^ United Nations note concerning official name: "Following the adoption by the General Assembly of resolution 66/1, the Permanent Mission of Libya to the United Nations formally notified the United Nations of a Declaration by the National Transitional Council of 3 August changing the official name of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to 'Libya' and changing Libya's national flag."
Since 2011, Libya has been involved in apolitical and humanitarian crisis, and by 2014, two rival authorities claimed to govern Libya, which led to asecond civil war, with parts of Libya split between separate governments, based inTripoli andTobruk, as well as various tribal andIslamist militias. The two main warring sides signed a permanent ceasefire in 2020, and aunity government took authority to plan for democratic elections, though political rivalries continue to delay this.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] In March 2022, theHouse of Representatives ceased recognising theGovernment of National Unity and proclaimed an alternative government, theGovernment of National Stability (GNS). Both governments have been functioning simultaneously since then, which has led to dual power in Libya. The international community continues to recognise the unity government as the legitimate government of the country.
The origin of the name "Libya" first appeared in an inscription ofRamesses II, written asrbw inhieroglyphic. The name derives from a generalised identity given to a large confederacy of ancient east "Libyan"Berbers,North African people(s) and tribes who lived around the lush regions ofCyrenaica andMarmarica. An army of 40,000 men[25] and a confederacy of tribes known as "Great Chiefs of theLibu" were led by KingMeryey who fought a war againstpharaohMerneptah in year 5 (1208 BCE). This conflict was mentioned in theGreat Karnak Inscription in the western delta during the 5th and 6th years of his reign and resulted in a defeat for Meryey. According to theGreat Karnak Inscription, the military alliance comprised theMeshwesh, theLukka, and the "Sea Peoples" known as theEkwesh,Teresh,Shekelesh, and theSherden.
The Great Karnak Inscription reads:
"... the third season, saying: 'The wretched, fallen chief of Libya, Meryey, son of Ded, has fallen upon the country of Tehenu with his bowmen — Sherden, Shekelesh, Ekwesh, Lukka, Teresh. Taking the best of every warrior and every man of war of his country. He has brought his wife and his children — leaders of the camp, and he has reached the western boundary in the fields of Perire."
The name "Libya" was brought back into use in 1903 by Italian geographer Federico Minutilli. It was intended to supplant terms applied toOttoman Tripolitania, the coastal region of what is today Libya, having been ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1551 to 1911 as the Eyalet of Tripolitania.[26]
Libya gained independence in 1951 as theUnited Libyan Kingdom (المملكة الليبية المتحدةal-Mamlakah al-Lībiyyah al-Muttaḥidah), changing its name to the Kingdom of Libya (المملكة الليبيةal-Mamlakah al-Lībiyyah), literally "Libyan Kingdom", in 1963.[27] Following a coup d'état led byMuammar Gaddafi in 1969, the name of the state was changed to the Libyan Arab Republic (الجمهورية العربية الليبيةal-Jumhūriyyah al-'Arabiyyah al-Lībiyyah). The official name was "Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" from 1977 to 1986 (الجماهيرية العربية الليبية الشعبية الاشتراكية), and "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya"[28] (الجماهيرية العربية الليبية الشعبية الاشتراكية العظمى,[29]al-Jamāhīriyyah al-'Arabiyyah al-Lībiyyah ash-Sha'biyyah al-Ishtirākiyyah al-'Udmálistenⓘ) from 1986 to 2011.
In December 2017, the Permanent Mission of Libya to the United Nations informed the UN that the country's official name was henceforth the "State of Libya"; "Libya" remained the official short form, and the country continued to be listed under "L" in alphabetical lists.[32]
The coastal plain of Libya was inhabited byNeolithic peoples from as early as 8000 BC. TheAfroasiatic ancestors of theBerber people are assumed to have spread into the area by theLate Bronze Age. The earliest known name of such a tribe was theGaramantes, based inGerma. ThePhoenicians were the first to establish trading posts in Libya.[33] By the 5th century BC, the greatest of the Phoenician colonies,Carthage, had extended itshegemony across much of North Africa, where a distinctive civilisation, known asPunic, came into being.
In 630 BC, theancient Greeks colonised the area aroundBarca in Eastern Libya and founded the city ofCyrene.[34] Within 200 years, four more important Greek cities were established in the area that became known asCyrenaica.[35] The area was home to the renowned philosophy school of theCyrenaics. In 525 BC thePersian army ofCambyses II overran Cyrenaica, which for the next two centuries remained under Persian or Egyptian rule.Alexander the Great ended Persian rule in 331 BC and received tribute from Cyrenaica. Eastern Libya again fell under the control of the Greeks, this time as part of thePtolemaic Kingdom.
After the fall ofCarthage the Romans did not immediately occupyTripolitania (the region around Tripoli), but left it instead under control of the kings ofNumidia, until the coastal cities asked and obtained its protection.[36]Ptolemy Apion, the last Greek ruler, bequeathed Cyrenaica to Rome, which formally annexed the region in 74 BC and joined it to Crete asa Roman province. As part of theAfrica Nova province, Tripolitania was prosperous,[36] and reached a golden age in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, when the city ofLeptis Magna, home to theSeveran dynasty, was at its height.[36]
On the eastern side, Cyrenaica's first Christian communities were established by the time of the EmperorClaudius.[37] It was heavily devastated during theKitos War[38] and almost depopulated of Greeks and Jews alike.[39] Although repopulated byTrajan with military colonies,[38] from then started its decline.[37] Libya was early to convert toNicene Christianity and was the home ofPope Victor I; however, Libya was also home to many non-Nicene varieties of early Christianity, such asArianism andDonatism.
Under the command ofAmr ibn al-As, theRashidun army conqueredCyrenaica.[40] In 647 an army led byAbdullah ibn Saad took Tripoli from the Byzantines definitively.[40] TheFezzan was conquered byUqba ibn Nafi in 663. The Berber tribes of the hinterland accepted Islam, however they resisted Arab political rule.[41] For the next several decades, Libya was under the purview of theUmayyadCaliph of Damascus until theAbbasids overthrew the Umayyads in 750, and Libya came under the rule of Baghdad. When CaliphHarun al-Rashid appointedIbrahim ibn al-Aghlab as his governor ofIfriqiya in 800, Libya enjoyed considerable local autonomy under theAghlabid dynasty. By the 10th century, the ShiiteFatimids controlled Western Libya, and ruled the entire region in 972 and appointedBologhine ibn Ziri as governor.[36]
Ibn Ziri's BerberZirid dynasty ultimately broke away from the Shiite Fatimids, and recognised the Sunni Abbasids of Baghdad as rightful Caliphs. In retaliation, the Fatimids brought about the migration of thousands from mainly two Arab Qaisi tribes, theBanu Sulaym andBanu Hilal toNorth Africa. This act drastically altered the fabric of the Libyan countryside, and cemented the cultural and linguistic Arabisation of the region.[36]
Zirid rule in Tripolitania was short-lived though, and already in 1001 the Berbers of theBanu Khazrun broke away. Tripolitania remained under their control until 1146, when the region was overtaken by theNormans of Sicily.[42] For the next 50 years, Tripolitania was the scene of numerous battles amongAyyubids, theAlmohad rulers and insurgents of theBanu Ghaniya. Later, a general of the Almohads, Muhammad ibn Abu Hafs, ruled Libya from 1207 to 1221 before the later establishment of the TunisianHafsid Kingdom[42] independent from the Almohads. In the 14th century, theBanu Thabit dynasty ruled Tripolitania before reverting to direct Hafsid control. By the 16th century, the Hafsids became increasingly caught up in the power struggle between Spain and theOttoman Empire.
After Abbasid control was weakened, Cyrenaica was under Egypt-based states such as theTulunids,Ikhshidids, Ayyubids, andMamluks before Ottoman conquest in 1517.Fezzan acquired independence under Awlad Muhammad dynasty afterKanem rule. Ottomans finally conquered Fezzan between 1556 and 1577.
After a successful invasion of Tripoli byHabsburg Spain in 1510,[42] and its handover to theKnights Hospitaller, theOttoman admiralSinan Pasha took control of Libya in 1551.[42] His successorTurgut Reis was named theBey of Tripoli and laterPasha of Tripoli in 1556. By 1565, administrative authority as regent in Tripoli was vested in apasha appointed directly by thesultan inConstantinople/Istanbul. In the 1580s, the rulers ofFezzan gave their allegiance to the sultan, and although Ottoman authority was absent inCyrenaica, abey was stationed in Benghazi late in the next century to act as agent of the government in Tripoli.[37] Europeanslaves and large numbers of enslaved Blacks transported from Sudan were also a feature of everyday life in Tripoli. In 1551,Turgut Reis enslaved almost the entire population of the Maltese island ofGozo, some 5,000 people, sending them to Libya.[43][44]
In time, real power came to rest with the pasha's corps ofjanissaries.[42] In 1611 thedeys staged a coup against the pasha, and Dey Sulayman Safar was appointed as head of government. For the next hundred years, a series ofdeys effectively ruled Tripolitania. The two most important Deys wereMehmed Saqizli (r. 1631–49) andOsman Saqizli (r. 1649–72), both also Pasha, who ruled effectively the region.[45] The latter conquered also Cyrenaica.[45]
Lacking direction from the Ottoman government, Tripoli lapsed into a period of military anarchy during which coup followed coup and few deys survived in office more than a year. One such coup was led by Turkish officerAhmed Karamanli.[45] TheKaramanlis ruled from 1711 until 1835 mainly in Tripolitania, and had influence in Cyrenaica and Fezzan as well by the mid-18th century. Ahmed's successors proved to be less capable than himself, however, the region's delicate balance of power allowed the Karamanli. The1793–95 Tripolitanian civil war occurred in those years. In 1793, Turkish officerAli Pasha deposed Hamet Karamanli and briefly restored Tripolitania to Ottoman rule. Hamet's brotherYusuf (r. 1795–1832) re-established Tripolitania's independence. In 1816, Yusuf ordered themassacre of the al-Jawazi tribe.[46]
In the early 19th century war broke out between the United States and Tripolitania, and a series of battles ensued in what came to be known as theFirst Barbary War and theSecond Barbary War. By 1819, the various treaties of theNapoleonic Wars had forced the Barbary states to give up piracy almost entirely, and Tripolitania's economy began to crumble. As Yusuf weakened, factions sprung up around his three sons. Civil war soon resulted.[47]
Ottoman SultanMahmud II sent in troops ostensibly to restore order, marking the end of both the Karamanli dynasty and an independent Tripolitania.[47] Order was not recovered easily, and the revolt of the Libyan under Abd-El-Gelil and Gûma ben Khalifa lasted until the death of the latter in 1858.[47] The second period of direct Ottoman rule saw administrative changes, and greater order in the governance of the three provinces of Libya. Ottoman rule finally reasserted to Fezzan between 1850 and 1875 for earning income from Saharan commerce.
Italian colonisation and Allied occupation (1911–1951)
Omar Mukhtar was a prominent leader of Libyan resistance in Cyrenaica against Italian colonisation.
After theItalo-Turkish War (1911–1912), Italy simultaneously turned the three regions into colonies.[48] From 1912 to 1927, the territory of Libya was known asItalian North Africa. From 1927 to 1934, the territory was split into two colonies,Italian Cyrenaica andItalian Tripolitania, run by Italian governors. Some 150,000 Italians settled in Libya, constituting roughly 20% of the total population.[49]
Omar Mukhtar rose to prominence as aresistance leader against Italian colonisation and became a national hero despite his capture and execution on 16 September 1931.[50] His face is currently printed on the Libyan ten dinar note in memory and recognition of his patriotism. Another prominent resistance leader, Idris al-Mahdi as-Senussi (laterKing Idris I), Emir of Cyrenaica, continued to lead the Libyan resistance until the outbreak of theSecond World War.
The so-called "pacification of Libya" by the Italians resulted in mass deaths of the indigenous people in Cyrenaica, killing approximately one quarter of Cyrenaica's population of 225,000.[51]Ilan Pappé estimates that between 1928 and 1932 the Italian military "killed half the Bedouin population (directly or through disease and starvation inItalian concentration camps in Libya)."[52]
In 1934, Italy combinedCyrenaica,Tripolitania andFezzan and adopted the name "Libya" (used by theAncient Greeks for all ofNorth Africa exceptEgypt) for the unified colony, withTripoli as itscapital.[53] The Italians emphasised infrastructure improvements and public works. In particular, they greatly expanded Libyan railway and road networks from 1934 to 1940, building hundreds of kilometres of new roads and railways and encouraging the establishment of new industries and dozens of new agricultural villages.
In June 1940,Italy entered World War II. Libya became the setting for the hard-foughtNorth African Campaign that ultimately ended in defeat for Italy and itsGerman ally in 1943. From 1943 to 1951, Libya was underAllied occupation. The British militaryadministered the two former Italian Libyan provinces of Tripolitana and Cyrenaïca, while the Frenchadministered the province of Fezzan. In 1944, Idris returned from exile inCairo but declined to resume permanent residence in Cyrenaica until the removal of some aspects of foreign control in 1947. Under the terms of the1947 peace treaty with theAllies, Italy relinquished all claims to Libya.[54]
A national assembly crafted a constitution that established amonarchy and extended an offer for the throne toSayyid Idris, theEmir of Cyrenaica.[55] Sayyid Idris held the esteemed position as the leader of the influentialSenussi religious brotherhood, which was founded by his grandfather in the preceding century as a response to Western influence in theArab world.[55] This devout Islamic movement garnered significant support from thedesert Bedouin and became a major political force in Libya. During the declining years of theOttoman Empire, it effectively governed the Libyan interior.[55]Born in an oasis inCyrenaica in 1890, Sayyid Idris assumed leadership of the Senussi at a young age. He spent a considerable period of exile inEgypt under Italian rule and returned to Libya after theAxis powers were ousted in 1943.[55] On December 24, 1951, as King Idris I, he addressed the nation via radio fromBenghazi.[55] On November 21, 1949, theUN General Assembly passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before January 1, 1952.[56] Idris represented Libya in the subsequent UN negotiations. By December 24, 1951, Libya declared its independence as theUnited Kingdom of Libya, a constitutional and hereditarymonarchy under KingIdris.[57]
However, the new kingdom faced challenging prospects.[55] It lacked significant industry and agricultural resources.[55] The kingdom's primary exports consisted of hides, wool, horses, and ostrich feathers.[55] Despite having one of the lowest income per capita figures globally, it also suffered from one of the highest illiteracy rates.[55] King Idris I, already in his sixties, had no direct heir to succeed him.[55] His cousin, whom he had married in 1932, reportedly experienced numerous miscarriages, and their son, born in 1953, tragically died shortly after birth.[55] Crown Prince Rida, Idris's brother, was the designated heir, but the royal family was riddled with incessant disputes.[55] King Idris's devout Muslim piety, which solidified his support among theBedouin population, clashed with the modernising and urban intellectual currents in Libya.[55] To address the rivalry betweenCyrenaica andTripolitania,Benghazi andTripoli alternated as the capital every two years.
The swift emergence of a large number of bureaucrats resulted in a costly royal government.[55] The discovery of significantoil reserves in 1959 and the subsequent income frompetroleum sales enabled one of the world's poorest nations to establish an extremely wealthy state.[57] Although oil drastically improved the Libyan government's finances, popular resentment began to build over the increased concentration of the nation's wealth in the hands of King Idris and the national elite.[56][57] This discontent continued to mount with the rise ofNasserism andArab nationalism throughoutNorth Africa and theMiddle East, that inspire many anti-royal coups across theArab world.[57]
Libya's increase in prosperity was accompanied by increased internal political repression, and political dissent was made illegal under Law 75 of 1973.[62] Widespread surveillance of the population was carried out through Gaddafi's Revolutionary Committees.[63][62][64] Gaddafi also wanted to ease the strict social restrictions imposed on women by the previous regime, establishing theRevolutionary Women's Formation to encourage reform.[62] In 1970, a law was introduced affirming equality of the sexes and wage parity.[62] In 1971, Gaddafi sponsored the creation of a Libyan General Women's Federation.[62] In 1972, a law was passed criminalising the marriage of girls under the age of sixteen and making the woman's consent a necessary prerequisite for a marriage.[65]
On 25 October 1975, a coup attempt was launched by a group of 20 military officers, mostly from the city ofMisrata.[66] This resulted in the arrest and executions of the coup plotters.[67] In March 1977, Libya officially became the "Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya".[62] Gaddafi officially passed power to theGeneral People's Committees and henceforth claimed to be no more than a symbolic figurehead.[68][62] The newjamahiriya (Arab for "republic") governance structure he established was officially referred to as "direct democracy".[69] Gaddafi, in his vision of democratic government andpolitical philosophy, publishedThe Green Book in 1975. His short book inscribed a representative mix of utopian socialism and Arab nationalism with a streak ofBedouin supremacy.
F-4J of VF-74 with Libyan MiG-23 over Gulf of Sidra in 1981
Libya adopted its plain green national flag on 19 November 1977.[62] The country had the only plain-coloured flag in the world until 2011, when Libya adoptedits current flag.[citation needed] From 1977 onward, per capita income in the country rose to more than US$11,000, the fifth-highest in Africa,[73] while theHuman Development Index became the highest in Africa and greater than that ofSaudi Arabia.[74] This was achieved without borrowing any foreign loans, keeping Libyadebt-free.[75] TheGreat Manmade River was also built to allow free access to fresh water across large parts of the country.[74] In addition, financial support was provided for university scholarships and employment programs.[76] Much of Libya's income from oil, which soared in the 1970s, was spent on arms purchases and on sponsoring dozens of paramilitaries and terrorist groups around the world.[77][78][79]
An American airstrike led by then U.S. presidentRonald Reagan intended to kill Gaddafi failed in 1986.[62] Libya was finally put under sanctions by theUnited Nations afterthe bombing of a commercial flight atLockerbie in 1988 killed 270 people.[80] In the 1990s, the government's rule was threatened by militant Islamism and an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Gaddafi.[81] The government responded with repressive measures.[81] Riots and Islamic activisim were crushed byRevolutionary Guard Corps.[81] Nevertheless,Cyrenaica between 1995 and 1998 was politically unstable, due to the tribal allegiances of the local troops.[81] In 2003, Gaddafi announced that all of his regime'sweapons of mass destruction were disassembled, and that Libya was transitioning towardnuclear power.[62]
First Libyan Civil War and the fall of Gaddafi (2011)
The first civil war came during theArab Spring movements which overturned the rulers ofTunisia andEgypt. Libya first experienced protests against Gaddafi's regime on 15 February 2011, with a full-scale revolt beginning on17 February.[82] Libya's authoritarian regime led by Muammar Gaddafi put up much more of a resistance compared to the regimes in Egypt and Tunisia. While overthrowing the regimes in Egypt and Tunisia was a relatively quick process, Gaddafi's campaign posed significant stalls on the uprising in Libya.[83] The first announcement of a competing political authority appeared online and declared theInterim Transitional National Council as an alternative government. One of Gaddafi's senior advisors responded by posting a tweet, wherein he resigned, defected, and advised Gaddafi to flee.[84] By 20 February, the unrest had spread toTripoli. On 27 February 2011, theNational Transitional Council was established to administer the areas of Libya under rebel control. On 10 March 2011, theUnited States and many other nations recognised the council headed byMahmoud Jibril as acting prime minister and as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people and withdrawing the recognition of Gaddafi's regime.[85][86]
A protest against the anti-Gaddafi supporters in Tripoli
Pro-Gaddafi forces were able to respond militarily to rebel pushes inWestern Libya and launched a counterattack along the coast toward Benghazi, thede facto centre of the uprising.[87] The town ofZawiya, 48 kilometres (30 mi) from Tripoli, was bombarded byair force planes and army tanks and seized byJamahiriya troops, "exercising a level of brutality not yet seen in the conflict."[88] Organizations of the United Nations, includingUnited Nations Secretary GeneralBan Ki-moon[89] and theUnited Nations Human Rights Council, condemned the crackdown as violating international law, with the latter body expelling Libya outright in an unprecedented action.[90][91] On 17 March 2011, the UN Security Council passedResolution 1973,[92] with a 10–0 vote and five abstentions includingRussia,China,India,Brazil andGermany. The resolution sanctioned the establishment of ano-fly zone and the use of "all means necessary" to protect civilians within Libya.[93] On 19 March, the first act ofNATO allies to secure the no-fly zone began by destroying Libyan air defences when French military jets entered Libyan airspace on areconnaissance mission heralding attacks on enemy targets.[94]
In the weeks that followed, U.S. American forces were in the forefront of NATO operations against Libya. More than 8,000 US personnel in warships and aircraft were deployed in the area. At least 3,000 targets were struck in 14,202 strike sorties, 716 of them in Tripoli and 492 inBrega.[95] The U.S. air offensive included flights ofB-2 stealth bombers, each bomber armed with sixteen 2000-pound bombs, flying out of and returning to their base inMissouri.[96] The support provided by the NATO air forces contributed to the ultimate success of the revolution.[97] By 22 August 2011,rebel fighters had entered Tripoli and occupiedGreen Square,[98] which they renamed Martyrs' Square in honour of those killed since 17 February 2011. On 20 October 2011, the last heavy fighting of the uprising came to an end in the city ofSirte. TheBattle of Sirte was both the last decisive battle and the last one in general of theFirst Libyan Civil War where Gaddafi was captured and killed by NATO-backed forces on 20 October 2011. Sirte was the last Gaddafi loyalist stronghold and his place of birth. The defeat ofloyalist forces was celebrated on 23 October 2011, three days after the fall of Sirte. At least 30,000 Libyans died in the civil war.[99] In addition, theNational Transitional Council estimated 50,000 wounded.[100]
Interwar period and the Second Libyan Civil War (2011–2020)
Following the defeat of loyalist forces, Libya was torn among numerous rival, armed militias affiliated with distinct regions, cities and tribes, while the central government had been weak and unable to effectively exert its authority over the country. Competing militias pitted themselves against each other in a political struggle betweenIslamist politicians and their opponents.[101] On 7 July 2012, Libyans held their first parliamentary elections since the end of the former regime. On 8 August, theNational Transitional Council officially handed power over to the wholly electedGeneral National Congress, which was then tasked with the formation of an interim government and the drafting of a newLibyan Constitution to be approved in a generalreferendum.[102] On 25 August 2012, in what Reuters reported as "the most blatant sectarian attack" since the end of the civil war, unnamed organised assailants bulldozed aSufi mosque with graves in the centre of the Libyan capitalTripoli. It was the second such razing of a Sufi site in two days.[103] Numerous acts of vandalism and destruction of heritage were carried out by suspected Islamist militias, including the removal of the Nude Gazelle Statue and the destruction and desecration ofWorld War II-era British grave sites nearBenghazi.[104][105] Many other cases of heritage vandalism were reported to be carried out by Islamist-related radical militias and mobs that either destroyed, robbed, or looted a number of historic sites.
