LIBYA FACT FILE

Official Name:  

Libya or The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

(Al-Jamahiriyya Al-Arabiyya Al-Libiyya Al-Sha'biyya Al-Ishtirakiyya Al-Uzma

Capital:

Tripoli - population: 1,75m (1994 est)

De facto Head of State & Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces:

Libya has no official head of state. It has operated without a formal head of state or president since 1977, but Colonel Muammar Abu Minyar al-Qadafi's, whose title is Revolutionary Leader of the First of September, exercises absolute authority. Col. Qaddafi  siezed power in 1969.

The Secretary General of the General People's Committee (a post broadly equivalent to that of prime minister) is Mubarak Abdullah Al-Shamikh.

National Currencies and current exchange rates:

Libyan Dinar (LD) = 1,000 dirham. Average exchange rate in 1999: LD 0.45:US$1; Exchange rate on 20/2/01 – LD0.54:US$1.

National Day and other important days:

Commercial offices and government establishments are closed on Fridays. Holidays include Declaration of the People’s Power Day (March 2) Evacuation Day (11 June), and Revolution Day (1 September).         

System Of Government:

Unitary republic. Libya is officially a Jamahiriya, or state of the masses.

Ethnic groups: 

Berber and Arab  97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians

Languages: 

Arabic (official), Italian and English are also widely understood in the major cities         

Religions:

Sunni Muslim 97%

GEOGRAPHY

Area

Total area: 1,759,540sq km;  Land area: 1,759,540sq km;  Coastline:  1,770km

Climate:

Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior

Physical description:

Mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions

Physical Infrastructure:

Communication: per 1,000 inhabitants (1997)
		Main telephone lines	-
		Radio receivers	- 259
		Television receivers	- 140
		Daily newspapers	- 14

Transportation
		Railways	- no operational railroad
		Roads	- 83,200 of which 47,590 km paved
		Ports and harbours	- Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah
		Airports with paved runways	- 60

Energy provision:

Production 17bn kWh (1996); by source - fossil fuel 100%

NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Mineral resources

Petroleum natural gas, gypsum

Water resources

Annual internal renewable water resources: 100 cu m Per Capita (1998); Sector withdrawals - domestic 11%; Industrial 2%; Agricultural 87%. Launched in 1984, the Great Manmade River (GMR) Project is the largest water development scheme in the world. Built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities in the north, and to irrigate 300,000 - 500,000 sq km of arid desert, the project has all but been abandoned.

Land utilization and potential

Key Environmental Concerns

Desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources

Environmental policy and manifestation:

International agreements - Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection

Natural hazards:

Hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms

ECONOMY

Overview

Libya has a highly centralised economy characterized by a lack of diversification and reliance on immigrant labour. Almost completely dependent on oil prices for the state of its health, hydrocarbons represent over 30% of GDP, contribute around 95% of export earnings and more than 75% of government receipts. There is little private sector activity outside the hydrocarbons sector, manufacturing and agriculture each accounting for between 5% ad 10% of GDP, services makings up the balance. Most productive sectors were nationalized in the 1970s.

Despite the sanctions regime in 1992-1999, ordinary citizens are able to maintain a standard of living higher than most in the region, primarily because the basic foodstuffs, health, education and housing are subsidized by the government use of revenue from the oil sector. 

Limited UN sanctions imposed by the Security Council in 1992 and lifted in April 1999 are estimated to have cost the government US$26.5bn in economic losses.

Libya suffers from foreign exchange losses of some US$1bn per year in the form of remittances from foreign workers. 

Labour market and unemployment

Unofficial estimates put unemployment at around 30%. Despite this, there are between 1m – 2m of foreign workers imported for both skilled jobs and manual labour. An estimated 70% of all salaried Libyans are in the employ of the government.

