Libya is a North African country. Bathed by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, it borders Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, Algeria to the west and Tunisia to the northwest. The country has an area of 1,759,540 km2. The main cities are Tripoli, the de facto capital, with 1,111,900 residents (2004), Benghazi, the administrative capital, with 636,600 residents, Misratah (218,100 residents) and Az-Zawiyah (139,700 residents).
The geographical picture of Libya is basically divided into two areas: one that corresponds to the Sahara desert, representing 90% of the total territory and whose climate is hot desert; and another, on the north coast of the country, with a climate of Mediterranean characteristics.
Economy
This country’s climate limits agricultural activity, as only 1% of the territory is arable. However, the Libyan Government has been developing irrigation projects for several years with the aim of increasing the amount of arable land (such as the project conceived in the Al-Kufrah oasis), thereby increasing the production of traditional crops (such as cereals), while increasing new cultures, some of which were introduced by the Italians in the middle of the 20th century, such as olive and tobacco. Sheep farming is also a relevant activity in semiarid areas. These projects have been financed by income earned from oil extraction and export, which is, in fact, Libya’s greatest wealth, representing 99% of export earnings and constituting 2/3 of national income. The oil industry is fully nationalized, since the discovery of oil deposits in 1959, the Libyan Government has ensured control over the exploitation of this energy resource. The country has been part of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) since 1962. As for the industrial sector (which absorbs 30% of assets, according to 1995 data), it cannot be said that it is developed, since it is limited to small manufacturing industries. Libya’s main trading partners are Italy, Germany, Spain and France. according to 1995 data), it cannot be said that it is developed, since it is limited to small manufacturing industries. Libya’s main trading partners are Italy, Germany, Spain and France. according to 1995 data), it cannot be said that it is developed, since it is limited to small manufacturing industries. Libya’s main trading partners are Italy, Germany, Spain and France.
Environmental indicator: the value of carbon dioxide emissions, per capita (metric tons, 1999), is 8.3.
Population
It has a population of 5,900,754 residents (2006), mostly concentrated on the Mediterranean coast. The birth and death rates are respectively 26.49% and 3.48%. Average life expectancy is 76.69 years. The value of the Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.783 and the value of the Gender-adjusted Development Index (IDG) was not assigned (2001). It is estimated that, in 2025, the population will be 8 323 000 residents. Libyan Arabs and Berbers represent 97% of the population. The official language is Arabic.
History
Libya owes its historical identity to Sanusiyah, an Islamic order that was born in the Ottoman Empire and that preached pure Islam, while providing educational and material assistance, thus contributing to the origin of a sense of unity that spread as it went along. that the order itself spread throughout the territory. Sanusiyah, moreover, played a leading role during the colonization of the territory by Italy, a colonization that began in 1911. From that date until the end of the First World War, Italy faced great difficulties in subduing the Libyans. This situation changed with the seizure of power in Italy by the fascists, who immediately appointed a governor capable of imposing the Italian will on the territory. This has been achieved with some success, although the Cyrenaica region in northeastern Libya
Italian colonization, which was reinforced in 1935 by demographic colonization, as Benito Mussolini called it, contributed to rapid development at all levels, a situation that lasted until World War II, when campaigns in North Africa destroyed almost completely the country’s economic structure. But, in the midst of this debacle, something positive happened, because, thanks to the voluntarism of Sanusi forces that fought alongside the Allies, namely alongside the British, Libya found sufficient support to counter Italy’s intention to remain in the country. This claim was definitively contradicted at the headquarters of the United Nations General Assembly, when a resolution was passed that read that Libya should become an independent kingdom by January 1, 1952. Thus, in 1950, the leader of the Sanusiyah, the pro-British Sidi Muhammad Idris, was chosen as king by a national assembly. King Idris I declared independence on December 24, 1951, while prohibiting the existence of political parties, guiding their power along fundamentalist lines. For Libya democracy and rights, please check getzipcodes.
Despite Western support for the Libyan monarchy, this country never managed to leave the economically and socially precarious situation inherited from the Second World War, a situation that only changed when the first of many oil deposits were discovered in 1959. Ten years later, more precisely on September 1, a group of young soldiers, led by Colonel Muhammar Khadaffi, deposed Idris I and made Libya a republic. Since then, Libya’s policy (a country that in 1977 adopted socialism as the dominant ideology) was oriented towards the search for a union between the Arab countries. This union, however, was never truly achieved, since many governments have been dissatisfied with the support given by Khadaffi to various terrorist groups and revolutionary organizations. This circumstance has also contributed to the growing deterioration in relations with Western countries, mainly with the United States of America and with England and France, opponents of Libyan pretensions on the border with Chad, a very minerally rich area. The continued international isolation, aggravated by the economic embargo imposed by the United Nations following an attack that resulted in 270 deaths, has contributed to an economic decline. However, there are signs of change. Although Amnesty International continues to criticize the violation of human rights here, it recognizes that progress has been made towards a closer relationship with the International Community, since Khadaffi renounced weapons of mass destruction and acknowledged, with compensation.
Countryaah.com: Offers a full list of airports in the country of Libya, sorted by city location and acronyms.
Abbreviationfinder.org: Provides most commonly used abbreviations and initials containing the country name of Libya. Listed by popularity.
1UpTravel.com – Maps of Libya
Check out the shaded relief and political maps of this Northern African country, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia.
Find a map of this African country on the Mediterranean Sea. Includes geography, economy, government, people, military, transportation, as well as a flag.
