General Information

Official name: The Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

Population: Estimated in the year 2004 at 5.882 million inhabitants. 85% live in urban districts. 61% of Libyans are less than 25 years old.

Age structure:               0-14 years: 34.2% (male 983,050; female 941,603)
15-64 years: 61.7% (male 1,794,396; female 1,679,828)
65 years and over: 4.1% (male 113,391; female 119,317) (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:                         2.37% (2004 est.)

Religion: Islam.

Official language: Arabic (English, French and Italian are widely understood).

Location: Libya is located in the middle of North Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It has six neighbors: Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Algeria, and Tunisia. This location has enabled Libya to witness many civilizations and became an important caravan trade link between Africa and Europe.

Area: 1,759,540 sq km with a surface comprises of coastal plains, plateaus and mountains. The Sahara desert extends deep into the south with scattered oasis and small towns.

Climate: A typical Mediterranean climate along the coast in the northern parts and desert climate in the south. Average temperature is between 15C during winter and 35C during summer time.

Major holidays: January 1st, march 8th, March 28th, May 1st, June 11th, September 1st, October 7th, Ascension of the prophet Mohamed*, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha, Muharram 1st*, Eid-ul Mouloud* and Nisf Sha’aban*. 

(*) Variable Dates

Major cities: Zawia, Gharyan ,Tripoli, Misurata, Sirte,Benghazi, Al-Bayda,  Darna , Tubruq and Sebha

Major archaeological sites: Tripoli, Sabrata (Sabratha), Libda (Leptis Magna), Shah’hat (Syrene), Germa (Garama), Ghadamas, Ghat, Ghirza, Kabawe among many others

Major oasis: Jalu, Awjila, Al-Jaghbub, Al-Kufra, Al-Jufra, Murzuq, Al-Qatrun,andZalla

Natural lakes: Waw An-Namus, Gabar Awon, Mindera, Umm Al-Ma, and Majzem

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Map

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Political System

People’s democracy in which popular direct authority is the basis of the political system. Authority including legislation is exercised through the Basic People’s Congresses and implemented by the chosen People’s Committee.
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Economy

The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute 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. Libyan officials in the past three 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. Libya has laid the groundwork for a transition to a market-based economy from a socialist-oriented economy, applying for WTO membership, reducing some subsidies, and having made progress in its privatization plans. The non-oil 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 aluminium.

 

