|
|
| Libya | Plants and Animal | Back to Top |
In the 1980s, statistics on Libyan agricultural production continued to vary widely. For example, figures compiled by the Central Bank of Libya generally exceeded those published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization by 10 to 100 %. During the 1980s, wheat and barley were the principal cereal crops, although millet was also grown in the southern oases. Both crops were cultivated throughout the nation, in the coastal regions as well as in the desert oases. The optimum yield for wheat cultivation in Libya was thought to be about 5 tons per hectare, but by the mid1980s yields were only averaging about 0.5 ton per hectare. Citrus production declined to inremarkable levels following the government's water conservation measures of 1976. Other valuable crops were dates, olives, melons, onions, and potatoes. Vegetables were grown in specialized farms near Tripoli. Tree crops remained popular because many farmers combined olive, date, apple, or almond raising with cereal production.
Until the 1970s, cattle were used mainly for transport. During the 1970s, the number of cattle--particularly dairy cattle-- increased, as did milk and meat production. By 1985 there were nearly 209,000 head of cattle in the nation, and several fodder plants were in various stages of completion as part of an effort to achieve self-sufficiency in animal feedstuffs. The General Dairy and Dairy Products Company was created in 1974 to take over most private dairies and to produce and market all dairy products. Private dairy farms were permitted to operate, but their milk had to be sold to the state company. The government also entered the poultry business on a large scale, and independent farmers found it difficult to compete against the large government poultry farms.
| Libya | Communications | Back to Top |
Telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations
international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999)
| Libya | Culture | Back to Top |
Libyan society IN the late 1980s was in a state of transition from one set of structures and values to another. For nearly two decades the nation's leader, Muammar al Qadhafi, had sought to transform Libya from an underdeveloped backwater into a modern socialist state compatible with the dictates of the Quran and the heritage of Islam. The regime's policies and goals often aroused controversy as the nation moved away from the Libyan-Arab mold of the past in which heredity and patronage determined social distinction and toward the new egalitarian society that was the Qadhafi regime's ideal.
Most foreign observers believed that the regime faced a difficult task in convincing the majority of Libyans of the need for further social change. In the 1980s, Libyan society remained profoundly conservative and resistant to the impulses for change that emanated from its leaders. The wisdom of current social policies was being questioned, and it was obvious that many Libyans were not enthusiastic about the course of action that the revolutionary government had laid out.
| Libya | Defence | Back to Top |
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Command
Military manpower - military age: 17 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,459,400 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 866,012 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 61,694 (2001 est.)
| Libya | International Disputes | Back to Top |
Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger and also a part of southeastern Algeria
| Libya | Economy | Back to Top |
Libya was traditionally an agricultural nation, although farming was limited primarily to the coastal regions. farm animal raising was also valuable. The find of petroleum in the late 1950s effected a profound change in the economy: The gross domestic product increased from $1.5 billion in 1965 to $25.4 billion in 1985, and between 1965 and 1980 the economy grew at an annual average of 4.2 %. Declining petroleum revenues in the 1980s forced cutbacks in development programs, and per capita income declined by at least 25 %, although gross domestic income was on the rise again in the 1990s. The around annual budget in the early 1990s included current revenues of $6.9 billion and current and capital expenditures of $8.6 billion.
Oil revenues are Libya's main source of income. During the 1980s, oil accounted for two-thirds of the national income and nearly 99 % of export earnings, although it employed less than 10 % of the labour force. The government exerts strong control over the economy. The petroleum industry was nationalized in the 1970s; state trade unions and industrial organizations run most other industries and utilities. To reduce the nation's heavy dependence on oil, economic policy has emphasized agricultural and industrial development. Declining oil revenues during the 1980s, led to frequent revisions and delays in planned developments. In 1988, domestic reforms liberalized economic policy and promoted private enterprise.
The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. In this statist society, import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to timeic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food requirements. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. Following the suspension of UN sanctions in 1999, Libya has been trying to increase its attractiveness to foreign investors, and several foreign companies have visited in search of contracts.
| Libya | Education | Back to Top |
Under the monarchy, all Libyans were guaranteed the right to education. Primary and secondary schools were accomplished all over the nation, and old Quranic schools that had been closed during the fight for freedom were reactivated and new ones accomplished, lending a heavy religious cast to Libyan education. The educational program suffered from a limited curriculum, a deficiency of qualified teachers--particularly Libyan--and a tendency to learn by rote rather than by reasoning, a characteristic of Arab education in general. School enrollments rose rapidly, particularly on the primary level; vocational education was introduced; and the first Libyan university was accomplished in Benghazi in 1955. Also under the monarchy, women began to obtain formal education in increasing numbers, rural and beduin children were brought into the educational system for the first time, and an adult education program was accomplished.
