and34°N, and longitudes9°and26°E.
At 1,770 kilometres (1,100 mi), Libya's coastline is the longest of any African country bordering the Mediterranean.The portion of the Mediterranean Sea north of Libya is often called theLibyan Sea. The climate is mostly extremely dry and desertlike in nature. However, the northern regions enjoy a milderMediterranean climate.
Six ecoregions lie within Libya's borders:Saharan halophytics,Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe,Mediterranean woodlands and forests,North Saharan steppe and woodlands,Tibesti-Jebel Uweinat montane xeric woodlands, andWest Saharan montane xeric woodlands.
Natural hazards come in the form of hot, dry, dust-ladensirocco(known in Libya as thegibli). This is a southern wind blowing from one to four days in spring and autumn. There are alsodust stormsandsandstorms.Oasescan also be found scattered throughout Libya, the most important of which areGhadamesandKufra.Libya is one of the sunniest and driest countries in the world due to prevailing presence of desert environment.
Libya was a pioneer state in North Africa in species protection, with the creation in 1975 of the El Kouf protected area. The fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime favoured intensepoaching: "Before the fall of Gaddafi even hunting rifles were forbidden. But since 2011, poaching has been carried out with weapons of war and sophisticated vehicles in which one can find up to 200 gazelle heads killed by militiamen who hunt to pass the time. We are also witnessing the emergence of hunters with no connection to the tribes that traditionally practice hunting. They shoot everything they find, even during the breeding season. More than 500,000 birds are killed in this way each year, when protected areas have been seized by tribal chiefs who have appropriated them. The animals that used to live there have all disappeared, hunted when they are edible or released when they are not," explains zoologist Khaled Ettaieb.
TheLibyan Desert, which covers most of Libya, is one of the most arid and sun-baked places on earth.In places, decades may pass without seeing any rainfall at all, and even in thehighlandsrainfall seldom happens, once every 5–10 years. AtUweinat, as of 2006the last recorded rainfall was in September 1998.
Likewise, the temperature in the Libyan Desert can be extreme; on 13 September 1922, the town of'Aziziya, which is located southwest ofTripoli, recorded an air temperature of 58 °C (136.4 °F), considered to be a world record.In September 2012, however, the world record figure of 58 °C was determined to be invalid by theWorld Meteorological Organization.
There are a few scattered uninhabited small oases, usually linked to the major depressions, where water can be found by digging to a few feet in depth. In the west there is a widely dispersed group of oases in unconnected shallow depressions, the Kufra group, consisting of Tazerbo, Rebianae andKufra.Aside from the scarps, the general flatness is only interrupted by a series ofplateausand massifs near the centre of the Libyan Desert, around the convergence of the Egyptian-Sudanese-Libyan borders.
Slightly further to the south are themassifsof Arkenu, Uweinat, and Kissu. Thesegranitemountains are ancient, having formed long before the sandstones surrounding them. Arkenu and Western Uweinat are ring complexes very similar to those in theAïr Mountains. Eastern Uweinat (the highest point in the Libyan Desert) is a raised sandstone plateau adjacent to the granite part further west.
The plain to the north of Uweinat is dotted with eroded volcanic features. With the discovery of oil in the 1950s also came the discovery of a massiveaquiferunderneath much of Libya. The water in theNubian Sandstone Aquifer Systempre-dates the lastIce agesand the Sahara Desert itself.This area also contains theArkenu structures, which were once thought to be two impact craters.
The politics of Libya has been in a tumultuous state since the start of theArab Springand the NATO intervention relatedLibyan Crisisin 2011; the crisis resulted in the collapse of theLibyan Arab Jamahiriyaand thekillingofMuammar Gaddafi, amidst theFirst Civil Warand theforeign military intervention.The crisis was deepened by thefactional violencein theaftermath of the First Civil War, resulting in the outbreak of theSecond Civil Warin 2014.The control over the country is currently split between theHouse of Representatives(HoR) inTobrukand theGovernment of National Unity(GNU) inTripoliand their respective supporters, as well as variousjihadist groupsandtribal elementscontrolling different parts of the country.