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History

5th century BCE: Rise of the Garamantian Empire in today's Fezzan.
107 BCE: Northwestern Libya is conquered by Rome, and comes under administration of Africa Proconsularis which has its administrative centre around Carthage. The region becomes later a province of its own, under the name of Tripolitania.
74 BCE: Cyrenaica is conquered by Rome. Further Roman advances south is halted by the Garamantians. The region is later named Libya, where today's north-eastern Libya is called Libya Superior, while today's north-western Egypt is called Libya Inferior.
455 CE: Vandals take possession of Libya.
643: Amr Ibnu l-As conquers north-eastern Libya, known as Barka, and the region becomes part of the new Muslim Empire governed from Madina in today's Saudi Arabia.
647: Tripolitania is conquered by the Arabs.
1146: Tripolitania and Cyrenaica is conquered by the Normans of Sicily.
1521: Barka is incorporated into the Ottoman Empire, but control remains in the hands of local rulers.
1551: Tripolitania becomes a vassal state under the Ottoman Empire.
1711: Rise of the Karamanli dynasty, which served to protect the corsair activity centred to Tripoli, something which strongly irritated European powers. Still, trade between Libya and Europe thrives. Much of this trade was with slaves, destined for the American continent.
1835: As the Karamanli dynasty had become increasingly less popular, due to economical inefficiency and abolishing of corsair activity and slave trade, the Ottoman sultan has his nominal representative removed from power in Tripoli.
1842: Fezzan comes under nominal Ottoman control.
1843: Muhammad Ibn Ali s-Sanussiy, leader of a increasingly powerful religious movement, chooses Cyrenaica as his seat. The Sanussiy movement becomes important all over Libya.
1911: Italian invasion, and a battle over control of Libya starts. The Sanussiys become the leaders of Libyan resistance.
1912: The Ottoman Empire renounces its claim over Libya.
1929: Tripolitania and Cyrenaica is united under Italian rule.
1931: End of the Italian colonization of Libya, when the Sanussiys give in.
1943: With the fall of the Axis powers in the World War 2, Britain and France divides Libya: Tripolitania and Cyrenaica comes under British control. Fezzan comes under French control.
1949. Cyrenaica becomes an independent emirate, with Emir Sayyid Idris Sanussiy as leader.
November 21: United Nations grants independence for a united Libya, to be relized within the span of 2 years.
1950: A national assembly convenes in Tripoli. Emir Idris is designated king of the coming kingdom.
1951 October 7: Promulgation of the new constitution of Libya.
— December 24: King Idris declares the independence of the United Kingdom of Libya.
1952 February: Elections are held for parliament.
1953: Libya enters the Arab League.
— December 7: Britain obtains rights on having military bases in Libya for a period of 20 years.
1954 September 9: USA obtains equal agreement as Britain did the preceding year on military bases.
1955: Libya joins the United Nations.
1956: Concessions on oil extraction is granted to two American oil companies. More companies would follow later.
1961 September: With the opening of a 167 km long pipe line, oil exportations start from Libya.
— Libya increases its share of oil profits from 50% to 70%.
1963: Amendments to the constitution, transforming Libya into one national unity, and allowing for female participation in elections.
1964: Negotiations between Libya and Britain and USA on cessation on military installations in Libya.
1969 September 1: Coup against the royal palace and the king staged by young officers. The Libyan Arab Republic is established, and Mu'ammaru Gadhafi becomes head of a revolutionary council.
— September 14: Libya takes effective control over banks, by obtaining 51% of the stocks.
— December 11: Temporary constitution replace the old constitution.
— December 26: Signing on a confederation between Libya, Egypt and Sudan.
1970 March 31 and June 30: Last American and British troops leave Libya.
— July 7: Libya nationalizes the oil industry, together with all Italian assets in the country.
1972 August 2: Declaration of a merger with Egypt to be staged.
1974 January 12: Merger between Tunisia and Libya is declared, but the incentive lasts only a couple of hours.
1975 August: Coup attempt by officers.
1977 March 2: Libya is named jamahiriya, state of the masses.
— April 5: Student demonstrations that are brutally suppressed.
— July: Border clashes with Egypt.
— November: Libya changes its national flag into the present all green.
1978: Initiatives that changes the economy into socialist structures.
1979 February 28: Gadhafi rejects the authority of the hadith in Muslim lore.
1980: Actions performed to root out foreign opposition to the Libyan government.
1982 March 6: USA impose an embargo on Libya.
1983 June: Invasion of northern Chad.
1984 May 8: Assassination attempt on Gadhafi.
1985 September: Libya expels 100,000 immigrant workers — which strikes hard on neighbouring countries of Tunisia and Egypt. Borders to the two countries are closed.
1986 April 17: American bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi, partially in an attempt to kill Gadhafi.
1987 March 27: Liberalization of the economy, loosening of the socialist structures.
— September: Libya loses its occupied territories in northern Chad.
1988 April: Some political liberalization involves freeing of political prisoners. Borders with Tunisia and Egypt are reopened.
1989 January- March: Actions against Islamist group of Jihad, 1,500 arrests.
— February 17: Declaration of the Maghreb Union, together with Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
— September: Establishment of a body for world Muslim revolution.
1991: Strengthening of ties with Egypt.
1992 April: Hard sanctions from the United Nations are imposed on Libya, in retaliation of the country's refusal of extraditing two Libyan citizens charged with bombing of an airplane in 1988.
1995 April: Libyan violations on the UN ban on international flights in and out of Libya, with an airplane sending pilgrims to Mecca in Saudi Arabia for hajj.
—September 1: Gadhafi calls for pan-Arab expulsion of Palestinian refugees and immigrant workers, in order to halt the ongoing peace process between Israel and Palestine. Libya starts with sending Palestinians out of the country.
— September 6 and 7: Clashes between Libyan police and militant Islamists in Benghazi. Thousands of Islamists and Sudanese expatriates are arrested following the clashes.
— October 25: Libya stops the expulsion of Palestinian expatriates.
1996 August: US trade laws involves a threat against any company that trade with Libya. The law is met by strong international reactions.
1999 February 13: Libya accepts to extradite the two men accused of being responsible for the airplane bombing in 1988.
— April 5: Sanctions against Libya are suspended as the two suspects of the airplane bombing of 1988 are surrendered for trials in front of an international tribunal in the Netherlands.
2000 July: Strong improvements on relations with neighbouring countries, as air traffic is resumed with countries like Morocco and Egypt.
2003 September 12: UN votes to lift the 11 year long sanctions on Libya, following Libya's payment of indemnity to victims and relatives of victims of terror actions which Libya has been accused of being responsible.
2004 September 20: USA lifts all remaining sanctions on Libya, meaning that normal relations between the two countries have been re-established.

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