Libya

National name: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma

Government
Military dictatorship.

Geography
Libya stretches along the northeast coast of Africa between Tunisia and Algeria on the west and Egypt on the east; to the south are the Sudan, Chad, and Niger. A greater part of the country lies within the Sahara. Along the Mediterranean coast and farther inland is arable plateau land.

Historical Background
The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks from the area around Tripoli in 1911 and did not reliquish 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. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. 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.

Facts & Figures

Name

LIBYA

Capital

Tripoli 32°52′N 13°11′E

Government

Jamahiriya (nominally Republic) Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution Muammar al-Gaddafi Secretary General of the General People's Congress Mohamed Abdul Quasim al-Zwai Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmudi

Language

Arabic

Religion

Islamic

Area

Total 1,759,541 km2 (17th) 679,359 sq mi Water (%)    Large reservoirs of water underground

Population

2010 estimate 6,420,000[1] (105th) 2006 census 5,670,6881 Density 3.6/km2 (218th) 9.4/sq mi

Currency

Dinar (LYD)