On 11 September 2012, Islamist militants mounted anattack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi,[106] killing the U.S. ambassador to Libya,J. Christopher Stevens, and three others. The incident generated outrage in theUnited States and Libya.[107] On 7 October 2012, Libya's Prime Minister-electMustafa A.G. Abushagur was ousted after failing a second time to win parliamentary approval for a new cabinet.[108][109][110] On 14 October 2012, the General National Congress elected former GNC member and human rights lawyerAli Zeidan as prime minister-designate.[111] Zeidan was sworn in after his cabinet was approved by the GNC.[112][113] On 11 March 2014, after having been ousted by the GNC for his inability to halt a rogue oil shipment,[114] Prime Minister Zeidan stepped down, and was replaced by Prime MinisterAbdullah al-Thani.[115]
TheSecond Civil War began in May 2014 following fighting between rival parliaments with tribal militias andjihadist groups soon taking advantage of the power vacuum. Most notably, radical Islamist fighters seizedDerna in 2014 andSirte in 2015 in the name of theIslamic State. In February 2015, neighbouringEgyptlaunched airstrikes against IS in support of the Tobruk government.[116][117][118] In June 2014,elections were held to theHouse of Representatives, a new legislative body intended to take over from theGeneral National Congress. The elections were marred by violence and low turnout, with voting stations closed in some areas.[119] Secularists and liberals did well in the elections, to the consternation of Islamist lawmakers in the GNC, who reconvened and declared a continuing mandate for the GNC, refusing to recognise the new House of Representatives.[120] Armed supporters of the General National Congress occupied Tripoli, forcing the newly elected parliament to flee toTobruk.[121][122]
In January 2015, meetings were held with the aim to find a peaceful agreement between the rival parties in Libya. The so-called Geneva-Ghadames talks were supposed to bring the GNC and the Tobruk government together at one table to find a solution of the internal conflict. However, the GNC actually never participated, a sign that internal division not only affected the "Tobruk Camp", but also the "Tripoli Camp". Meanwhile, terrorism within Libya steadily increased, also affecting neighbouring countries. Theterrorist attack against the Bardo Museum inTunisia on 18 March 2015 was reportedly carried out by two Libyan-trained militants.[123] During 2015 an extended series of diplomatic meetings and peace negotiations were supported by the United Nations, as conducted by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), Spanish diplomatBernardino León.[124][125] UN support for the SRSG-led process of dialogue carried on in addition to the usual work of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).[126] In July 2015 SRSG Leon reported to the UN Security Council on the progress of the negotiations, which at that point had just achieved a political agreement on 11 July setting out "a comprehensive framework... includ[ing] guiding principles... institutions and decision-making mechanisms to guide the transition until the adoption of a permanent constitution."Talks, negotiations and dialogue continued on during mid-2015 at various international locations, culminating at Skhirat in Morocco in early September.[127][128]
Also in 2015, as part of the ongoing support from the international community, the UN Human Rights Council requested a report about the Libyan situation[129][130] and the High Commissioner for Human Rights,Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, established an investigative body (OIOL) to report on human rights and rebuilding the Libyan justice system.[131] Chaos-ridden Libya emerged as a major transit point forpeople trying to reach Europe. Between 2013 and 2018, nearly 700,000 migrants reached Italy by boat, many of them from Libya.[132][133] In May 2018 Libya's rival leaders agreed to hold parliamentary and presidential elections following a meeting inParis.[134] In April 2019,Khalifa Haftar launchedOperation Flood of Dignity, in an offensive by theLibyan National Army aimed to seize Western territories from theGovernment of National Accord (GNA).[135] In June 2019, forces allied to Libya's UN-recognised Government of National Accord successfully capturedGharyan, a strategic town where military commander Khalifa Haftar and his fighters were based. According to a spokesman for GNA forces, Mustafa al-Mejii, dozens of LNA fighters under Haftar were killed, while at least 18 were taken prisoner.[136]
In March 2020, Prime Minister of the GNAFayez Al-Sarraj commenced Operation Peace Storm. The government initiated the bid in response to the state of assaults carried byField MarshalHaftar'sLNA. "We are a legitimate, civilian government that respects its obligations to the international community, but is committed primarily to its people and has an obligation to protect its citizens," Sarraj said in line with his decision.[137] On 28 August 2020, theBBC Africa Eye andBBC Arabic Documentaries revealed that a drone operated by theUnited Arab Emirates (UAE) killed 26 young cadets at a military academy in Tripoli, on 4 January. Most of the cadets were teenagers and none of them were armed. The Chinese-made droneWing Loong II fired Blue Arrow 7 missile, which was operated from UAE-run Al-Khadim Libyan air base. In February, these drones stationed in Libya were moved to an air base nearSiwa in the western Egyptian desert.[138]The Guardian probed and discovered the blatant violation ofUN arms embargo by the UAE andTurkey on 7 October 2020. As per the reporting, both the nations sent large-scale military cargo planes to Libya in support of their respective parties.[139] On 23 October 2020,a permanent ceasefire was signed to end the war.[140]
Fathi Bashagha was appointed prime minister by the parliament in February 2022 to lead a transitional administration, but standing prime ministerAbdul Hamid Dbeibeh refused to hand over power as of April 2022. In protest against the Dbeibah government, tribal leaders from the desert town ofUbari shut down theEl Sharara oil field, Libya's largest oil field, on 18 April 2022. The shut down threatened to cause oil shortages domestically in Libya, and preclude the state-run National Oil Corp. from exploiting the high oil prices on the international market resulting from theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[142] On 2 July, theHouse of Representatives was burned down by protesters.[143]
On September 10, 2023, catastrophic floods due todam failures generated byStorm Daniel devastated the port city ofDerna, killing more than 5,900 and possibly as many as 24,000.[144] The floods were the worst natural disaster in Libya's modern history.[145]
In November 2024, theGovernment of National Unity announced it would instate a morality police to crack-down on "weird haircuts", enforce “modest” clothing, and require male guardians for women.[146]
At 1,770 kilometres (1,100 mi), Libya's coastline is the longest of anyAfrican country bordering the Mediterranean.[147][148] The portion of the Mediterranean Sea north of Libya is often called theLibyan Sea. The climate is mostly extremely dry and desertlike in nature. However, the northern regions enjoy a milderMediterranean climate.[149]
Natural hazards come in the form of hot, dry, dust-ladensirocco (known in Libya as thegibli). This is a southern wind blowing from one to four days inspring andautumn. There are alsodust storms and sandstorms.Oases can also be found scattered throughout Libya, the most important of which areGhadames andKufra.[151]
Libya is highly vulnerable to the effects ofclimate change and underprepared to deal with them.[152][153] The effects ofclimate change in Libya, such asdesertification, sea level rise, flooding, and irregular weather patterns are already noticeable and are expected to increase.[153] These pose significant threats to Libya's agriculture, food and water security and economic development and sustainability.[154][155]
Libya was a pioneer state in North Africa in species protection, with the creation in 1975 of the El Kouf protected area. The fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime favoured intensepoaching: "Before the fall of Gaddafi even hunting rifles were forbidden. But since 2011, poaching has been carried out with weapons of war and sophisticated vehicles in which one can find up to 200 gazelle heads killed by militiamen who hunt to pass the time. We are also witnessing the emergence of hunters with no connection to the tribes that traditionally practice hunting. They shoot everything they find, even during the breeding season. More than 500,000 birds are killed in this way each year, when protected areas have been seized by tribal chiefs who have appropriated them. The animals that used to live there have all disappeared, hunted when they are edible or released when they are not," explains zoologist Khaled Ettaieb.[156]
Libya is a predominantlydesert country. Over 95% of the land area is covered in desert.[157]Libya is the fourth-most water-stressed country in the world.