The former legislature was theGeneral National Congress, which had 200 seats.TheGeneral National Congress (2014), a largely unrecognised rival parliament based in thede jurecapital ofTripoli, claims to be a legal continuation of the GNC.On 7 July 2012, Libyans voted inparliamentary elections, the first free elections in almost 40 years.Around thirty women were elected to become members of parliament.Early results of the vote showed theNational Forces Alliance, led by former interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, as front runner.TheJustice and Construction Party, affiliated to theMuslim Brotherhood, has done less well than similar parties in Egypt and Tunisia.It won 17 out of 80 seats that were contested by parties, but about 60 independents have since joined its caucus.As of January 2013, there was mounting public pressure on the National Congress to set up a drafting body to create a new constitution. Congress had not yet decided whether the members of the body would be elected or appointed.On 30 March 2014, the General National Congress voted to replace itself with a newHouse of Representatives. The new legislature allocates 30 seats for women, will have 200 seats overall (with individuals able to run as members of political parties) and allows Libyans of foreign nationalities to run for office.
Following the 2012 elections,Freedom Houseimproved Libya's rating from Not Free to Partly Free, and now considers the country to be an electoral democracy.Gaddafi merged civil andshariacourts in 1973. Civil courts now employ sharia judges who sit in regularcourts of appealand specialize in sharia appellate cases.Laws regarding personal status are derived from Islamic law.At a meeting of theEuropean Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairson 2 December 2014, UN Special RepresentativeBernardino Leóndescribed Libya as a non-state.An agreement to form anational unity governmentwas signed on 17 December 2015.Under the terms of the agreement, a nine-memberPresidency Counciland a seventeen-member interimGovernment of National Accordwould be formed, with a view to holding new elections within two years.TheHouse of Representativeswould continue to exist as a legislature and an advisory body, to be known as theState Council, will be formed with members nominated by theGeneral National Congress (2014).The formation of an interim unity government was announced on 5 February 2021, after its members were elected by theLibyan Political Dialogue Forum(LPDF).Seventy-four members of the LPDF cast ballots for four-member slates which would fill positions including the Prime Minister and the head of the Presidential Council.After no slates reached a 60% vote threshold, the two leading teams competed in a run-off election.Mohamed al-Menfi, a former ambassador to Greece, became head of the Presidential Council.
Meanwhile, the LPDF confirmed thatAbdul Hamid Dbeibeh, a businessman, would be the transitional Prime Minister.All of the candidates who ran in this election, including the members of the winning slate, promised to appoint women to 30% of all senior government positions.The politicians elected to lead the interim government initially agreed not to stand in the national elections scheduled for 24 December 2021.However, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh announced his candidature for president despite the ban in November 2021.The Appeals Court in Tripoli rejected appeals for his disqualification, and allowed Dbeibeh back on the candidates' list, along with a number of other disqualified candidates, originally scheduled for December 24.Even more controversially, the court also reinstatedSaif al-Islam Gaddafi, a son of the former dictator, as a presidential candidate.On 22 December 2021, Libya's Election Commission called for the postponement of the election until 24 January 2022.Earlier, a parliamentary commission said it would be "impossible" to hold the election on 24 December 2021.The UN called on Libya's interim leaders to "expeditiously address all legal and political obstacles to hold elections, including finalising the list of presidential candidates".However, at the last minute, the election was postponed indefinitely and the international community agreed to continue its support and recognition of the interim government headed by Mr Dbeibeh.According to new election rules, a new prime minister has 21 days to form a cabinet that must be endorsed by the various governing bodies within Libya.After this cabinet is agreed upon, the unity government will replace all "parallel authorities" within Libya, including the Government of National Accord in Tripoli and the administration led by General Haftar.
Libya's foreign policies have fluctuated since 1951. As a Kingdom, Libya maintained a definitively pro-Western stance, and was recognized as belonging to the conservative traditionalist bloc in the League of Arab States (the present-dayArab League), of which it became a member in 1953.The government was also friendly towards Western countries such as the United Kingdom, United States,France,Italy,Greece, and established full diplomatic relations with theSoviet Unionin 1955.Although the government supported Arab causes, including the Moroccan and Algerian independence movements, it took little active part in theArab-Israeli disputeor the tumultuous inter-Arab politics of the 1950s and early 1960s. The Kingdom was noted for its close association with the West, while it steered a conservative course at home.