Primary education in Libya is free and compulsory. Some 97 % of the adult population is literate. In the 1993-1994 school year there were 1,357,040 pupils listed in primary schools, taught by 103,791 teachers. Students attending secondary, vocational, and teacher-training schools numbered 311,000. Libya’s five universities were attended annually in the early 1990s by almost 73,000 students.
| Libya | Government | Back to Top |
Form: Jamahiriya (newly coined Arabic word, roughly translated as "state of the masses," "people's power," or "people's authority"). Nearest English equivalent is "republic." In late 1987, de facto head of state and government and commander in chief of armed forces was Colonel Muammar al Qadhafi, who led 1969 Revolution against Sanusi monarchy. Application of his innovative and revolutionary Arab-socialist philosophy to Libyan nation has resulted in fundamental changes in political representation, property ownership, legal system, and commercial transactions.
administrator and Legislature: General People's Congress (GPC), both an administrator and legislative body that convenes several times annually, primary formal instrument of government; membership of more than 1,000 delegates drawn from subnational-level people's committees, people's congresses, and revolutionary committees. Leadership of GPC unconditional in General Secretariat headed by secretary general, official chief of state. Cabinet functions performed by national-level General People's Committee. Subnational Governmental
Divisions: After Governorates abolished in 1975, Libya separated into between seven and ten military districts (number varies with frequent reorganizations). Each military district separated into several municipalities, subseparated into villages or urban wards.
Legal System: Since 1969 Revolution, sharia (Islamic law) has replaced other jurisprudence. Regular court system adjudicates personal, criminal, civil, and commercial law. People's Courts, Revolutionary Courts, and Military Courts handle political transgressions and threats against state.
Political Parties: Political parties banned; mass organization accomplished primarily through Arab Socialist Union, which includes geographically and functionally based membership.
Foreign Relations: Libya under Qadhafi a staunch proponent of pan-Arab unity, both in theory and in practice. Libyan regional policy predicated on intractable opposition to Israel and support of Palestinian cause. In 1980s, Qadhafi made bid for worldwide recognition and Third World leadership by espousing normative philosophy known as Third Universal Theory, which rejects both communist and capitalist models of government and calls instead for nonalignment, "people's power," and "new economic order" based on more equitable division of wealth between developed and underdeveloped countries. In accordance with this ideology, Libya has pursued activist and aggressive foreign policy, which includes alleged support and sponsorship of numerous terrorist and guerrilla movements throughout world. Member of United Nations (UN) and most of its specialized agencies, League of Arab States (Arab League), Organization of Arab Unity (OAU), Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC).
| Libya | History | Back to Top |
Untin Libya achived freedom in 1951, its history was essentially that of tribes, regions, and cities, and of the empires of which it was a part. Derived from the name by which a single Berber tribe was known to the ancient Egyptians, the name Libya was consequently applied by the Greeks to most of North Africa and the term Libyan to all of its Berber inhabitants. Although ancient in origin, these names were not used to designate the specific territory of modern Libya and its people until the twentieth century, nor indeed was the whole area formed into a coherent political unit until then. Hence, contempt the long and distinct histories of its regions, modern Libya must be viewed as a new nation still developing national consciousness and institutions.
The most remarkable milestones in Libya's history were the introduction of Islam and the Arabization of the nation in the Middle Ages, and, within the last two generations, national freedom, the find of petroleum, and the September 1969 revolution that brought Muammar al Qadhafi to power. The era since 1969 has brought many valuable changes. The Qadhafi regime has made the first real attempt to unify Libya's various peoples and to create a distinct Libyan state and identity. It has created new political structures and made a determined effort at diversified economic development financed by oil revenues. The regime has also aspired to leadership in Arab and world affairs. As a consequence of these developments, Libyan society has been subjected to a remarkable degree of government direction and supervision, much of it at the behest of Qadhafi himself. Although the merits of the regime and its policies were much debated by Libyans and foreigners alike, there was no question that Libya in the 1980s was a remarkablely different nation from the one it had been only two or three decades earlier.
| Libya | Introduction | Back to Top |
Libya, in full, Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriyah, nation of northern Africa, comprising the former Italian colonies of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fezzan. It is bordered to the north by the Mediterranean Sea, to the east by Egypt, to the south-east by the Sudan, to the south by Chad and Niger, to the west by Algeria, and to the north-west by Tunisia. The area of Libya, one of the largest countries in Africa, is 1,759,540 sq km (679,362 sq mi). The capital city is Tripoli.
