First, Qadhafi challenged the traditional role of the ulama
(Islamic jurists or scholars) as expert interpreters of the Quran.
Because the Quran is written in Arabic, argued Qadhafi, anyone who
knows Arabic can understand it. As did Martin Luther's
Protestantism, Qadhafi's interpretation of Islam recognizes no need
for intermediaries between God and humans.
Moreover, Qadhafi's interpretation of Islam was considered
radical. He considered the Quran to be the only source of sharia
and community. As did other Muslim reformers, Quran saw deviation
from "true" Islamic teachings as the cause of the weakness of
Islamic lands, including Libya. Like them, he also called for a
return to the source, the Quran. But unlike most other reformers,
Qadhafi excluded the hadith and the sunna (the lifestyle and deeds
of the Prophet) as reliable sources of legislation. By questioning
the authenticity of the hadith, Qadhafi has in effect dismissed the
entire edifice of traditional fikh (Islamic jurisprudence).
As one scholar, Ann Elizabeth Mayer, put it, "discrediting the
hadith entails rejection of by far the greater part of Islamic
law." In essence, Qadhafi rejected taqlid (obedience to
received authority, i.e., the revelation of God to the Prophet
Muhammad) in favor of ijtihad (the right to interpretation).
In 1977 Qadhafi took yet another unprecedented, no less
controversial step, altering the Muslim calendar. Instead of
starting from the date of the Prophet's migration to Medina, the
year began with the date of the Prophet's death. Shocked by
Qadhafi's radical reinterpretation of Islam, the ulama accused him
of heresy. Characteristically, however, the Libyan leader was
undaunted.
The confrontation with the ulama began in the mid-1970s, when
they criticized some aspects of Qadhafi's increasingly
idiosyncratic and radical ideology. In 1977, for example, the grand
mufti (chief religious judge) of Libya criticized the sequestration
of private property, which resulted from the new law prohibiting
the ownership of more than one house.
Accusing the ulama of siding with the upper classes, in
February 1978 Qadhafi warned them against interfering in the
regime's socialist policies. A few months later, some mosques were
seized and their imams (prayer leaders) replaced by more compliant
ones. To undermine further the legitimacy of the religious leaders,
Qadhafi blamed the grand mufti for failing to declare a
jihad (see Glossary)
against the Italians during the 1930s. Qadhafi's
relentless attacks on the traditional religious establishment
succeeded in eroding it hitherto lofty status, thereby removing a
powerful center of opposition to regime-sponsored changes.
Apart from conflicts with the traditional religious hierarchy,
Qadhafi had a longstanding conflict with the Muslim Brotherhood and
other fundamentalist groups, whose membership went into exile or
underground during Qadhafi's tenure. In March 1987, it was reported
that nine Muslim dissidents, members of a little-known group called
Holy War, were executed for plotting to assassinate Soviet
advisers. A revolutionary committee member was assassinated in
Benghazi in October 1986 by the hitherto unknown Hizballah (Party
of God). As a result, the revolutionary committees began to monitor
more closely than before the activities of the mosques, the imams,
and the fundamentalists. The country's forty-eight Islamic
institutes reportedly were closed in late 1986, apparently to stem
the tide of religious, particularly fundamentalist, opposition.
|
Background | | The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks in the area around Tripoli in 1911 and did not relinquish their hold until 1943 when defeated in World War II. Libya then passed to UN administration and achieved independence in 1951. Following a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI began to espouse his own political system, the Third Universal Theory. The system is a combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal practices and is supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people themselves in a unique form of "direct democracy." QADHAFI has always seen himself as a revolutionary and visionary leader. He used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. In addition, beginning in 1973, he engaged in military operations in northern Chad's Aozou Strip - to gain access to minerals and to use as a base of influence in Chadian politics - but was forced to retreat in 1987. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. During the 1990s, QADHAFI began to rebuild his relationships with Europe. UN sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally lifted in September 2003 after Libya accepted responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing. In December 2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction and to renounce terrorism. QADHAFI has made significant strides in normalizing relations with Western nations since then. He has received various Western European leaders as well as many working-level and commercial delegations, and made his first trip to Western Europe in 15 years when he traveled to Brussels in April 2004. The US rescinded Libya's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism in June 2006. In January 2008, Libya assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2008-09 term. In August 2008, the US and Libya signed a bilateral comprehensive claims settlement agreement to compensate claimants in both countries who allege injury or death at the hands of the other country, including the Lockerbie bombing, the LaBelle disco bombing, and the UTA 772 bombing. In October 2008, the US Government received $1.5 billion pursuant to the agreement to distribute to US national claimants, and as a result effectively normalized its bilateral relationship with Libya. The two countries then exchanged ambassadors for the first time since 1973 in January 2009. QADHAFI in February 2009 took over as chairman of the African Union for the 2009-10 term; in September 2009, a Libyan took over the year-long presidency of UN General Assembly.