After the 1969coup,Muammar Gaddaficlosed American and British bases and partlynationalizedforeign oil and commercial interests in Libya. Gaddafi was known for backing a number of leaders viewed as anathema toWesternizationandpolitical liberalism, includingUgandanPresidentIdi Amin,Central AfricanEmperorJean-Bédel Bokassa,EthiopianstrongmanHaile Mariam Mengistu,Liberian PresidentCharles Taylor,andYugoslavPresidentSlobodan Milošević.
Relations with the West were strained by a series of incidents for most of Gaddafi's rule,including the killing ofLondonpolicewomanYvonne Fletcher, thebombingof aWest Berlinnightclub frequented by US servicemen, and the bombing ofPan Am Flight 103, which led to UN sanctions in the 1990s, though by the late 2000s, the United States and other Western powers had normalised relations with Libya.Gaddafi's decision to abandon the pursuit ofweapons of mass destructionafter theIraq WarsawIraqi dictatorSaddam Husseinoverthrown and put on trial led to Libya being hailed as a success for Westernsoft powerinitiatives in theWar on Terror.In October 2010, Gaddafi apologized to African leaders on behalf of Arab nations for their involvement in thetrans-Saharan slave trade.
Libya is included in the European Union'sEuropean Neighbourhood Policy(ENP) which aims at bringing the EU and its neighbours closer. Libyan authorities rejected European Union's plans aimed at stoppingmigration from Libya.In 2017, Libya signed the UNtreaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Libya'sprevious national armywas defeated in theLibyan Civil Warand disbanded. TheTobrukbasedHouse of Representativeswho claim to be the legitimate government of Libya have attempted to reestablish a military known as theLibyan National Army. Led byKhalifa Haftar, they control much of eastern Libya.In May 2012, an estimated 35,000 personnel had joined its ranks.The internationally recognisedGovernment of National Accordestablished in 2015 hasits own armythat replaced the LNA, but it consists largely of undisciplined and disorganised militia groups.
As of November 2012, it was deemed to be still in the embryonic stage of development.PresidentMohammed el-Megarifpromised that empowering the army and police force is the government's biggest priority.President el-Megarif also ordered that all of the country's militias must come under government authority or disband.
Militias have so far refused to be integrated into a central security force.Many of these militias are disciplined, but the most powerful of them answer only to the executive councils of various Libyan cities.These militias make up the so-calledLibyan Shield, a parallel national force, which operates at the request, rather than at the order, of the defence ministry.
Historically, the area of Libya was considered three provinces (or states),Tripolitaniain the northwest,Barka (Cyrenaica)in the east, andFezzanin the southwest. It was the conquest by Italy in theItalo-Turkish Warthat united them in a single political unit.
Since 2007, Libya has been divided into 22 districts (Shabiyat):
In 2022, 18 provinces were declared by the Libyan Government of National Unity (Libyan Observer): the eastern coast, Jabal Al-Akhdar, Al-Hizam, Benghazi, Al-Wahat, Al-Kufra, Al-Khaleej, Al-Margab, Tripoli, Al-Jafara, Al-Zawiya, West Coast, Gheryan, Zintan, Nalut, Sabha, Al-Wadi, and Murzuq Basin.
According toHuman Rights Watchannual report 2016, journalists are still being targeted by the armed groups in Libya. The organization added that Libya ranked very low in the 2015Press Freedom Index, 154th out of 180 countries.For the 2021 Press Freedom Index its score dropped to 165th out of 180 countries.Homosexualityis illegal in Libya.
The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from theoil sector, which account for over half of GDP and 97% of exports.Libya holds the largest proven oil reserves in Africa and is an important contributor to the global supply of light,sweet crude.During 2010, when oil averaged at $80 a barrel, oil production accounted for 54% of GDP.Apart from petroleum, the other natural resources are natural gas andgypsum.TheInternational Monetary Fundestimated Libya's real GDP growth at 122% in 2012 and 16.7% in 2013, after a 60% plunge in 2011.
