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Libya Facts and Figures from Encarta Go to article
Basic Facts
Official name
Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Capital Tripoli
Area 1,757,000 sq km
678,400 sq mi
Libya: Flag and Anthem
Libya: Flag and Anthem
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People
Population 6,036,914 (2007 estimate)
Population growth
Population growth rate 2.26 percent (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2025 8,322,662 (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2050 10,817,176 (2007 estimate)
Population density 3.4 persons per sq km (2007 estimate)
8.8 persons per sq mi (2007 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban 87 percent (2005 estimate)
Share rural 13 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
Tripoli 1,149,957 (2003)
Banghāzī 636,992 (2003)
Mişrātah 360,521 (2003)
Ethnic groups
Arab and Berber 97 percent
Egyptian, Greek, Indian, Italian, Maltese, Pakistani, Tunisian, Turk, other 3 percent
Languages
Arabic (official), Berber; Italian and English are widely understood in major cities
Religious affiliations
Sunni Muslim 96 percent
Orthodox Christian 2 percent
Roman Catholic 1 percent
Other 1 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total 76.9 years (2007 estimate)
Female 79.2 years (2007 estimate)
Male 74.6 years (2007 estimate)
Infant mortality rate 23 deaths per 1,000 live births (2007 estimate)
Population per physician 775 people (2004)
Population per hospital bed 256 people (2002)
Literacy rate
Total 84.2 percent (2005 estimate)
Female 74.3 percent (2005 estimate)
Male 93.4 percent (2005 estimate)
Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) 7.1 percent (1985)
Number of years of compulsory schooling 9 years (2002-2003)
Number of students per teacher, primary school 8 students per teacher (1998-1999)
Government
Form of government
Socialist state with military dictatorship
Voting qualifications
Universal and compulsory at age 18
Constitution
2 March 1977
Armed forces
Total number of military personnel 76,000 (2004)
Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) 4.2 percent (2003)
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) 38,756 million (2005)
GDP per capita (U.S.$) 6,621.10 (2005)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing Not available
Industry Not available
Services Not available
Employment
Number of workers 2,337,507 (2005)
Workforce share of economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 11 percent (1990)
Industry 23 percent (1990)
Services 66 percent (1990)
Unemployment rate Not available
National budget (U.S.$)
Total revenue Not available
Total expenditure Not available
Monetary unit
1 Libyan dinar (LD), consisting of 1,000 dirhams
Major trade partners for exports
Italy, Germany, Spain, Turkey, and France
Major trade partners for imports
Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Tunisia, and France
Energy, Communications, and Transportation
Electricity production
Electricity from thermal sources 100 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from hydroelectric sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from nuclear sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Number of radios per 1,000 people 259 (1997)
Number of telephones per 1,000 people 133 (2003)
Number of televisions per 1,000 people 151 (2000 estimate)
Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 0.12 (2003)
Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people 13 (1996)
Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people 230 (1997)
Paved road as a share of total roads 57 percent (1999)
Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Government section
Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance.
Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org).
Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
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