Libya

total:

4.33 cu km/yr (14%/3%/83%)

per capita:

796.1 cu m/yr (2000)

• desertification;
• limited natural freshwater resources;
• the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, brings water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Law of the Sea

noun:

Libyan(s)

adjective:

Libyan

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.1 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.08 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.04 male(s)/female

total population:

1.08 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Libya

local long form:

none

local short form:

Libiya

name:

Tripoli (Tarabulus)

geographic coordinates:

32 53 N, 13 10 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Friday in March; ends last Friday in October

note: on 10 November 2012, Libya changed its standard time from UTC+2 to UTC+1

• 22 districts (shabiyat, singular - shabiyat);
• Al Butnan, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jabal al Gharbi, Al Jafarah, Al Jufrah, Al Kufrah, Al Marj, Al Marqab, Al Wahat, An Nuqat al Khams, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghat, Misratah, Murzuq, Nalut, Sabha, Surt, Tarabulus, Wadi al Hayat, Wadi ash Shati

• previous 1951, 1977;
• latest 2011 (interim);
• note - in mid-July 2013, Libya's legislative body agreed on steps for drafting a new constitution (2013)

chief of state:

President, General National Congress, Nuri Abu SAHMAYN

head of government:

• Abdullah al-THANI remains Prime Minister after the 4 May 2014 election is declared unconstitutional;
• Deputy Prime Ministers Awad Ibrik Ibrahim al-BARASI, Sadiq Abd al-Karim Abd al-Rahman KARIM, Abd-al-Salam Muhammad al-Mahdi al-QADI

cabinet:

new cabinet approved by the General National Congress on 31 October 2012; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

prime minister and General National Congress president elected by the National Congress

election results:

NA

• Al-Watan (Homeland) Party
• Justice and Construction Party or JCP [Muhammad SAWAN]
• National Front (initially the National Front for the Salvation of Libya, formed in 1981 as a diaspora opposition group)
• National Forces Alliance or NFA [Mahmoud JIBRIL, founder] (includes many political organizations, NGOs, and independents)
• Union for the Homeland [Abd al-Rahman al-SUWAYHILI]

note: list includes some of the larger political parties and leaders

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Suleiman ABULHI

chancery:

2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 705, Washington, DC 20037

telephone:

[1] (202) 944-9601

FAX:

[1] (202) 944-9606

• three horizontal bands of red (top), black (double width), and green with a white crescent and star centered on the black stripe;
• the National Transitional Council reintroduced this flag design of the former Kingdom of Libya (1951-1969) on 27 February 2011;
• it replaced the former all-green banner promulgated by the QADHAFI regime in 1977;
• the colors represent the three major regions of the country: red stands for Fezzan, black symbolizes Cyrenaica, and green denotes Tripolitania;
• the crescent and star represent Islam, the main religion of the country

name:

"Allahu Akbar" (God Is Greatest)

lyrics/music:

Mahmoud el-SHERIF/Abdalla Shams el-DIN

note: adopted 1969; the anthem was originally a battle song for the Egyptian Army in the 1956 Suez War

agriculture:

17%

industry:

23%

services:

59% (2004 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

general assessment:

• telecommunications system is state-owned and service is poor, but investment is being made to upgrade;
• state retains monopoly in fixed-line services;
• mobile-cellular telephone system became operational in 1996

domestic:

multiple providers for a mobile telephone system that is growing rapidly; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity has soared

international:

• country code - 218;
• satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik;
• submarine cable to France and Italy;
• microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt;
• tropospheric scatter to Greece;
• participant in Medarabtel (2010)

• state-funded and private TV stations;
• some provinces operate local TV stations;
• pan-Arab satellite TV stations are available;
• state-funded radio (2012)

total:

100,024 km

country comparison to the world: 45

paved:

57,214 km

unpaved:

42,810 km (2003)

total:

23

country comparison to the world: 91

by type:

cargo 2, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 13, roll on/roll off 1

foreign-owned:

2 (Kuwait 1, Norway 1)

registered in other countries:

6 (Hong Kong 1, Malta 5) (2010)

major seaport(s):

Marsa al Burayqah (Marsa el Brega), Tripoli

oil terminal(s):

Az Zawiyah, Ra's Lanuf

males age 16-49:

1,775,078

females age 16-49:

1,714,194 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

1,511,144

females age 16-49:

1,458,934 (2010 est.)

male:

59,547

female:

57,070 (2010 est.)

• dormant disputes include Libyan claims of about 32,000 sq km still reflected on its maps of southeastern Algeria and the FLN's assertions of a claim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco;
• various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya

refugees (country of origin):

16,796 (Syria) (2013)

IDPs:

at least 80,400 (59,400 still displaced at the end of 2013 from the conflict between pro-Qadhafi and anti-Qadhafi forces in 2011; 21,000 displaced by clashes in and around Sebha in 2014) (2014)

current situation:

• Libya is a destination and transit country for men and women from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia subjected to forced labor and forced prostitution;
• migrants who seek employment in Libya as laborers and domestic workers or transit Libya en route to Europe may be subject to forced labor;
• private employers also recruit migrants from detention centers as forced laborers on farms and construction sites;
• some sub-Saharan women are reportedly forced to work in Libyan brothels

tier rating:

• Tier 3 - the Libyan Government does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so;
• the government has failed to demonstrate significant efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking offenders or to protect trafficking victims;
• policies and practices with respect to undocumented migrant workers has resulted in Libyan authorities detaining and punishing trafficking victims for unlawful acts that were committed as a result of being trafficked;
• no public anti-trafficking awareness campaigns are conducted;
• officials receive no training on trafficking issues (2013)