Libya

Country	Libya
Capital	Tripoli (Tarabulus)
Independence	24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship)
National holiday	Liberation Day, 23 October (2011)
Population	5,613,380 (July 2012 est.)
Sex ratio	1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Nationality	Libyan(s)
Religions	Sunni Muslim (official) 97%, other 3%
Languages	Arabic (official), Italian, English (all widely understood in the major cities); Berber (Nafusi, Ghadamis, Suknah, Awjilah, Tamasheq)
Literacy	age 15 and over can read and write total population: 89.2% male: 95.6% female: 82.7% (2010 est.)
Location	Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria
Geographic coordinates	25 00 N, 17 00 E
Map references	Africa
Area	total: 1,759,540 sq km land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Alaska
Land boundaries	total: 4,348 km border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km
Coastline	1,770 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north exclusive fishing zone: 62 nm
Climate	Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior
Terrain	mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m
Natural resources	petroleum, natural gas, gypsum
Exports - commodities	Crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas, chemicals
Imports - commodities	Machinery, semi-finished goods, food, transport equipment, consumer products
Land use	arable land: 1.03% permanent crops: 0.19% other: 98.78% (2005)
Irrigated land	4,700 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	0.6 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 4.27 cu km/yr (14%/3%/83%) per capita: 730 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms
Environment - current issues	desertification; limited natural freshwater resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, brings water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note	more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert