Libya

agricultural land:

8.8%;

• arable land 1%;
• permanent crops 0.2%;
• permanent pasture 7.6%

forest:

0.1%

other:

91.1% (2011 est.)

• well over 90% of the population lives along the Mediterranean coast in and between the western city of Az Zawiyah (just west of Tripoli) and the eastern city of Darnah;
• the interior remains vastly underpopulated due to the Sahara and lack of surface water

• 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

• well over 90% of the population lives along the Mediterranean coast in and between the western city of Az Zawiyah (just west of Tripoli) and the eastern city of Darnah;
• the interior remains vastly underpopulated due to the Sahara and lack of surface water

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.1 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.01 male(s)/female

total population:

1.07 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Libya

local long form:

none

local short form:

Libiya

note: name derives from the Libu, an ancient Libyan tribe first mentioned in texts from the 13th century B.C.

name:

Tripoli (Tarabulus)

geographic coordinates:

32 53 N, 13 10 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

• 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 - the Constitution Drafting Assembly continued drafting a new constitution as of early 2016 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent or grandparent must be a citizen of Libya

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

varies from 3 to 5 years

chief of state:

Chairman, Presidential Council, Fayiz al-SARAJ (since December 2015)

head of government:

Prime Minister Fayiz al-SARAJ (since April 2016)

cabinet:

new cabinet awaiting approval by the House of Representatives

elections/appointments:

NA

election results:

NA

description:

unicameral Council of Deputies or Majlis Al Nuwab (200 seats including 32 reserved for women; members elected by direct popular vote; member term NA)

elections:

• election last held in June 2014;
• note - the Libyan Supreme Court in November 2014 declared the House election unconstitutional, but the Council rejected the ruling;
• no country has officially recognized the rival government

election results:

• percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - independent 200;
• note - not all 200 seats were filled in the June election because of boycotts and lack of security at some polling stations;
• some elected members of the Council also boycotted the election

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

note: partial list of the larger political parties and leaders

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Wafa M.T. BUGHAIGHIS (since 5 December 2014)

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

agriculture:

17%

industry:

23%

services:

59% (2004 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

general assessment:

Libya's civil war has disrupted its telecommunications sector, but much of its infrastructure remains superior to that in most other African countries

domestic:

combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular service generally adequate, but pressure to rebuild damaged infrastructure growing

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 (2015)

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

number of registered air carriers:

8; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 23

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

2,566,465

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

3,833,542 mt-km (2015)

total:

100,024 km

paved:

57,214 km

unpaved:

42,810 km (2003)

country comparison to the world: 45

total:

23

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)

country comparison to the world: 91

major seaport(s):

Marsa al Burayqah (Marsa el Brega), Tripoli

oil terminal(s):

Az Zawiyah, Ra's Lanuf

LNG terminal (export):

Marsa el Brega

• 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):

5,380 (West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2015)

IDPs:

313,236 (conflict between pro-Qadhafi and anti-Qadhafi forces in 2011; post-Qadhafi tribal clashes 2014) (2016)

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 who transit Libya en route to Europe are vulnerable to forced labor;
• private employers also exploit migrants from detention centers as forced laborers on farms and construction sites, returning them to detention when they are no longer needed;
• some sub-Saharan women are reportedly forced to work in Libyan brothels, particularly in the country’s south;
• since 2013, militia groups and other informal armed groups, including some affiliated with the government, are reported to conscript Libyan children under the age of 18;
• large-scale violence driven by militias, civil unrest, and increased lawlessness increased in 2014, making it more difficult to obtain information on human trafficking

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;
• in 2014, the government’s capacity to address human trafficking was hampered by the ongoing power struggle and violence;
• the judicial system was not functioning, preventing any efforts to investigate, prosecute, or convict traffickers, complicit detention camp guards or government officials, or militias or armed groups that used child soldiers;
• the government failed to identify or provide protection to trafficking victims, including child conscripts, and continued to punish victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked;
• no public anti-trafficking awareness campaigns were conducted (2015)