The Libyan Desert, which covers most of Libya, is one of the most arid and sun-baked places on Earth.[58] In places, decades may pass without seeing any rainfall at all, and even in thehighlands rainfall seldom happens, once every 5–10 years. AtUweinat, as of 2006[update] the last recorded rainfall was in September 1998.[158]
Likewise, the temperature in the Libyan Desert can be extreme; on 13 September 1922, the town of'Aziziya, which is located southwest ofTripoli, recorded an air temperature of 58 °C (136.4 °F), considered to be a world record.[159][160][161] In September 2012, however, the world record figure of 58 °C was determined to be invalid by theWorld Meteorological Organization.[160][161][162]
There are a few scattered uninhabited small oases, usually linked to the major depressions, where water can be found by digging to a few feet in depth. In the west there is a widely dispersed group of oases in unconnected shallow depressions, the Kufra group, consisting of Tazerbo, Rebianae andKufra.[158] Aside from the scarps, the general flatness is only interrupted by a series ofplateaus and massifs near the centre of the Libyan Desert, around the convergence of the Egyptian-Sudanese-Libyan borders.
Slightly further to the south are themassifs of Arkenu, Uweinat, and Kissu. Thesegranite mountains are ancient, having formed long before the sandstones surrounding them. Arkenu and Western Uweinat are ring complexes very similar to those in theAïr Mountains. Eastern Uweinat (the highest point in the Libyan Desert) is a raised sandstone plateau adjacent to the granite part further west.[158]
The plain to the north of Uweinat is dotted with eroded volcanic features. With the discovery of oil in the 1950s also came the discovery of a massiveaquifer underneath much of Libya. The water in theNubian Sandstone Aquifer System pre-dates the lastice ages and theSahara Desert itself.[163] This area also contains theArkenu structures, which were once thought to be two impact craters.[164]
The former legislature was theGeneral National Congress, which had 200 seats.[171] TheGeneral National Congress (2014), a largely unrecognised rival parliament based in thede jure capital of Tripoli, claims to be a legal continuation of the GNC.[172][173] On 7 July 2012, Libyans voted inparliamentary elections, the first free elections in almost 40 years.[174] Around thirty women were elected to become members of parliament.[174] Early results of the vote showed theNational Forces Alliance, led by former interim prime ministerMahmoud Jibril, as front runner.[175] TheJustice and Construction Party, affiliated with theMuslim Brotherhood, has done less well in Libya than similar parties inEgypt andTunisia.[176] It won 17 out of 80 seats that were contested by parties; about 60 independents had joined its caucus by 2013.[176] As of January 2013, there was mounting public pressure on the National Congress to set up a constitution-drafting body. Congress had not yet decided whether the members of the body would be elected or appointed.[177] On 30 March 2014, the General National Congress voted to replace itself with a newHouse of Representatives. The new legislature allocated 30 seats for women, would have 200 seats overall (with individuals able to run as members of political parties), and allowed Libyans of other nationalities to run for office.[178]
Following the 2012 elections,Freedom House improved Libya's rating from Not Free to Partly Free and considered the country anelectoral democracy.[179] Gaddafi merged civil andsharia courts in 1973. As of 2013, civil courts employed sharia judges in regularcourts of appeal as specialists in sharia appellate cases.[180] Laws regardingpersonal status are derived from Islamic law as of 2011.[181] At a meeting of theEuropean Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs on 2 December 2014, UN Special RepresentativeBernardino León described Libya as a non-state.[182] An agreement to form anational unity government was signed on 17 December 2015.[183] Under the terms of the agreement, a nine-memberPresidency Council and a seventeen-member interimGovernment of National Accord would be formed, with a view to holding new elections within two years.[183] TheHouse of Representatives would continue to exist as a legislature, and an advisory body called theState Council would have members nominated by theGeneral National Congress (2014).[184] The formation of an interim unity government was announced on 5 February 2021, after its members were elected by theLibyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF).[185] 74 members of the LPDF cast ballots for four-member slates, which would fill positions including prime minister and the head of the Presidential Council.[185] After no slates reached a 60% vote threshold, the two leading groups competed in a run-off election.[185]Mohamed al-Menfi, a former ambassador toGreece, became head of the Presidential Council.[186]
Meanwhile, the LPDF confirmed thatAbdul Hamid Dbeibeh, a businessman, would be the transitional prime minister.[186] All of the candidates who ran in the election, including the members of the winning slate, promised to appoint women to 30% of all senior government positions.[186] The politicians elected to lead the interim government initially agreed not to stand in the national elections scheduled for 24 December 2021.[186] However, Dbeibeh announced his candidacy for president despite the ban in November 2021.[187] The appeals court in Tripoli rejected appeals for his disqualification and allowed Dbeibeh back on the candidates' list, along with a number of other previously disqualified candidates, for the election originally scheduled for December 24.[188] Even more controversially, the court also reinstatedSaif al-Islam Gaddafi, a son of the former dictator, as a presidential candidate.[189][190] On 22 December 2021, Libya's Election Commission called for the postponement of the election until 24 January 2022.[191] Earlier, a parliamentary commission said it would be "impossible" to hold the election on 24 December 2021.[192] The UN called on Libya's interim leaders to "expeditiously address all legal and political obstacles to hold elections, including finalising the list of presidential candidates".[192] However, at the last minute, the election was postponed indefinitely and the international community agreed to continue its support and recognition of the interim government headed by Dbeibeh.[193][194] According to new election rules, a new prime minister has 21 days to form a cabinet that must be endorsed by the various governing bodies within Libya.[186] After this cabinet is agreed upon, the unity government will replace all "parallel authorities" within Libya, including the Government of National Accord in Tripoli and the administration led by General Haftar.[186]
Libya's foreign policies have fluctuated since 1951. As a kingdom, Libya maintained a definitively pro-Western stance and was recognised as belonging to the conservative traditionalist bloc in the League of Arab States (the present-dayArab League), of which it became a member in 1953.[195] The government was also friendly towards Western countries such as the United Kingdom, United States,France,Italy, andGreece, and established full diplomatic relations with theSoviet Union in 1955.[196] Although the government supported Arab causes, including the Moroccan and Algerian independence movements, it took little active part in theArab–Israeli conflict or the tumultuous inter-Arab politics of the 1950s and early 1960s. The kingdom was noted for its close association with the West, while it steered a conservative course at home.[197]
As of November 2012, it was deemed to be still in the embryonic stage of development.[215] PresidentMohammed Magariaf promised that empowering the army and police force was the government's biggest priority in 2012.[216] President Megarif also ordered that all of the country's militias to come under government authority or disband.[217]
Militias had refused to be integrated into a central security force by February 2013.[218] Many of the militias were disciplined, but the most powerful of them answered only to the executive councils of various Libyan cities.[218] The militias made up the so-calledLibya Shield Force, a parallel national force, which operated at the request, rather than at the order, of the defence ministry.[218]
Historically, the area of Libya was considered three provinces (or states),Tripolitania in the northwest,Barka (Cyrenaica) in the east, andFezzan in the southwest. The conquest by Italy in theItalo-Turkish War united them into a single political unit.