TheWorld Bankdefines Libya as an 'Upper Middle Income Economy', along with only seven other African countries.Substantial revenues from the energy sector, coupled with a small population, give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa.This allowed theLibyan Arab Jamahiriyastate to provide an extensive level ofsocial security, particularly in the fields of housing and education.
Libya faces many structural problems including a lack of institutions, weak governance, and chronicstructural unemployment.The economy displays a lack of economic diversification and significant reliance on immigrant labour.Libya has traditionally relied on unsustainably high levels of public sector hiring to create employment.In the mid-2000s, the government employed about 70% of all national employees.
Unemployment rose from 8% in 2008 to 21% in 2009, according to the census figures.According to anArab Leaguereport, based on data from 2010, unemployment for women stands at 18% while for the figure for men is 21%, making Libya the only Arab country where there are more unemployed men than women.Libya has high levels of social inequality, high rates of youth unemployment and regional economic disparities.Water supply is also a problem, with some 28% of the population not having access to safe drinking water in 2000.
Two trans-African automobile routes pass through Libya, which includesCairo-Dakar HighwayandTripoli-Cape Town Highway. These routes have further contributed in the economic development of Libya.
Libya imports up to 90% of its cereal consumption requirements, and imports of wheat in 2012/13 was estimated at 1 million tonnes.The 2012 wheat production was estimated at 200,000 tonnes.The government hopes to increase food production to 800,000 tonnes of cereals by 2020.However, natural and environmental conditions limit Libya's agricultural production potential.Before 1958, agriculture was the country's main source of revenue, making up about 30% of GDP. With the discovery of oil in 1958, the size of the agriculture sector declined rapidly, comprising less than 5% GDP by 2005.
The country joinedOPECin 1962.Libya is not aWTOmember, but negotiations for its accession started in 2004.In the early 1980s, Libya was one of the wealthiest countries in the world; itsGDP per capitawas higher than some developed countries.
In the early 2000s officials of the Jamahiriya era carried out economic reforms to reintegrate Libya into the global economy.UN sanctionswere lifted in September 2003, and Libya announced in December 2003 that it would abandon programs to build weapons of mass destruction.Other steps have included applying for membership of theWorld Trade Organization, reducingsubsidies, and announcing plans forprivatization.
Authorities privatized more than 100 government owned companies after 2003 in industries including oil refining, tourism and real estate, of which 29 were 100% foreign owned.Many international oil companies returned to the country, including oil giantsShellandExxonMobil.After sanctions were lifted there was a gradual increase of air traffic, and by 2005 there were 1.5 million yearly air travellers.Libya had long been a notoriously difficult country for Western tourists to visit due to stringent visa requirements.
In 2007,Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the second-eldest son of Muammar Gaddafi, was involved in agreen developmentproject called the Green Mountain Sustainable Development Area, which sought to bring tourism toCyreneand to preserveGreekruins in the area.In August 2011, it was estimated that it would take at least 10 years to rebuild Libya's infrastructure. Even before the 2011 war, Libya's infrastructure was in a poor state due to "utter neglect" by Gaddafi's administration, according to the NTC.By October 2012, the economy had recovered from the 2011 conflict, with oil production returning to near normal levels.Oil production was more than 1.6 million barrels per day before the war. By October 2012, the average oil production has surpassed 1.4 million bpd.The resumption of production was made possible due to the quick return of major Western companies, likeTotalEnergies,Eni,Repsol,WintershallandOccidental.In 2016, an announcement from the company said the company aims 900,000 barrel per day in the next year. Oil production has fallen from 1.6 million barrel per day to 900,000 in four years of war.
TheGreat Man-Made Riveris the world's largestirrigationproject.The project utilizes a pipeline system that pumpsfossil waterfrom theNubian Sandstone Aquifer Systemfrom down south in Libya to cities in the populous Libyan northern Mediterranean coast including Tripoli and Benghazi. The water provides 70% of all freshwater used in Libya.During the second Libyan civil war, lasting from 2014 to 2020, the water infrastructure suffered neglect and occasional breakdowns.By 2017, 60% of the Libyan population weremalnourished. Since then, 1.3 million people are waiting for emergency humanitarian aid, out of a total population of 7.1 million.
