Libya

• desertification;
• very limited natural fresh water resources;
• the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban

0-14 years:

35% (male 958,243; female 917,940)

15-64 years:

61% (male 1,694,986; female 1,581,400)

65 years and over:

4% (male 105,500; female 110,516) (2002 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.95 male(s)/female

total population:

1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

noun:

Libyan(s)

adjective:

Libyan

conventional long form:

Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

conventional short form:

Libya

local short form:

none

local long form:

Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma

• 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah);
• Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan;
• note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions

• based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law;
• separate religious courts;
• no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts;
• has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

chief of state:

Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state

elections:

• national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees;
• head of government elected by the General People's Congress;
• election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA)

election results:

Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA%

cabinet:

General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress

head of government:

Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

• Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.6501 (December 2001), 0.6501 (2001), 0.5403 (2000), 0.5403 (1999), 0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997);
• market rate for Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.55 (January 2002)

note: Libya devalued its official rate for foreign trade on 1 January 2002 to 21.30 dinars per US dollar; the previous official rate was 0.63 dinar per US dollar (Dec 2001 )

general assessment:

telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996

domestic:

microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations

international:

• satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik;
• submarine cables to France and Italy;
• microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt;
• tropospheric scatter to Greece;
• participant in Medarabtel (1999)

total:

24,484 km

paved:

6,798 km

unpaved:

17,686 km

note: data for the length of unpaved roads include the assumption that because they were listed as secondary roads, they are unpaved; some may be paved and some part of the primary roads may not be paved (1996)

• crude oil 4,383 km;
• petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km);
• natural gas 1,947 km

total:

23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 209,000 GRT/278,277 DWT

ships by type:

cargo 9, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4

note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 1, Kuwait 1, United Arab Emirates 1 (2002 est.)

• Chadian rebels from Aozou region reside in Libya;
• Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in Niger as well as part of southeastern Algeria in currently dormant disputes