Since 2007, Libya has been divided into 22 districts (Shabiyat):
In 2022, 18 provinces were declared by the Libyan Government of National Unity (Libyan Observer): the eastern coast, Jabal Al-Akhdar, Al-Hizam, Benghazi, Al-Wahat, Al-Kufra, Al-Khaleej, Al-Margab, Tripoli, Al-Jafara, Al-Zawiya, West Coast, Gheryan, Zintan, Nalut, Sabha, Al-Wadi, and Murzuq Basin.
According toHuman Rights Watch annual report 2016, journalists are still being targeted by the armed groups in Libya. The organisation added that Libya ranked very low in the 2015Press Freedom Index, 154th out of 180 countries.[219] For the 2021 Press Freedom Index its score dropped to 165th out of 180 countries.[220]Homosexuality is illegal in Libya.[221]
Change in per capita GDP of Libya, 1950–2018. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2011 International dollars.
The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from theoil sector, which account for over half of GDP and 97% of exports.[222] Libya holds the largest proven oil reserves in Africa and is an important contributor to the global supply of light,sweet crude.[223] During 2010, when oil averaged at $80 a barrel, oil production accounted for 54% of GDP.[224] Apart from petroleum, the other natural resources are natural gas andgypsum.[225] TheInternational Monetary Fund estimated Libya's real GDP growth at 122% in 2012 and 16.7% in 2013, after a 60% plunge in 2011.[222]
In 2023 Libya emitted around 23.77 million tonnes of greenhouse gases, about 0.17% of the world's total emissions. However, the nation ranked as the 21st highest emitter per capita globally and the highest in Africa, at just over 13 tonnes per person.[226] Libya was slow to join climate efforts, signing theUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2016 and theParis Climate Agreement in 2021.[227] However, as of 2024, Libya has not ratified the Paris Agreement and submitted itsNationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and has made little progress toward the development ofclimate change adaptation plans.[228][229]
TheWorld Bank defines Libya as an 'Upper Middle Income Economy', along with only seven other African countries.[230] Substantial revenues from the energy sector, coupled with a small population, give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa. Although the government supported Arab causes, including the Moroccan and Algerian independence movements, it took little active part in theArab–Israeli conflict or the tumultuous inter-Arab politics of the 1950s and early 1960s. The kingdom was noted for its close association with the West, while it steered a conservative course at home.[225] This allowed theLibyan Arab Jamahiriya state to provide an extensive level ofsocial security, particularly in the fields of housing and education.[231]
Libya faces many structural problems including a lack of institutions, weak governance, and chronicstructural unemployment.[232] The economy displays a lack of economic diversification and significant reliance on immigrant labour.[233] Libya has traditionally relied on unsustainably high levels of public sector hiring to create employment.[234] In the mid-2000s, the government employed about 70% of all national employees.[233]
Unemployment rose from 8% in 2008 to 21% in 2009, according to the census figures.[235] According to anArab League report, based on data from 2010, unemployment for women stands at 18% while for the figure for men is 21%, making Libya the only Arab country where there are more unemployed men than women.[236] Libya has high levels of social inequality, high rates of youth unemployment and regional economic disparities.[234] Water supply is also a problem, with some 28% of the population not having access to safe drinking water in 2000.[237]
Two trans-African automobile routes pass through Libya, theCairo-Dakar Highway andTripoli-Cape Town Highway. These routes have further contributed in the economic development of Libya.
Libya imports up to 90% of its cereal consumption requirements, and imports of wheat in 2012/13 was estimated at 1 million tonnes.[238] The 2012 wheat production was estimated at 200,000 tonnes.[238] The government hopes to increase food production to 800,000 tonnes of cereals by 2020.[238] However, natural and environmental conditions limit Libya's agricultural production potential.[238] Before 1958, agriculture was the country's main source of revenue, making up about 30% of GDP. With the discovery of oil in 1958, the size of the agriculture sector declined rapidly, accounting for less than 5% GDP by 2005.[239]
The country joinedOPEC in 1962.[225] Libya is not aWTO member, but negotiations for its accession started in 2004.[240] In the early 1980s, Libya was one of the wealthiest countries in the world; itsGDP per capita was higher than some developed countries.[241]
Authorities privatised more than 100 government-owned companies after 2003 in industries including oil refining, tourism and real estate, of which 29 were 100% foreign owned.[245] Many international oil companies returned to the country, including oil giantsShell andExxonMobil.[246] After sanctions were lifted there was a gradual increase of air traffic, and by 2005 there were 1.5 million yearly air travellers.[247] Libya had long been a notoriously difficult country for Western tourists to visit due to stringent visa requirements.[248]
In 2007,Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the second-eldest son of Muammar Gaddafi, was involved in agreen development project called the Green Mountain Sustainable Development Area, which sought to bring tourism toCyrene and to preserveGreek ruins in the area.[249] In August 2011, it was estimated that it would take at least 10 years to rebuild Libya's infrastructure. Even before the 2011 war, Libya's infrastructure was in a poor state due to "utter neglect" by Gaddafi's administration, according to the NTC.[250] By October 2012, the economy had recovered from the 2011 conflict, with oil production returning to near normal levels.[222] Oil production was more than 1.6 million barrels per day before the war. By October 2012, the average oil production has surpassed 1.4 million bpd.[222] The resumption of production was made possible due to the quick return of major Western companies, likeTotalEnergies,Eni,Repsol,Wintershall andOccidental.[222] In 2016, an announcement from the company said the company aims 900,000 barrel per day in the next year. Oil production has fallen from 1.6 million barrel per day to 900,000 in four years of war.[251]
TheGreat Man-Made River is the world's largestirrigation project.[252] The project utilises a pipeline system that pumpsfossil water from theNubian Sandstone Aquifer System from down south in Libya to cities in the populous Libyan northern Mediterranean coast including Tripoli and Benghazi. The water provides 70% of all freshwater used in Libya.[253] During the second Libyan civil war, lasting from 2014 to 2020, the water infrastructure suffered neglect and occasional breakdowns.[254] By 2017, 60% of the Libyan population weremalnourished. Since then, 1.3 million people are waiting for emergency humanitarian aid, out of a total population of 7.1 million.[255]
As of March 2024, Libya was actively promoting business development and encouraging both domestic and foreign investment. This strategic initiative is aimed at securing long-term economic stability and prosperity for Libya by diversifying its economic foundation. Embracing green industries like renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, and eco-tourism holds the potential to generate fresh employment prospects across a spectrum of sectors, thereby addressing unemployment challenges, particularly among the youth demographic.[256]
Libya is a large country with a relatively small population concentrated very narrowly along the coast.[257] Its population density is about 50 inhabitants per square kilometre (130/sq mi) in the two northern regions ofTripolitania andCyrenaica, but falls to less than 1 inhabitant per square kilometre (2.6/sq mi) elsewhere. 90% of the people live along the coast in less than 10% of the area.
About 88% of the population is urban, mostly concentrated in the three largest cities,Tripoli,Benghazi andMisrata. Libya has a population of about 6.7 million,[258][259] 27.7% of whom are under the age of 15.[260] In 1984 the population was 3.6 million, an increase from the 1.54 million reported in 1964.[261]
The population of Libya is primarily ofArab ancestry.[262] Arabs account for 92% of the population, whileBerbers account for 5%, though other estimates put this percentage at 10%, representing approximately 600,000 people.[263][264] Among the Berber groups are the minority Berber populations ofZuwarah and theNafusa Mountains. Southern Libya, primarilySebha,Kufra,Ghat,Ghadamis andMurzuk, is also inhabited by two other ethnic groups; theTuareg andToubou. Libya is one of the world's mosttribal countries. There are about 140tribes andclans in Libya.[265] Also living in Libya are an estimated 750,000 Egyptian workers, down from more than 2 million prior to the overthrow ofMuammar Gaddafi in 2011.[266]
Family life is important for Libyan families, the majority of whom live inapartment blocks and other independent housing units, with modes of housing depending on their income and wealth. Although the Arab Libyans traditionally lived nomadicBedouin lifestyles in tents, they have predominately settled in towns and cities.[267] Old ways of life are gradually fading out. A small number of Libyans still live in the desert as their families have done for centuries. Most of the population has occupations in industry andservices, and a small percentage is in agriculture.