In March 2024, Libya is actively promoting business development and encouraging both domestic and foreign investment. This strategic initiative is aimed at securing long-term economic stability and prosperity for Libya by diversifying its economic foundation. Embracing green industries like renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, and eco-tourism holds the potential to generate fresh employment prospects across a spectrum of sectors, thereby addressing unemployment challenges, particularly among the youth demographic.
Libya is a large country with a relatively small population concentrated very narrowly along the coast.Its population density is about 50 inhabitants per square kilometre (130/sq mi) in the two northern regions ofTripolitaniaandCyrenaica, but falls to less than 1 inhabitant per square kilometre (2.6/sq mi) elsewhere. Ninety percent of the people live along the coast in less than 10% of the area.
About 88% of the population is urban, mostly concentrated in the three largest cities,Tripoli,BenghaziandMisrata. Libya has a population of about 6.7 million,27.7% of whom are under the age of 15.In 1984 the population was 3.6 million, an increase from the 1.54 million reported in 1964.
The population of Libya is primarily ofArabancestry.Arabs comprise 92% of the population, whileBerberscomprise 5%, though other estimates put this percentage at 10%, representing approximately 600,000 people.Among the Berber groups are the minority Berber populations ofZuwarahand theNafusa Mountains. Southern Libya, primarilySebha,Kufra,Ghat,GhadamisandMurzuk, is also inhabited by two other ethnic groups; theTuaregandToubou. Libya is one of the world's mosttribalcountries. There are about 140 tribes andclansin Libya.Also living in Libya are an estimated 750,000 Egyptian workers, down from more than 2 million prior to the overthrow ofMuammar Gaddafiin 2011.
Family life is important for Libyan families, the majority of whom live inapartment blocksand other independent housing units, with modes of housing depending on their income and wealth. Although the Arab Libyans traditionally lived nomadicBedouinlifestyles in tents, they have predominately settled in towns and cities.
Because of this, their old ways of life are gradually fading out. An unknown small number of Libyans still live in the desert as their families have done for centuries. Most of the population has occupations in industry andservices, and a small percentage is in agriculture.
According to the UNHCR, there were around 8,000 registered refugees, 5,500 unregistered refugees, and 7,000 asylum seekers of various origins in Libya in January 2013. Additionally, 47,000 Libyan nationals were internally displaced and 46,570 were internally displaced returnees.
In 2010, spending on healthcare accounted for 3.88% of the country's GDP. In 2009, there were 18.71 physicians and 66.95 nurses per 10,000 inhabitants.The life expectancy at birth was 74.95 years in 2011, or 72.44 years for males and 77.59 years for females.
In 2023, the Libyan health ministry announced the launch of the National Strategy for Primary Healthcare 2023–2028 to improve services provided by group clinics and health centres. A unique health number allotted to each citizen will facilitate access to medical records. Before Storm Daniel, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that around 60,000 people were in need of humanitarian aid in Derna and environs. Since the storm many of the hospitals and primary health facilities in Derna and eastern Libya have been rendered partially or completely nonfunctional.
Libya's 2024 Global Hunger Index (GHI) score is19.2, which indicates a moderate level of hunger. Libya ranks 83rd out of 127 countries.
Libya's population includes 1.7 million students, over 270,000 of whom study at thetertiary level.Basic education in Libya is free for all citizens,and is compulsory up to thesecondary level. The adult literacy rate in 2010 was 89.2%.
After Libya's independence in 1951, its first university – theUniversity of Libya– was established in Benghazi by royal decree.In the 1975–76 academic year the number of university students was estimated to be 13,418. As of 2004, this number has increased to more than 200,000, with another 70,000 enrolled in the higher technical and vocational sector.The rapid increase in the number of students in the higher education sector has been mirrored by an increase in the number of institutions of higher education.
Since 1975 the number of public universities has grown from two to twelve and since their introduction in 1980, the number of higher technical and vocational institutes has grown to 84.Since 2007 some new private universities such as theLibyan International Medical Universityhave been established. Although before 2011 a small number of private institutions were given accreditation, the majority of Libya's higher education has always been financed by the public budget. In 1998 the budget allocation for education represented 38.2% of Libya's national budget.
