Libya

Government
Name	State of Libya
Arabic	دولة ليبيا Dawlat Lībiyā
Government type	in transition
Capital	Tripoli (1,250,000)
Currency	Libyan dinar (LYD)
People
Population (2020)	6,871,287 (108th)
Density of population	3.74 P/km2 (218th)
Nationality	Libyan
Official languages
Arabic
Ethnic groups
Berber and Arab	97%
other (includes Egyptian, Greek, Indian, Italian, Maltese, Pakistani, Tunisian, and Turkish)	3%
Religions (2010)
Muslim (official; virtually all Sunni)	96.6%
Christian	2.7%
Buddhist	0.3%
Hindu	<0.1%
Jewish	<0.1%
folk religion	<0.1%
unafilliated	0.2%
other	<0.1%
Life expectancy (2020)
Male	74.4 years
Female	79.1 years
Total population	76.7 years (90th)
Homicides
n.a.
Geography
Land area	1,759,540 km2
water area	0 km2
total area	1,759,540 km2 (18th)
Mean elevation	423 m
Lowest point
Sabkhat Ghuzayyil	-47 m
Highest point
Bikku Bitti	2,267 m
Land use (2011)
Agricultural land	8.8%
Arable land	1%
Permanent crops	0.2%
Permanent pasture	7.6%
Forest	0.1%
Other	91.1%
Urbanization
Urban population (2020)	80.7%
Rate of urbanization	1.68% annual rate of change (2015 – 2020)
Economy
Labor force (2017)	1.114 million  (143rd)
Labor force by occupation (2004)
Agriculture	17%
Industry	23%
Services	59%
Unemployment rate (2004)	30% (207th)
GDP (PPP) (estimate 2019)
Total	$79.595 billion
Per capita	$12,100
GDP (nominal) (estimate 2019)
Total	$51.330 billion (98th)
Per capita	$7,803
GDP by sector (estimate 2017)
Agriculture	1.3%
Industry	52.3%
Services	46.4%
Exports (2017)	$18.38 billion (71st)
Exports partners (2017)
Italy	19%
Spain	12.5%
France	11%
Egypt	8.6%
Germany	8.6%
China	8.3%
US	4.9%
UK	4.6%
Netherlands	4.5%
Imports (2017)	$11.36 billion (94th)
Imports partners (2017)
China	13.5%
Turkey	11.3%
Italy	6.9%
South Korea	5.9%
Spain	4.8%

Libya on the world map

Libya top 10 largest cities

1. Tripoli (1,250,000)
2. Benghazi (700,000)
3. Misrata (350,000)
4. Bayda (or Elbeida) (250,000)
5. Al-Khums (or Khoms) (201,000)
6. Zawiya (200,000)
7. Ajdabiya (134,000)
8. Sabha (or Sebha) (130,000)
9. Sirte (128,000)
10. Tobruk (120,000)

Demography

Population pyramid

Age structure data

Estimate for 2020:

• 0-14 years: 33.65% (male 1,184,755/female 1,134,084)
• 15-24 years: 15.21% (male 534,245/female 513,728)
• 25-54 years: 41.57% (male 1,491,461/female 1,373,086)
• 55-64 years: 5.52% (male 186,913/female 193,560)
• 65 years and over: 4.04% (male 129,177/female 149,526)

Remark: the age structure of a population affects a nation’s key socioeconomic issues. Countries with young populations (high percentage under age 15) need to invest more in schools, while countries with older populations (high percentage ages 65 and over) need to invest more in the health sector. The age structure can also be used to help predict potential political issues. For example, the rapid growth of a young adult population unable to find employment can lead to unrest.

Population from 1950 to 2020

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Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Population Prospects 2019, Online Edition. Rev. 1.

Evolution of the life expectancy from 1960 to 2018

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Source: World Development Indicators, The World Bank

Economy

Agriculture:

wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans, cattle

Industries:

petroleum, petrochemicals, aluminum, iron and steel, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement

Exports – commodities:

crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas, chemicals

Imports – commodities:

machinery, semi-finished goods, food, transport equipment, consumer products

Time zone and current time in Libya

Go to our interactive map to get the current time in Libya