According to the UNHCR, there were around 8,000 registered refugees, 5,500 unregistered refugees, and 7,000 asylum seekers of various origins in Libya in January 2013. Additionally, 47,000 Libyan nationals were internally displaced and 46,570 were internally displaced returnees.[268]
In 2010, spending on healthcare accounted for 3.88% of the country's GDP. In 2009, there were 18.71 physicians and 66.95 nurses per 10,000 inhabitants.[269] The life expectancy at birth was 74.95 years in 2011, or 72.44 years for males and 77.59 years for females.[270]
In 2023, the Libyan health ministry announced the launch of the National Strategy for Primary Healthcare 2023–2028 to improve services provided by group clinics and health centres. A unique health number allotted to each citizen will facilitate access to medical records. Before Storm Daniel, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that around 60,000 people were in need of humanitarian aid in Derna and environs. Since the storm many of the hospitals and primary health facilities in Derna and eastern Libya have been rendered partially or completely nonfunctional.[271]
Libya's 2024 Global Hunger Index (GHI) score is 19.2, which indicates a moderate level of hunger. Libya ranks 83rd out of 127 countries.[272]
Al Manar Royal Palace in centralBenghazi – the location of theUniversity of Libya's first campus, founded by royal decree in 1955
Libya's population includes 1.7 million students, over 270,000 of whom study at thetertiary level.[273] Basic education in Libya is free for all citizens,[274] and is compulsory up to thesecondary level. The adult literacy rate in 2010 was 89.2%.[275]
After Libya's independence in 1951, its first university, theUniversity of Libya, was established inBenghazi by royal decree.[276] In the 1975–76 academic year the number of university students was estimated to be 13,418. As of 2004[update], this number has increased to more than 200,000, with another 70,000 enrolled in the higher technical and vocational sector.[273] The rapid increase in the number of students in the higher education sector has been mirrored by an increase in the number of institutions of higher education.
Since 1975 the number of public universities has grown from two to twelve and since their introduction in 1980, the number of higher technical and vocational institutes has grown to 84.[? clarification needed][273] Since 2007 some new private universities such as theLibyan International Medical University have been established. Although before 2011 a small number of private institutions were given accreditation, the majority of Libya's higher education has always been financed by the public budget. In 1998 the budget allocation for education represented 38.2% of Libya's national budget.[276]
In 2024, the Ministry of Education announced the launch of the Full-Day School Project in which 12 schools in different parts of the country will have longer school days. The project aims to provide 800 hours of instruction per year to 3,300 elementary school students.[277]
Ethnicity
The original inhabitants of Libya belonged predominantly toBerber ethnic groups; however, the long series of foreign invasions and migrations – particularly byArabs – had a profound and lasting ethnic, linguistic, and cultural influence on Libyan demographics. Centuries of large-scaleArab migration to the Maghreb since the 7th century shifted the demographics of Libya in favour of Arabs. SomeTurks settled in Libya during the rule of theOttoman Empire.
Most of Libya's inhabitants areArab,[22] with many tracing their ancestry to Bedouin Arab tribes likeBanu Sulaym andBanu Hilal, plus Turkish and Berber minorities. TheTurkish minority are often called "Kouloughlis" and are concentrated in and around villages and towns.[278] There are some ethnic minorities, such as the BerberTuareg and the Black AfricanTebou.[279]
MostItalian settlers, at their height numbering over half a million, left after Italian Libya's independence in 1947. More repatriated in 1970 after the accession of Muammar Gaddafi, but a few hundred returned in the 2000s.[280]
Foreign labour
As of 2023, theInternational Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that approximately 10% of Libya's population (upwards of 700,000 people) constituted foreign labour.[281] Prior to the 2011 revolution, official and unofficial figures of migrant labour ranged from 25% to 40% of the population (between 1.5 and 2.4 million people). Historically, Libya hosted millions of low- and high-skilled Egyptian migrants, in particular.[282]
It is difficult to estimate the total number of immigrants in Libya because the census figures, official counts and typically more accurate unofficial estimates all differ. In the 2006 census, around 359,540 foreign nationals were resident in Libya out of a population of over 5.5 million (6.35% of the population). Almost half of these wereEgyptians, followed bySudanese andPalestinian immigrants.[283]During the 2011 revolution, 768,362 immigrants fled Libya as calculated by theIOM, around 13% of the population at the time, although many more stayed on in the country.[283][284]
If consular records prior to the revolution are used to estimate the immigrant population, as many as 2 million Egyptian migrants were recorded by the Egyptian embassy inTripoli in 2009, followed by 87,200Tunisians, and 68,200Moroccans by their respective embassies.Turkey recorded the evacuation of 25,000 workers during the 2011 uprising.[285] The number of Asian migrants before the revolution were just over 100,000 (60,000 Bangladeshis, 20,000 Filipinos, 18,000 Indians, 10,000 Pakistanis, as well as Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and other workers).[286][287] This would put the immigrant population at almost 40% before the revolution and is a figure more consistent with government estimates in 2004 which put the regular and irregular migrant numbers at 1.35 to 1.8 million (25–33% of the population at the time).[283]
Libya's native population of Arabs-Berbers as well as Arab migrants of various nationalities collectively make up 97% of the population as of 2014[update].
According to theCIA, the official language of Libya isArabic.[1] The localLibyan Arabic variety is spoken alongsideModern Standard Arabic. VariousBerber languages are also spoken, includingTamasheq,Ghadamis,Nafusi,Suknah andAwjilah.[288] The Libyan Amazigh High Council (LAHC) has declared the Amazigh (Berber or Tamazight) language to be official in the cities and districts inhabited by the Berbers in Libya.[289]In addition,English is widely understood in the major cities,[290] while the former colonial language ofItalian is also used in commerce and by the remaining Italian population.[288]
Before the 1930s, theSenussi Sunni Sufi movement was the primary Islamic movement in Libya. This was a religious revival adapted to desert life. Itszawaaya (lodges) were found inTripolitania andFezzan, but Senussi influence was strongest inCyrenaica. Rescuing the region from unrest and anarchy, the Senussi movement gave the Cyrenaican tribal people a religious attachment and feelings of unity and purpose.[294] This Islamic movement was eventually destroyed by theItalian invasion.Gaddafi asserted that he was a devout Muslim, and his government was taking a role in supportingIslamic institutions and in worldwide proselytising on behalf of Islam.[295]
TheInternational Religious Freedom Report 2004 noted that "bishops,priests andnuns wear religious dress freely in public and report virtually no discrimination," while also "enjoying good relations with the Government". The report also indicated that members of minority religions said "they do not face harassment by authorities or the Muslim majority on the basis of their religious practices". TheInternational Christian Concern does not list Libya as a country where there is "persecution or severe discrimination against Christians".[296] Since thefall of Gaddafi, ultra-conservative strains of Islam have reasserted themselves in places.Derna in eastern Libya, historically a hotbed ofjihad thought, came under the control of militants aligned with theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant in 2014.[297] Jihadist elements have also spread toSirte andBenghazi, among other areas, as a result of theSecond Libyan Civil War.[298][299]
The Coptic Church has grown in recent years in Libya, due to the growing immigration ofEgyptian Copts to Libya. There are an estimated 40,000Roman Catholics in Libya who are served by two bishops, one in Tripoli (serving the Italian community) and one in Benghazi (serving theMaltese community). There is also a smallAnglican community, made up mostly of African immigrant workers in Tripoli which is part of theAnglican Diocese of Egypt. People have been arrested on suspicion of beingChristian missionaries, as proselytising is illegal.[302] Christians have also faced the threat of violence from radical Islamists in some parts of the country, with a well-publicised video released by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in February 2015 depicting the mass beheading of Christian Copts.[303][304] Libya was ranked fourth onOpen Doors' 2022 World Watch List, an annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution.[305]
Libya was once the home of one of the oldestJewish communities in the world, dating back to at least 300 BC.[306] In 1942, the Italian Fascist authorities set up forced labour camps south of Tripoli for theJews, includingGiado (about 3,000 Jews),Gharyan, Jeren, and Tigrinna. In Giado, some 500 Jews died of weakness, hunger, and disease. In 1942, Jews who were not in the concentration camps were heavily restricted in their economic activity and all men between 18 and 45 years were drafted for forced labour. In August 1942, Jews from Tripolitania were interned ina concentration camp at Sidi Azaz. In the three years after November 1945, more than 140 Jews were murdered, and hundreds more wounded, in a series ofpogroms.[307] By 1948, about 38,000 Jews remained in the country. Upon Libyan independence in 1951, most of the Jewish community emigrated.