In 2024, the Ministry of Education announced the launch of the Full-Day School Project in which 12 schools in different parts of the country will have longer school days. The project aims to provide 800 hours of instruction per year to 3,300 elementary school students.
The original inhabitants of Libya belonged predominantly toBerberethnic groups; however, the long series of foreign invasions and migrations – particularly byArabs– had a profound and lasting ethnic, linguistic, and cultural influence on Libyan demographics. Centuries of large-scaleArab migration to the Maghrebsince the 7th century shifted the demographics of Libya in favour of Arabs. SomeTurkssettled in Libya during the rule of theOttoman Empire.
Most of Libya's inhabitants areArab,with many tracing their ancestry to Bedouin Arab tribes likeBanu SulaymandBanu Hilal, plus Turkish and Berber minorities. TheTurkish minorityare often called "Kouloughlis" and are concentrated in and around villages and towns.There are some ethnic minorities, such as the BerberTuaregand the Black AfricanTebou.
MostItalian settlers, at their height numbering over half a million, left after Italian Libya's independence in 1947. More repatriated in 1970 after the accession of Muammar Gaddafi, but a few hundred returned in the 2000s.
As of 2023 the IOM estimates that approximately 10% of Libya's population (upwards of 700,000 people) constituted foreign labour.Prior to the 2011 revolution, official and unofficial figures of migrant labour ranged from 25% to 40% of the population (between 1.5 and 2.4 million people). Historically, Libya hosted millions of low- and high-skilled Egyptian migrants, in particular.
It is difficult to estimate the total number of immigrants in Libya because the census figures, official counts and typically more accurate unofficial estimates all differ. In the 2006 census, around 359,540 foreign nationals were resident in Libya out of a population of over 5.5 million (6.35% of the population). Almost half of these were Egyptians, followed by Sudanese and Palestinian immigrants.During the 2011 revolution, 768,362 immigrants fled Libya as calculated by theIOM, around 13% of the population at the time, although many more stayed on in the country.
If consular records prior to the revolution are used to estimate the immigrant population, as many as 2 million Egyptian migrants were recorded by the Egyptian embassy in Tripoli in 2009, followed by 87,200 Tunisians, and 68,200 Moroccans by their respective embassies. Turkey recorded the evacuation of 25,000 workers during the 2011 uprising.The number of Asian migrants before the revolution were just over 100,000 (60,000 Bangladeshis, 20,000 Filipinos, 18,000 Indians, 10,000 Pakistanis, as well as Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and other workers).This would put the immigrant population at almost 40% before the revolution and is a figure more consistent with government estimates in 2004 which put the regular and irregular migrant numbers at 1.35 to 1.8 million (25–33% of the population at the time).
Libya's native population of Arabs-Berbers as well as Arab migrants of various nationalities collectively make up 97% of the population as of 2014.
According to theCIA, the official language of Libya is Arabic.The localLibyan Arabicvariety is spoken alongsideModern Standard Arabic. VariousBerber languagesare also spoken, includingTamasheq,Ghadamis,Nafusi,SuknahandAwjilah.The Libyan Amazigh High Council (LAHC) has declared the Amazigh (Berberor Tamazight) language to be official in the cities and districts inhabited by the Berbers in Libya.In addition,Englishis widely understood in the major cities,while the former colonial language ofItalianis also used in commerce and by the remaining Italian population.
About 97% of the population in Libya areMuslims, most of whom belong to theSunni branch.Small numbers ofIbadiMuslims live in the country.
Before the 1930s, theSenussiSunni Sufi movement was the primary Islamic movement in Libya. This was a religious revival adapted to desert life. Itszawaaya(lodges) were found inTripolitaniaandFezzan, but Senussi influence was strongest inCyrenaica. Rescuing the region from unrest and anarchy, the Senussi movement gave the Cyrenaican tribal people a religious attachment and feelings of unity and purpose.This Islamic movement was eventually destroyed by theItalian invasion. Gaddafi asserted that he was a devout Muslim, and his government was taking a role in supporting Islamic institutions and in worldwide proselytising on behalf of Islam.