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Location | | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia
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Area(sq km) | | total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km
water: 0 sq km
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Geographic coordinates | | 25 00 N, 17 00 E
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Land boundaries(km) | | total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km
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Coastline(km) | | 1,770 km
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Climate | | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior
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Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m
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Natural resources | | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum
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Land use(%) | | arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.19%
other: 98.78% (2005)
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Irrigated land(sq km) | | 4,700 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 0.6 cu km (1997)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 4.27 cu km/yr (14%/3%/83%)
per capita: 730 cu m/yr (2000)
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Natural hazards | | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms
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Environment - current issues | | desertification; limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities
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Environment - international agreements | | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
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Geography - note | | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert
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Population | | 6,310,434
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2009 est.)
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Age structure(%) | | 0-14 years: 33% (male 1,064,866/female 1,019,790)
15-64 years: 62.7% (male 2,033,478/female 1,920,755)
65 years and over: 4.3% (male 133,092/female 138,453) (2009 est.)
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Median age(years) | | total: 23.9 years
male: 24 years
female: 23.8 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate(%) | | 2.17% (2009 est.)
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Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 25.15 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 3.45 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
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Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | NA (2009 est.)
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Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 78% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 2.2% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio(male(s)/female) | | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births) | | total: 21.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.21 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 18.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 77.26 years
male: 74.98 years
female: 79.65 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 3.08 children born/woman (2009 est.)
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Nationality | | noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan
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Ethnic groups(%) | | Berber and Arab 97%, other 3% (includes Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, and Tunisians)
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Religions(%) | | Sunni Muslim 97%, other 3%
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Languages(%) | | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities
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Country name | | conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya
local long form: Al Jamahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uthma
local short form: none
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Government type | | Jamahiriya (a state of the masses) in theory, governed by the populace through local councils; in practice, an authoritarian state
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Capital | | name: Tripoli (Tarabulus)
geographic coordinates: 32 53 N, 13 10 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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Administrative divisions | | 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
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Constitution | | none; note - following the September 1969 military overthrow of the Libyan government, the Revolutionary Command Council replaced the existing constitution with the Constitutional Proclamation in December 1969; in March 1977, Libya adopted the Declaration of the Establishment of the People's Authority
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Legal system | | based on Italian and French civil law systems and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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Suffrage | | 18 years of age; universal and technically compulsory
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Executive branch | | chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Prime Minister) al-Baghdadi Ali al-MAHMUDI (since 5 March 2006)
cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress
elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held March 2009 (next to be held NA)
election results: NA
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Legislative branch | | unicameral General People's Congress (760 seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees)
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Judicial branch | | Supreme Court
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Political pressure groups and leaders | | other: Arab nationalist movements; anti-QADHAFI Libyan exile Movement; Islamic elements
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International organization participation | | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
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Flag description | | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion)
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Economy - overview | | The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute about 95% of export earnings, about one-quarter of GDP, and 60% of public sector wages. The expected weakness in world hydrocarbon prices throughout 2009 will reduce Libyan government tax income and constrain Libyan economic growth in 2009. Substantial revenues from the energy sector coupled with 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. Libyan officials in the past five years have made progress on economic reforms as part of a broader campaign to reintegrate the country into the international fold. This effort picked up steam after UN sanctions were lifted in September 2003 and as Libya announced in December 2003 that it would abandon programs to build weapons of mass destruction. UN Sanctions against Libya were lifted in September 2003. The process of lifting US unilateral sanctions began in the spring of 2004; all sanctions were removed by June 2006, helping Libya attract greater foreign direct investment, especially in the energy sector. Libyan oil and gas licensing rounds continue to draw high international interest; the National Oil Company set a goal of nearly doubling oil production to 3 million bbl/day by 2012. Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps - including applying for WTO membership, reducing some subsidies, and announcing plans for privatization - are laying the groundwork for a transition to a more market-based economy. The non-oil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for more than 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. Libya's primary agricultural water source remains the Great Manmade River Project, but significant resources are being invested in desalinization research to meet growing water demands.
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GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $87.72 billion (2008 est.)
$82.83 billion (2007 est.)
$78.44 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP (official exchange rate) | | $89.92 billion (2008 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 5.9% (2008 est.)
5.6% (2007 est.)
5.9% (2006 est.)
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GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $14,200 (2008 est.)
$13,700 (2007 est.)
$13,300 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 1.7%
industry: 70.9%
services: 27.4% (2008 est.)
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Labor force | | 1.64 million (2008 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture: 17%
industry: 23%
services: 59% (2004 est.)
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Unemployment rate(%) | | 30% (2004 est.)
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Population below poverty line(%) | | 7.4% (2005 est.)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
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Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 9.3% of GDP (2008 est.)