Many Arabic speakingLibyans consider themselves as part of a widerArab community. This was strengthened by the spread ofPan-Arabism in the mid-20th century, and their reach to power in Libya where they institutedArabic as the only official language of the state. UnderGaddafi's rule, the teaching and even use of indigenousBerber language was strictly forbidden.[308] In addition to banning foreign languages previously taught in academic institutions, leaving entire generations of Libyans with limitations in their comprehension of theEnglish language. Both the spoken Arabic dialects and Berber, still retain words fromItalian, that were acquired before and during theLibia Italiana period.
Libyans have a heritage in the traditions of the previously nomadicBedouin Arabic speakers and sedentaryBerber tribes. Most Libyans associate themselves with a particular family name originating from tribal or conquest based heritage.[citation needed]
Reflecting the "nature of giving" (Arabic:الاحسانIhsan,Berber languages: ⴰⵏⴰⴽⴽⴰⴼ Anakkaf ), amongst the Libyan people as well as the sense of hospitality, the state of Libya made it to the top 20 onCharities Aid Foundation's World Giving Index in 2013.[309] According toCharities Aid Foundation (CAF), in a typical month, almost three-quarters (72%) of all Libyans helped somebody they did not know – the third highest level across all 135 countries surveyed.
There are few theatres or art galleries due to the decades of cultural repression under the Gaddafi regime and lack of infrastructure development under the regime of dictatorship.[310] For many years there have been no public theatres, and only very few cinemas showing foreign films. The tradition offolk culture is still alive and well, with troupes performing music and dance at frequent festivals, both in Libya and abroad.[311]
A large number ofLibyan television stations are devoted to political review, Islamic topics and cultural phenomena. A number of TV stations air various styles of traditional Libyan music.[? clarification needed]Tuareg music and dance are popular inGhadames and the south. Libyan television broadcasts air programs mostly in Arabic though usually have time slots for English and French programs.[? clarification needed] A 1996 analysis by theCommittee to Protect Journalists found Libya's media was the most tightly controlled in the Arab world during the country's dictatorship.[312] As of 2012[update] hundreds of TV stations have begun to air due to the collapse of censorship from the old regime and the initiation of "free media".
Many Libyans frequent the country's beach and they also visit Libya's archaeological sites—especiallyLeptis Magna, which is widely considered to be one of the best preserved Roman archaeological sites in the world.[313] The most common form of public transport between cities is the bus, though many people travel by automobile. There are no railway services in Libya, but these are planned for construction in the near future (seerail transport in Libya).[314]
Libya's capital,Tripoli, has many museums and archives. These include the Government Library, the Ethnographic Museum, the Archaeological Museum, the National Archives, the Epigraphy Museum and the Islamic Museum. TheRed Castle Museum located in the capital near the coast and right in the city centre, built in consultation withUNESCO, may be the country's most famous.[315]
Libyan cuisine is a mixture of the differentItalian,Bedouin and traditionalArab culinary influences.[316]Pasta is the staple food in the Western side of Libya, whereasrice is generally the staple food in the east.
Common Libyan foods include several variations ofred tomato sauce based pasta dishes (similar to the ItalianSugo all'arrabbiata dish), rice, usually served withlamb orchicken (typically stewed, fried, grilled, or boiled in-sauce), andcouscous, which is steam cooked whilst held over boiling red tomato sauce and meat (sometimes also containingzucchini/courgettes andchickpeas), and typically served along withcucumber slices,lettuce andolives.
Bazeen, a dish made frombarley flour and served with red tomato sauce, is customarily eaten communally, with several people sharing the same dish, usually by hand. This dish is commonly served at traditional weddings or festivities.Asida is a sweet version of Bazeen, made fromwhite flour and served with a mix ofhoney,ghee orbutter. Another popular way to serve Asida is withrub (fresh date syrup) andolive oil.Usban is animal tripe stitched and stuffed with rice andvegetables cooked in tomato based soup or steamed.Shurba is a red tomato sauce-based soup, usually served with small grains of pasta.[317]
A very common snack eaten byLibyans is known askhubs bi' tun, literally meaning "bread with tuna fish", usually served as a bakedbaguette orpita bread stuffed withtuna fish that has been mixed withharissa (chili sauce) and olive oil. Many snack vendors prepare thesesandwiches and they can be found all over Libya. Libyan restaurants may serve international cuisine, or may serve simpler fare such as lamb, chicken, vegetable stew,potatoes andmacaroni.[318] Due to severe lack of infrastructure, many under-developed areas and small towns do not have restaurants and instead food stores may be the only source to obtain food products.Alcohol consumption is illegal.[319]
There are four main ingredients of traditional Libyan food: olives (and olive oil),dates,grains andmilk.[320] Grains are roasted, ground, sieved and used for makingbread,cakes,soups and Bazeen. Dates are harvested, dried and can be eaten as they are, made intosyrup or slightly fried and eaten withbsisa and milk. After eating, Libyans often drinkblack tea. This is normally repeated a second time (for the second glass of tea), and in the third round of tea, it is served with roastedpeanuts or roastedalmonds known asshay bi'l-luz (mixed with the tea in the same glass).[320]
Sport
Football is the most popular sport in Libya. The country hosted the1982 African Cup of Nations and almost qualified for the1986 FIFA World Cup. Thenational team almost won the 1982 AFCON; they lost toGhana on penalties 7–6. In 2014, Libya won the African Nations Championship after beating Ghana in the finals. Although the national team has never won a major competition or qualified for a World Cup, there is still lots of passion for the sport and the quality of football is improving.[321] It also participated in many Summer Olympics, such as the2016 Summer Olympics, the2008 Summer Olympics and more.
Horse racing is also a popular sport in Libya. It is a tradition of many special occasions and holidays.[322]
^"Member States". United Nations.Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved13 February 2021.On 22 December 2017, the Permanent Mission of Libya to the United Nations formally notified the United Nations that the government is changing the official name of Libya to 'State of Libya.'
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1Entirely claimed by both Morocco and theSADR.2Spanish exclaves claimed by Morocco.3Portuguese archipelago claimed by Spain.4Disputed between Egypt and the Sudan.5Unclaimed territory located between Egypt and the Sudan.6Disputed between South Sudan and the Sudan.7Part of Chad, formerly claimed by Libya.8Disputed between Morocco and Spain
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