The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks from 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. Libyan support for terrorism appeared to have decreased after the imposition of sanctions. During the 1990s, QADHAFI also began to rebuild his relationships with Europe. UN sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally lifted in September 2003 after Libya resolved the Lockerbie case. In December 2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, and 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. QADHAFI also resolved in 2004 some of the outstanding cases against his government for terrorist activities in the 1980s by compensating some families of victims of the Pan Am 103, French airliner UTA, and La Belle disco bombings. The US resumed full diplomatic relations with Libya in May 2006 and rescinded Libya's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism in June.
total: 23.3 years male: 23.4 years female: 23.2 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.262% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:
26.09 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:
3.47 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.044 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.062 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.964 male(s)/female total population: 1.052 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 22.82 deaths/1,000 live births male: 25.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.88 years male: 74.64 years female: 79.23 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:
3.21 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.3% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
10,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: intermediate food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: may be a significant risk in some locations during the transmission season (typically April through October) (2007)
Nationality:
noun: Libyan(s) adjective: Libyan
Ethnic groups:
Berber and Arab 97%, other 3% (includes Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, and Tunisians)
Religions:
Sunni Muslim 97%, other 3%
Languages:
Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 est.)
conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none
Government type:
Jamahiriya (a state of the masses) in theory, governed by the populace through local councils; in practice, an authoritarian state
Capital:
name: Tripoli geographic coordinates: 32 54 N, 13 11 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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
Independence:
24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship)
National holiday:
Revolution Day, 1 September (1969)
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
Legal system:
based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
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 2006 (next to be held NA) election results: NA
Legislative branch:
unicameral General People's Congress (approximately 2,700 seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
none
Political pressure groups and leaders:
various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements; an anti-QADHAFI Libyan exile movement exists, primarily based in London, but has little influence
chief of mission: ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ali AUJALI chancery: 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 705, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 944-9601 FAX: [1] (202) 944-9060
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad Interim Charles O. CECIL embassy: Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, Souq At-Tlat Al-Qadim, Tripoli mailing address: US Embassy, 8850 Tripoli Place, Washington, DC 20521-8850 telephone: [218] 21-335-1848
Flag description:
plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion)
general assessment: 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: 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 (1999)
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
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 8,873 (Palestinian Territories) (2006)
Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Libya is a transit and destination country for men, women, and children from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation; many victims willingly migrate to Libya en route to Europe with the help of smugglers, but may be forced into prostitution or work as laborers and beggars to pay off their $800-$1,200 smuggling debt; laborers from Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia are reportedly trafficked to Libya for the purpose of labor exploitation tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Libya is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for its lack of evidence of increasing efforts to address trafficking since 2004
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