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Budget | | revenues: $58.04 billion
expenditures: $35.22 billion (2008 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 10.4% (2008 est.)
6.3% (2007 est.)
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Stock of money | | $26.66 billion (31 December 2008)
$18.04 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of quasi money | | $4.264 billion (31 December 2008)
$3.192 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of domestic credit | | $NA (31 December 2008)
$NA (31 December 2007)
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Market value of publicly traded shares | | $NA
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Economic aid - recipient | | ODA, $24.44 million (2005 est.)
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Public debt(% of GDP) | | 4% of GDP (2008 est.)
8.8% of GDP (2004 est.)
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Agriculture - products | | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle
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Industries | | petroleum, iron and steel, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement
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Industrial production growth rate(%) | | 6.2% (2008 est.)
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Current account balance | | $37.39 billion (2008 est.)
$28.45 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports | | $64.5 billion (2008 est.)
$46.97 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports - commodities(%) | | crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas, chemicals
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Exports - partners(%) | | Italy 38%, Germany 12%, France 7.4%, Spain 6.9%, US 6.4%, Switzerland 4.6% (2008)
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Imports | | $26.55 billion (2008 est.)
$17.7 billion (2007 est.)
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Imports - commodities(%) | | machinery, semi-finished goods, food, transport equipment, consumer products
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Imports - partners(%) | | Italy 22.2%, China 9.3%, Germany 8.6%, Turkey 6.1%, Tunisia 5.8%, South Korea 4.7%, US 4.1%, France 4.1% (2008)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $92.51 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$79.6 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Debt - external | | $6.223 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$4.837 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | | $11.23 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$8.775 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | | $5.15 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$3.7 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Exchange rates | | Libyan dinars (LYD) per US dollar - 1.2112 (2008 est.), 1.2604 (2007), 1.3108 (2006), 1.3084 (2005), 1.305 (2004)
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Currency (code) | | Libyan dinar (LYD)
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Telephones - main lines in use | | 1.033 million (2008)
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Telephones - mobile cellular | | 4.828 million (2008)
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Telephone system | | general assessment: telecommunications system is state-owned and service is poor, but investment is being made to upgrade; state retains monopoly in fixed-line services; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996; multiple providers for a mobile telephone system that is growing rapidly; combined fixed line and mobile telephone density is approaching 100 telephones per 100 persons
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations
international: country code - 218; 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 (2008)
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Internet country code | | .ly
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Internet users | | 323,000 (2008)
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Airports | | 137 (2009)
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Pipelines(km) | | condensate 776 km; gas 2,860 km; oil 6,987 km (2008)
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Roadways(km) | | total: 100,024 km
paved: 57,214 km
unpaved: 42,810 km (2003)
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Ports and terminals | | As Sidrah, Az Zuwaytinah, Marsa al Burayqah, Ra's Lanuf, Tripoli, Zawiyah
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Military branches | | Armed Peoples on Duty (APOD, Army), Libyan Arab Navy, Libyan Arab Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Jamahiriya al-Arabia al-Libyya, LAAF), Libyan Coast Guard (2008)
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Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 17 years of age (2004)
|
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Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,682,183
females age 16-49: 1,611,001 (2008 est.)
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Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,466,578
females age 16-49: 1,409,684 (2009 est.)
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Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 60,710
female: 58,219 (2009 est.)
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Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 3.9% of GDP (2005 est.)
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Disputes - international | | Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in the Tommo region of Niger in a currently dormant dispute; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya
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Refugees and internally displaced persons | | refugees (country of origin): 8,000 (Palestinian Territories) (2007)
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Trafficking in persons | | current situation: Libya is a transit and destination country for men and women from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Libya is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to address trafficking in persons in 2007 when compared to 2006, particularly in the area of investigating and prosecuting trafficking offenses; Libya did not publicly release any data on investigations or punishment of any trafficking offenses (2008)
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Electricity - production(kWh) | | 23.98 billion kWh (2007 est.)
|
|
Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
|
|
Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 22.17 billion kWh (2007 est.)
|
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Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 104 million kWh (2007 est.)
|
|
Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 77 million kWh (2007 est.)
|
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Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 1.875 million bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 273,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 1.542 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
|
|
Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 575.3 bbl/day (2007 est.)
|
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Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 43.66 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
|
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Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 15.9 billion cu m (2008 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 5.5 billion cu m (2008 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 10.4 billion cu m (2008)
|
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Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 1.54 trillion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
|
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | 0.3% (2001 est.)
|
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 10,000 (2001 est.)
|
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HIV/AIDS - deaths | | NA
|
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Literacy(%) | | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.6%
male: 92.4%
female: 72% (2003 est.)
|
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years) | | total: 17 years
male: 16 years
female: 17 years (2003)
|
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Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 2.7% of GDP (1999)
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