Discovering the World
Libya 🇱🇾
Basic facts
Official name: دولة ليبيا (Dawlat Lībiyā) (State of Libya)
Capital city: Tripoli
Population: 6.8 million (2023)
Demonym: Libyan
Type of government: unitary parliamentary republic
Head of state: Mohamed al-Menfi (Chairman of the Presidential Council)
Head of government: Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh (Prime Minister)
Gross domestic product (purchasing power parity): $183.39 billion (2024)
Gini coefficient of wealth inequality: 44.1% (medium) (2019)
Human Development Index: 0.746 (high) (2022)
Currency: Libyan dinar (LYD)
Fun fact: It has Africa’s largest proven oil reserves.
Etymology
The country’s name comes from Libu, a tribe of Amazigh origin.
Geography
Libya is located in North Africa and borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad to the south, Niger to the southwest, Algeria to the west, and Tunisia to the northwest.
There are four main climates: hot-summer Mediterranean and cold steppe in the northeast, hot steppe in the northeast and northwest, and hot desert in the rest. Temperatures range from 4 °C (39.2 °F) in winter to 38 °C (100.4 °F) in summer. The average annual temperature is 20.2 °C (68.3 °F).
The country is divided into twenty-two districts (baladiyat). The largest cities in Libya are Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata, Beida, and Khoms.
History
911-609 BCE: Neo-Assyrian Empire
630-525 BCE: Ancient Greece
525-330 BCE: Achaemenid Empire
331-30 BCE: Ptolemaic Kingdom
146 BCE-533 CE: Roman Empire
533-661 CE: Byzantine Empire
661-750: Umayyad Caliphate
750-1517: Abbasid Caliphate
1250-1517: Mamluk Sultanate
1551-1912: Ottoman Empire
1911-1934: Italian Cyrenaica; Italian Tripolitania
1934-1943: Italian Libya
1943-1951: British Military Administration of Libya; Fezzan-Ghadames Military Territory
1949-1951: Emirate of Cyrenaica
1951-1963: United Kingdom of Libya
1963-1969: Kingdom of Libya
1969-1977: Libyan Arab Republic
1977: Egyptian-Libyan War
1977-1986: Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
1978-1987: Chadian-Libyan War
1986-2011: Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
2011: First Libyan Civil War
2011-present: State of Libya
2014-2020: Second Libyan Civil War
Economy
Libya mainly imports from Türkiye, Greece, and China and exports to Italy, Germany, and Spain. Its top exports are crude oil, rice, and dates.
The oil sector accounts for over half of the GDP. Industry represents 63.8% of the GDP, followed by services (34.9%) and agriculture (1.3%).
Libya is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Demographics
Arabs account for 92% of the population, while Imazighen represent 5%. The state religion is Islam, practiced by 96.6% of the population, 94.2% of which is Sunni.
It has a positive net migration rate and a fertility rate of 3 children per woman. 80.1% of the population lives in urban areas. Life expectancy is 73.2 years and the median age is 25.8 years. The literacy rate is 91%.
Languages
The official language of the country is Arabic. Amazigh languages include Awjilah, Ghadamès, Nafusi, Tamahaq, and Yefren.
Culture
Libyan culture has Amazigh, Arab, Bedouin, and Italian influences. Libyans are extremely generous and hospitable.
Men traditionally wear a long, white shirt (jalabiya), pants (sirwal), an embroidered jacket (sadriya), and a headdress (shashiyah). Women wear an embroidered blouse with baggy sleeves, a dress, and a headscarf (hijab).
Architecture
Traditional houses in Libya are made of white painted stone and have flat roofs.
Cuisine
The Libyan diet is based on fish, meat, pasta, and vegetables. Typical dishes include batata mubattana (fried potatoes filled with minced meat and covered with egg and breadcrumbs), bazin (unleavened bread made of barley served with eggs, meat, potatoes, and tomato sauce), makroudh (a diamond-shaped cookie filled with dates and almond past), shakshouka (poached eggs in tomato sauce), and usban (a sausage stuffed with meat and rice).
Holidays and festivals
Like other Muslim countries, Libya celebrates Islamic New Year, Mawlid, Eid al-Fitr, Day of Arafah, and Eid al-Adha. It also commemorates Labor Day.
Specific Libyan holidays include February 17 Revolution Day on February 17, Commemoration of the Victory over Kadhafi on March 19, Martyrs’ Day on September 16, Liberation Day on October 23, and Independence Day on December 24.
Independence Day
Other celebrations include the Acacus Festival, with music performances in the desert; the Nalut Spring Festival, which features parades and performances, and the Zuwarah Awessu Festival, which includes ritual sea bathing.
Nalut Spring Festival
Landmarks
There are five UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Archeological Site of Cyrene, Archeological Site of Leptis Magna, Archeological Site of Sabratha, Old Town of Ghadamès, and Rock-Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus.
Archeological Site of Sabratha
Other landmarks include the Al-Majidya Mosque, the Benghazi Cathedral, the Martyrs’ Square, the Red Castle, and the Roman Arch of Marcus Aurelius.
Martyrs’ Square
Famous people
Ahmed Fakroun - singer
Dania Ben Sassi - singer
Fairouz Belkheir - fashion designer
Ghada Ali - athlete
Leslie Stewart - movie director
Maryam Salama - poet and writer
Nahla Bushnaf - photographer and teacher
Samir Aboud - soccer player
Sulaiman al-Barouni - writer
Suleiman Ali Nashnush - actor and basketball player
Suleiman Ali Nashnush
You can find out more about life in Libya in this article and this video.