Libya's Country Profile

Country Profile-Libya
Country Profile by: Sabrina Su
Physical Geography
1. Official Name: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
2. Climate: Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior
3. Map
1. Absolute location: 25 00N, 17 00 E
2. Relative location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia.
Political Geography
1. Type of government: Jamahiriya (a state of the masses) in theory, governed by the populace through local councils; in practice, an authoritarian state.
2. Capital: Tripoli (Tarabulus)
3. 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, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
4. Size of armed forces:
Cultural Geography
1. Official language: Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities
2. Ethnic group: Berber and Arab 97%, other 3% (includes Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, and Tunisians)
3. major religions: Sunni Muslim 97%, other 3%
4. Population: 6,310,434 (July 2009 est.)
5. Population growth rate: 2.17% (2009 est.)
6. Population distribution: 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.)

7. Major cities: Tripoli - the capital ,Al 'Aziziyah ,Al Jufrah ,Al Khums ,Benghazi ,Darnah ,Ghadamis ,Misratah ,Sabha ,Surt ,Tobruk
8. Infant mortality rate: 21.05 deaths/1,000 live births
9. Average life expectancy: male: 74.98 years
female: 79.65 years (2009 est.)
10. Teachers and doctors per population:
Economic Geography
1. GNP (Gross National Product) :
2. GDP (Gross Domestic Product): $88.83 billion (2008 est.)
3. Percent of arable land used for agriculture:
4. Natural resources: oil, natural gas
5.Major agricultural products: wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle
6. Industrial products: petroleum, iron and steel, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement
7. Major exports: crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas, chemicals
8. Imports: machinery, semi-finished goods, food, transport equipment, consumer products
9. Currency: per Libyan dinars (LYD)=39.36 NTD
10. Balance of trade: Libyan dinars (LYD) per US dollar - 1.2112 (2008 EST.)

11. Historical events:

1981 - US shoot down two Libyan aircraft which challenged its warplanes over the Gulf of Sirte, claimed by Libya as its territorial water
1992 - UN imposes sanctions on Libya in an effort to force it to hand over for trial two of its citizens suspected of involvement in the blowing up of a PanAm airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in December 1988.
1994 - Libya returns the Aozou Strip to Chad.
2002 14 March - The Libyan man found guilty of the Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, loses his appeal against the conviction and begins a life sentence of at least 20 years.
2003 January - Libya is elected chairman of the UN Human Rights Commission despite opposition from the US and human rights groups.
2003August - Libya signs a deal worth $2.7bn to compensate families of the Lockerbie bombing victims. Libya takes responsibility for the bombing in a letter to the UN Security Council.
2004 May - Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor are sentenced to death having been accused of deliberately infecting some 400 children with HIV. Their case goes to appeal
2004 March - British Prime Minister Tony Blair visits, the first such visit since 1943.
2006 May - The US says it is restoring full diplomatic ties with Libya.
2009 June - Gaddafi pays first state visit to Italy, Libya's former colonial ruler and now its main trading partner.
2009 August - Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi is freed from gaol in Scotland on compassionate grounds and returned to Libya. Al-Megrahi's release and return to a hero's welcome causes a storm of controversy; the US calls it a mistake and the UK government comes under pressure to explain its role in the release.

Resources:
The CIA World Factbook, BBC news, Wikitravel