TheInternational Religious Freedom Report2004 noted that "bishops, priests and nuns wear religious dress freely in public and report virtually no discrimination," while also "enjoying good relations with the Government". The report also indicated that members of minority religions said "they do not face harassment by authorities or the Muslim majority on the basis of their religious practices". TheInternational Christian Concerndoes not list Libya as a country where there is "persecution or severe discrimination against Christians".Since thefall of Gaddafi, ultra-conservative strains of Islam have reasserted themselves in places.Dernain eastern Libya, historically a hotbed ofjihadistthought, came under the control of militants aligned with theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levantin 2014.Jihadist elements have also spread toSirteandBenghazi, among other areas, as a result of theSecond Libyan Civil War.
Prior to independence, Libya was home to more than 140,000 Christians (mostly ofItalianand Maltese ancestry). Many Christian settlers left to Italy or Malta after the independence.Small foreign communities of Christians remained.Coptic Orthodox Christianity, the predominant Christian church of Egypt, is thelargest and most historic Christian denomination in Libya. There are about 60,000 EgyptianCoptsin Libya.There are three Coptic Churches in Libya, one in Tripoli, one in Benghazi, and one in Misurata.
The Coptic Church has grown in recent years in Libya, due to the growing immigration ofEgyptian Coptsto Libya. There are an estimated 40,000Roman Catholicsin Libya who are served by two bishops, one in Tripoli (serving the Italian community) and one inBenghazi(serving theMaltesecommunity). There is also a smallAnglicancommunity, made up mostly of African immigrant workers in Tripoli which is part of theAnglican Diocese of Egypt. People have been arrested on suspicion of beingChristian missionaries, as proselytising is illegal.Christians have also faced the threat of violence from radical Islamists in some parts of the country, with a well-publicised video released by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in February 2015 depicting the mass beheading of Christian Copts.Libya was ranked fourth onOpen Doors' 2022 World Watch List, an annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution.
Libya was once the home of one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, dating back to at least 300 BC.In 1942, the Italian Fascist authorities set up forced labour camps south of Tripoli for the Jews, includingGiado(about 3,000 Jews),Gharyan, Jeren, and Tigrinna. In Giado some 500 Jews died of weakness, hunger, and disease. In 1942, Jews who were not in the concentration camps were heavily restricted in their economic activity and all men between 18 and 45 years were drafted for forced labour. In August 1942, Jews from Tripolitania were interned ina concentration camp at Sidi Azaz. In the three years after November 1945, more than 140 Jews were murdered, and hundreds more wounded, in a series ofpogroms.By 1948, about 38,000 Jews remained in the country. Upon Libyan independence in 1951, most of the Jewish community emigrated.
Many Arabic speaking Libyans consider themselves as part of a wider Arab community. This was strengthened by the spread of Pan-Arabism in the mid-20th century, and their reach to power in Libya where they instituted Arabic as the only official language of the state. Under Gaddafi's rule, the teaching and even use of indigenousBerber languagewas strictly forbidden.In addition to banning foreign languages previously taught in academic institutions, leaving entire generations of Libyans with limitations in their comprehension of the English language. Both the spoken Arabic dialects and Berber, still retain words from Italian, that were acquired before and during theLibia Italianaperiod.
Libyans have a heritage in the traditions of the previously nomadicBedouinArabic speakers and sedentaryBerbertribes. Most Libyans associate themselves with a particular family name originating from tribal or conquest based heritage.
Reflecting the "nature of giving" (Arabic:الاحسانIhsan,Berber languages: ⴰⵏⴰⴽⴽⴰⴼ Anakkaf ), amongst the Libyan people as well as the sense of hospitality, recently the state of Libya made it to the top 20 on the world giving index in 2013.According to CAF, in a typical month, almost three-quarters (72%) of all Libyans helped somebody they did not know – the third highest level across all 135 countries surveyed.
There are few theatres or art galleries due to the decades of cultural repression under the Gaddafi regime and lack of infrastructure development under the regime of dictatorship.For many years there have been no public theatres, and only very few cinemas showing foreign films. The tradition offolk cultureis still alive and well, with troupes performing music and dance at frequent festivals, both in Libya and abroad.