Official Name- The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya| Libya | Land | Back to Top |
N/A
| Libya | Languages | Back to Top |
Islam is the state religion, and about 97 % of all Libyans are Sunni Muslim. A small number are Roman Catholic. Arabic is the official language, although Berber is sometimes spoken and English and Italian are used in trade.
| Libya | Life | Back to Top |
Social life in Libya centered traditionally on the individual's family loyalty, which overrode other obligations. Ascribed status often outweighed personal achievement in regulating social relationships, and the individual's honor and dignity were tied to the good repute of the kin group, particularly to that of its women. Women have played a role secondary to that of men in most aspects of life, and tradition has prescribed that they remain in the home, often in seclusion. The status of women in the 1970s, improved substantially, and the once-common seclusion became less common, Nonetheless, to a considerable extent the two sexes continued to constitute largely separate subsocieties, each with its own values, attitudes, and perceptions of the other.
| Libya | organization | Back to Top |
ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO.
| Libya | People | Back to Top |
As of 1987, the most recent census was that taken in July 1984, but the only available data showed a provisional population figure of 3.637 million inhabitants--one of the smallest totals on the African continent. Of these, an around 1.950 million were men, and 1.687 million women. Having slightly more men than women in the population was characteristic of developing countries such as Libya where health practices and sanitation were fast improving but where female mortality relating to childbirth and favoritism toward male over female children caused a slight skewing of the population profile. The population was by no means distributed evenly across the nation. About 65 % resided in Tripolitania, 30 % in Cyrenaica, and 5 % in Fezzan, a breakdown that had not changed appreciably for at least 30 years. Within the two northern geographic regions, the population was overwhelmingly concentrated along the Mediterranean littoral. Along the coast, the density was around at more than fifty inhabitants per square kilometer, whereas it fell to less than one per square kilometer in the interior. The average for the nation as a whole was usually placed at two.
At the 1984 census, Libya had a population of 3,637,488. The 2001 around population was 5,240,599, giving the nation an overall population density of 3 persons per sq km.The population, is unevenly distributed; more than two-thirds live in the more densely settled coastal areas.Almost all Libyans speak Arabic, the nation's official language, and adhere to the Sunnite branch of Islam. In the eastern region the determine of the Sanusiyah, a 19th-century militant Islamic brotherhood, remains strong. Most of the Jewish and Italian minorities, long accomplished in Tripolitania ,left the nation after the government seized their properties in 1970. Small numbers of Roman Catholic and Coptic Christians remain. The government's embrace of Arab nationalism has reduced Western determines, although English is still widely used as a second language in international business and politics. Nearly one-fifth of Libya's total population in the late 20th century was composed of foreign workers temporarily residing in the nation. The tribe (qabilah) was for long the basis of the social order in Libya, and eight out of every nine persons once resided in tribal domains.
| Libya | Politics | Back to Top |
various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements.
| Libya | Provinces | Back to Top |
25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions.
| Mapzones | Ask Babynames | Webmaster | Actress | Map | Kids |
| Libya | Time | Back to Top |
| Libya | Currency and General Information | Back to Top |
| Libya Dinars | United States Dollars |
| 1.00 LYD | 0.769231 USD |
| 1.30000 LYD | 1 USD |
| Countries Currency Unit | USD/Unit | Units/USD | |
| DZD | Algeria Dinars | 0.0129554 | 77.1877 |
| USD | United States Dollars | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| ARS | Argentina Pesos | 0.341293 | 2.93004 |
| AUD | Australia Dollars | 0.533413 | 1.87472 |
| ATS | Austria Schillings ** | 0.0632609 | 15.8076 |
| BSD | Bahamas Dollars | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| BBD | Barbados Dollars | 0.502513 | 1.99000 |
| BEF | Belgium Francs ** | 0.0215788 | 46.3417 |
