Libya

<p>Berbers have inhabited central north Africa since ancient times, but Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Persians, Egyptians, Romans, and Vandals have all settled and ruled the region. In the 7th century, Islam spread through the area. In the mid-16th century, Ottoman rule began; the Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks in the area around Tripoli in 1911 and held it until 1943, when they were defeated in World War II. Libya then came under UN administration and achieved independence in 1951. Col. Muammar al-QADHAFI assumed leadership with a military coup in 1969 and began to espouse a political system that combined socialism and Islam. During the 1970s, QADHAFI used oil revenues to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversive and terrorist activities that included the downing of two airliners -- one over Scotland and another in Northern Africa -- and a discotheque bombing in Berlin. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically and economically; the sanctions were lifted in 2003 when Libya accepted responsibility for the bombings and agreed to claimant compensation. QADHAFI also agreed to end Libya's program to develop weapons of mass destruction, and he made significant strides in normalizing relations with Western nations.</p> <p>Unrest that began in several Middle Eastern and North African countries in 2010 erupted in Libyan cities in 2011. QADHAFI's brutal crackdown on protesters spawned an eight-month civil war that saw the emergence of a National Transitional Council (NTC), UN authorization of air and naval intervention by the international community, and the toppling of the QADHAFI regime. In 2012, the NTC handed power to an elected parliament, the General National Congress (GNC), which was replaced two years later with the House of Representatives (HoR). In 2015, the UN brokered the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) among a broad array of political parties and social groups, establishing an interim executive body. However, hardliners continued to oppose and hamper the LPA implementation, leaving Libya with eastern and western-based rival governments. In 2018, the international community supported a recalibrated plan that aimed to break the political deadlock with a National Conference in 2019. These plans, however, were derailed when the eastern-based, self-described Libyan National Army (LNA) launched an offensive to seize Tripoli. The LNA offensive collapsed in 2020, and a subsequent UN-sponsored cease-fire helped formalize the pause in fighting between rival camps. <br><br>In 2021, the UN-facilitated Libyan Political Dialogue Forum selected a new prime minister for an interim government -- the Government of National Unity (GNU) -- and a new presidential council charged with preparing for elections and uniting the country’s state institutions. The HoR approved the GNU and its cabinet the same year, providing Libya with its first unified government since 2014, but the parliament then postponed the planned presidential election to an undetermined date in the future. In 2022, the HoR voted to replace GNU interim Prime Minister, Abdul Hamid DUBAYBAH, with another government led by Fathi BASHAGHA. GNU allegations of an illegitimate HoR vote allowed DUBAYBAH to remain in office and rebuff BASHAGHA's attempts to seat his government in Tripoli. In 2023, the HoR voted to replace BASHAGHA with Osma HAMAD. Special Representative of the UN Security-General for Libya, Abdoulaye BATHILY, is leading international efforts to persuade key Libyan political actors to resolve the core issues impeding elections. </p>

Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria

25 00 N, 17 00 E

Africa

about 2.5 times the size of Texas; slightly larger than Alaska

1,770 km

Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior

mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions

petroleum, natural gas, gypsum

4,700 sq km (2012)

Nubian Aquifer System, North Western Sahara Aquifer System, Murzuk-Djado Basin

over 90% of the population lives along the Mediterranean coast in and between Tripoli to the west and Al Bayda to the east; the interior remains vastly underpopulated due to the Sahara and its lack of surface water, as shown in this population distribution map

hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms

<strong>note 1:</strong> more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> the volcano Waw an Namus lies in south central Libya in the middle of the Sahara; the caldera is an oasis -- the name means "oasis of mosquitoes" -- containing several small lakes that host many species of insects and birds

Amazigh and Arab 97%, other 3% (includes Egyptian, Greek, Indian, Italian, Maltese, Pakistani, Tunisian, and Turkish)

Muslim (official; virtually all Sunni) 96.6%, Christian 2.7%, Buddhist &lt;1%, Hindu &lt;1%, Jewish &lt;1%, folk religion &lt;1%, other &lt;1%, unaffiliated &lt;1% (2020 est.)

1.35% (2025 est.)

19.83 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

3.48 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

over 90% of the population lives along the Mediterranean coast in and between Tripoli to the west and Al Bayda to the east; the interior remains vastly underpopulated due to the Sahara and its lack of surface water, as shown in this population distribution map

1.183 million TRIPOLI (capital), 984,000 Misratah, 859,000 Benghazi (2023)

59 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

2.96 children born/woman (2025 est.)

1.44 (2025 est.)

5.1% of national budget (2022 est.)

2.04 physicians/1,000 population (2017)

3.2 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)

32.5% (2016)

4.3% (2022 est.)

desertification; limited natural freshwater resources; water pollution; threats to coastal ecosystem from sewage, oil byproducts, and industrial waste

Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior

29.8 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

700 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

in transition

22 governorates (<em>muhafazah</em>, singular - <em>muhafazat</em>); 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 (Benghazi), Darnah, Ghat, Misratah, Murzuq, Nalut, Sabha, Surt, Tarabulus (Tripoli), Wadi al Hayat, Wadi ash Shati

Libya's post-revolution system is in flux and driven by state and non-state entities

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age, universal

ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BDEAC, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, LCBC, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNOOSA, UNSMIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship)

Liberation Day, 23 October (2011)

<strong>description:</strong> three horizontal bands of red (top), black (double-width), and green, with a white crescent and star centered on the black stripe<br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> the colors represent the three major regions of the country: red stands for Fezzan, black for Cyrenaica, and green for Tripolitania; the crescent and star represent Islam<br><br><strong>history:</strong> the National Transitional Council reintroduced this flag design from the former Kingdom of Libya (1951-69) in 2011 to replace the all-green banner of the QADHAFI regime

star and crescent, hawk

red, black, green

upper middle-income, fossil fuel-based North African economy; 31% economic contraction due to COVID-19 and 2020 oil blockade; reduced government spending; central bank had to devalue currency; public wages are over 60% of expenditures

$46.636 billion (2024 est.)

potatoes, onions, watermelons, tomatoes, dates, olives, milk, chicken, wheat, vegetables (2023)

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

-5.8% (2024 est.)

2.585 million (2024 est.)

Italy 23%, Germany 15%, Spain 9%, France 7%, China 6% (2023)

crude petroleum, natural gas, refined petroleum, gold, scrap iron (2023)

China 17%, Turkey 15%, Italy 8%, UAE 8%, Egypt 8% (2023)

refined petroleum, broadcasting equipment, tobacco, garments, cars (2023)

state-funded and private TV stations; some provinces operate local TV stations; pan-Arab satellite TV stations are available; state-funded radio (2019)

.ly

5A

75 (2025)

the Libyan Armed Forces of the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) have various ground, air, and naval/coast guard forces, which include a mix of nominally integrated and semi-regular units, tribal armed groups and militias, civilian volunteers, and foreign military contractors; the GNU's armed forces are nominally under the control of the Ministry of Defense; the GNU also has various internal security forces under both the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Interior (2025)

not available

estimates not available

both the forces aligned with the GNU and the LNA are largely equipped with weapons of Russian or Soviet origin; in recent years, Türkiye has the been the primary supplier of arms to the GNU, while the LNA has received quantities from Russia and the United Arab Emirates (2025)

not available

the western-based forces aligned with the GNU and the eastern-based LNA forces are separated by a fortified line of control just west of the coastal city of Sirte; Turkey has provided support to the GNU forces, including military trainers, ammunition, weapons, and aerial drones; Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt have been the main supporters of the LNA (2025)

Ansar al-Sharia groups; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham - Libya (ISIS-L); al-Mulathamun Battalion (al-Mourabitoun); al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)