A large number ofLibyan televisionstations are devoted to political review, Islamic topics and cultural phenomena. A number of TV stations air various styles of traditional Libyan music.Tuareg musicand dance are popular inGhadamesand the south. Libyan television broadcasts air programs mostly in Arabic though usually have time slots for English and French programs.A 1996 analysis by theCommittee to Protect Journalistsfound Libya's media was the most tightly controlled in the Arab world during the country's dictatorship.As of 2012hundreds of TV stations have begun to air due to the collapse of censorship from the old regime and the initiation of "free media".
Many Libyans frequent the country's beach and they also visit Libya's archaeological sites—especiallyLeptis Magna, which is widely considered to be one of the best preserved Roman archaeological sites in the world.The most common form of public transport between cities is the bus, though many people travel by automobile. There are no railway services in Libya, but these are planned for construction in the near future (seerail transport in Libya).
Libya's capital,Tripoli, has many museums and archives. These include the Government Library, the Ethnographic Museum, the Archaeological Museum, the National Archives, the Epigraphy Museum and the Islamic Museum. TheRed Castle Museumlocated in the capital near the coast and right in the city centre, built in consultation withUNESCO, may be the country's most famous.
Libyan cuisine is a mixture of the differentItalian, Bedouin and traditional Arab culinary influences.Pasta is the staple food in the Western side of Libya, whereas rice is generally the staple food in the east.
Common Libyan foods include several variations of red (tomato) sauce based pasta dishes (similar to the ItalianSugo all'arrabbiatadish); rice, usually served with lamb or chicken (typically stewed, fried, grilled, or boiled in-sauce); andcouscous, which is steam cooked whilst held over boiling red (tomato) sauce and meat (sometimes also containing courgettes/zucchini and chickpeas), which is typically served along with cucumber slices, lettuce and olives.
Bazeen, a dish made from barley flour and served with red tomato sauce, is customarily eaten communally, with several people sharing the same dish, usually by hand. This dish is commonly served at traditional weddings or festivities.Asidais a sweet version of Bazeen, made from white flour and served with a mix of honey, ghee or butter. Another popular way to serve Asida is withrub(fresh date syrup) and olive oil.Usbanis animal tripe stitched and stuffed with rice and vegetables cooked in tomato based soup or steamed.Shurbais a red tomato sauce-based soup, usually served with small grains of pasta.
A very common snack eaten by Libyans is known askhubs bi' tun, literally meaning "bread with tuna fish", usually served as a baked baguette or pita bread stuffed with tuna fish that has been mixed withharissa(chili sauce) and olive oil. Many snack vendors prepare these sandwiches and they can be found all over Libya. Libyan restaurants may serve international cuisine, or may serve simpler fare such as lamb, chicken, vegetable stew, potatoes andmacaroni.Due to severe lack of infrastructure, many under-developed areas and small towns do not have restaurants and instead food stores may be the only source to obtain food products. Alcohol consumption is illegal.
There are four main ingredients of traditional Libyan food:olives(andolive oil),dates, grains and milk.Grains are roasted, ground, sieved and used for making bread, cakes, soups and bazeen. Dates are harvested, dried and can be eaten as they are, made into syrup or slightly fried and eaten withbsisaand milk. After eating, Libyans often drink black tea. This is normally repeated a second time (for the second glass of tea), and in the third round of tea, it is served with roasted peanuts or roastedalmondsknown asshay bi'l-luz(mixed with the tea in the same glass).
Footballis the most popular sport in Libya. The country hosted the1982 African Cup of Nationsand almost qualified for the1986 FIFA World Cup. Thenational teamalmost won the 1982 AFCON; they lost toGhanaon penalties 7–6. In 2014, Libya won the African Nations Championship after beating Ghana in the finals. Although the national team has never won a major competition or qualified for a World Cup, there is still lots of passion for the sport and the quality of football is improving.It also participated in many Summer Olympics, such as the2016 Summer Olympics, the2008 Summer Olympicsand more.
Horse racing is also a popular sport in Libya. It is a tradition of many special occasions and holidays.
This article incorporatespublic domain materialfromThe World Factbook.CIA.This article incorporatespublic domain materialfromU.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets.United States Department of State.
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