| BMD | Bermuda Dollars | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| BRL | Brazil Reals | 0.430318 | 2.32386 |
| GBP | United Kingdom Pounds | 1.42399 | 0.702251 |
| BGL | Bulgaria Leva | 0.447293 | 2.23567 |
| CAD | Canada Dollars | 0.627606 | 1.59336 |
| CLP | Chile Pesos | 0.00152392 | 656.202 |
| CNY | China Yuan Renminbi | 0.120813 | 8.27726 |
| CYP | Cyprus Pounds | 1.49883 | 0.667186 |
| CZK | Czech Republic Koruny | 0.0281883 | 35.4758 |
| DKK | Denmark Kroner | 0.117155 | 8.53568 |
| XCD | East Caribbean Dollars | 0.370370 | 2.70000 |
| EGP | Egypt Pounds | 0.217271 | 4.60255 |
| EUR | Euro | 0.870489 | 1.14878 |
| FJD | Fiji Dollars | 0.447227 | 2.23600 |
| FIM | Finland Markkaa ** | 0.146406 | 6.83034 |
| FRF | France Francs ** | 0.132705 | 7.53550 |
| DEM | Germany Deutsche Marks ** | 0.445074 | 2.24682 |
| XAU | Gold Ounces | 301.977 | 0.00331151 |
| GRD | Greece Drachmae ** | 0.00255463 | 391.447 |
| HKD | Hong Kong Dollars | 0.128215 | 7.79939 |
| HUF | Hungary Forint | 0.00358416 | 279.006 |
| ISK | Iceland Kronur | 0.00999868 | 100.013 |
| INR | India Rupees | 0.0205205 | 48.7319 |
| IDR | Indonesia Rupiahs | 0.000102055 | 9,798.61 |
| IEP | Ireland Pounds ** | 1.10529 | 0.904738 |
| ILS | Israel New Shekels | 0.212386 | 4.70841 |
| ITL | Italy Lire ** | 0.000449570 | 2,224.35 |
| JMD | Jamaica Dollars | 0.0210041 | 47.6099 |
| JPY | Japan Yen | 0.00754183 | 132.594 |
| JOD | Jordan Dinars | 1.41057 | 0.708931 |
| LBP | Lebanon Pounds | 0.000660937 | 1,513.00 |
| LUF | Luxembourg Francs ** | 0.0215788 | 46.3417 |
| MYR | Malaysia Ringgits | 0.263330 | 3.79751 |
| MXN | Mexico Pesos | 0.111007 | 9.00848 |
| NZD | New Zealand Dollars | 0.440474 | 2.27028 |
| NOK | Norway Kroner | 0.113022 | 8.84780 |
| NLG | Netherlands Guilders ** | 0.395011 | 2.53158 |
| PKR | Pakistan Rupees | 0.0166945 | 59.9000 |
| PHP | Philippines Pesos | 0.0196386 | 50.9202 |
| XPT | Platinum Ounces | 510.962 | 0.00195709 |
| PLN | Poland Zlotych | 0.243488 | 4.10699 |
| PTE | Portugal Escudos ** | 0.00434198 | 230.310 |
| ROL | Romania Lei | 0.0000303433 | 32,956.21 |
| RUR | Russia Rubles | 0.0321342 | 31.1195 |
| SAR | Saudi Arabia Riyals | 0.266668 | 3.74998 |
| XAG | Silver Ounces | 4.65692 | 0.214734 |
| SGD | Singapore Dollars | 0.542540 | 1.84318 |
| SKK | Slovakia Koruny | 0.0208441 | 47.9751 |
| ZAR | South Africa Rand | 0.0883340 | 11.3207 |
| KRW | South Korea Won | 0.000759354 | 1,316.91 |
| ESP | Spain Pesetas ** | 0.00523174 | 191.141 |
| XDR | IMF Special Drawing Rights | 1.24862 | 0.800882 |
| SDD | Sudan Dinars | 0.00384615 | 260.000 |
| SEK | Sweden Kronor | 0.0964189 | 10.3714 |
| CHF | Switzerland Francs | 0.593789 | 1.68410 |
| TWD | Taiwan New Dollars | 0.0286531 | 34.9002 |
| THB | Thailand Baht | 0.0230087 | 43.4619 |
| TTD | Trinidad and Tobago Dollars | 0.163399 | 6.12000 |
| TRL | Turkey Liras | 0.000000763622 | 1,309,549.07 |
| VEB | Venezuela Bolivares | 0.00108696 | 920.000 |
| ZMK | Zambia Kwacha | 0.000239866 | 4,169.00 |
| Libya : Geographic coordinates | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
| Libya : Population growth rate | 2.42% |
| Libya : Birth rate | 27.67 births/1,000 population |
| Libya : Death rate | 3.51 deaths/1,000 population |
| Libya : People living with HIV/AIDS | N/A |
| Libya : Independence | 24 December 1951 |
| Libya : National holiday | Revolution Day, 1 September |
| Libya : Constitution | 11 December 1969 |
| Libya : GDP | purchasing power parity - $45.4 billion |
| Libya : GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,900 |
| Libya : Electricity - consumption | 17.577 billion kWh |
| Libya : Exports | $13.9 billion crude oil, refined petroleum products |
| Libya : Imports | $7.6 billion machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods |
| Libya : Telephones | 380,000 |
| Libya : Mobile cellular | N/A |
| Libya : Radio broadcast stations | AM 17, FM 4, shortwave 3 |
| Libya : Radios | 1.35 million |
| Libya : Television broadcast stations | 12 |
| Libya : Televisions | 730,000 |
| Libya : Internet country code | .ly |
| Libya : Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 |
| Libya : Internet users | 7,500 |
| Libya : Railways | N/A |
| Libya : Highways | 24,484 km |
| Libya : Waterways | N/A |
| Libya : Pipelines | crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km, natural gas 1,947 km |
| Libya : Ports and harbors | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah |
| Libya : Merchant marine | 28 ships |
| Libya : Airports | 136 |
| Libya : Heliports | N/A |
| Libya : Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Command |
| Libya : Military expenditures | $1.3 billion |