Agriculture, forestry & fishing

Constrained by a shortage of arable land, severe labour shortages as a result of the exodus of rural workers to urban areas, and by the overexploitation of coastal aquifers and careless use of fertilizers which have constrained growth, performance of the agricultural sector is generally poor. Over 90% of the country is desert and only 1.7% of land is arable. Olives, grapes, dates, almonds and oranges are the main crops cultivated. A government programme to encourage the planting of wheat and barley to meet domestic needs, with only 15% of needs currently met, has generally been disappointing.

Libya has substantial fishing resources, but these are largely unexploited. Lack of investment in trawlers and ports as well as in processing facilities constrain development of this sector.

Mining and semi-processing

This sector is dominated by oil, most of which is found in the eastern part of the country, though reserves of some 2bn barrels have more recently been discovered west of Tripoli. Oil production began in 1960, and by 1968 Libya ranked as the second largest producer in the Middle East ad North Africa. Production peaked in 1970, and has remained at 1975 levels of some 1.48m b/d. In 1998 proven reserves of crude oil stood at 29.5bn barrels (some 3% of world total reserves), giving Libya a reserve/production ratio of about 55 years at the current rate of output.  In the early 1970s the government nationalised its oil companies, but has stopped short of the complete nationalization of foreign oil company holdings. Prudent management and cautious marketing has characterized the sector.

There are large, untapped reserves of natural gas. About a quarter of the 6.45bn cu m produced is exported, the balance used for domestic consumption. The government intends increasing production in an effort to replace the domestic use of oil.

Other mining activities involve salt pans, and the extraction of limestone, clay, stone and gypsum.

Government  finance and fiscal policy

All foreign business was nationalised during the first three years of Col.Qadaffis rule, as was all heavy industry, agricultural land, banks, service companies and insurance firms. In 1977 additional laws placed most other economic activity under the control of the state. The economy continues to be heavily dominated by the public sector (government spending absorbing as much as 60 per cent of the budget), and centrally planned decision-making. Most productive activity remains under the control of the government, its attitude to private sector activity being ambivalent. The private sector is subjected to periodic crackdowns said to root out corruption.

The need to diversify the economy was recognized in the 1970s and formed part of several economic development plans until the late 1980s when the oil price crash resulted in central planning being effectively abandoned. Economic policy in the 1980s and 1990s focussed mainly on softening the impact of US and UN sanctions, the main share of productive activity remaining firmly under the control of the government. Diversification featured in the short-lived 1994-96-development plan and again in 1998 when the price of oil slumped. Although the government is officially committed to a programme of reducing fiscal dependence on oil revenues, it nevertheless continues to resist the introduction of the necessary economic reforms.

The suspension of sanctions has now raised foreign interest in opportunities in the non-oil economy. Like many other countries in the region the Libyan government is officially pursuing an evaluation programme that seeks to highlight state assets suitable for privatisation, but significant obstacles remain. Libya's tightly regulated banking system and restrictions on currency conversion, combined with legislation limiting foreign ownership of companies to 49 per cent, are but some of the constraints facing foreign investors

Regional  and International economic grouping/alliance:
		Organization of African Unity/ African Union
		Arab League
		Arab Maghreb Union
		Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC)
		Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

POPULATION

Most of Libya's population is concentrated in the coastal strips of Tripolitaria and Cyrenaica where most agricultural activity takes place. A large part of Fezzan in the south is part of the Sahara desert. There are some 1m to 2m expatriates mainly from other Arab states.

Rapid urbanization followed the discovery of oil in the 1950s, rising to more than 10 per cent in some years during the 1960s. Some 80 per cent of the population now lives in or around the coastal cities, mainly Tripoli and Benghazi, some distance from the heat of the oil industries.

Health

Mortality rates are low by comparison with the region; likewise the number of live births attended by medical personnel are high for the region at 94 per cent. The state provides free healthcare for all, although all the major hospitals are in the urban areas. 

Food security

Libya remains reliant on imported food for about 80% of its needs.

Education

Adult literacy rates at 76 per cent are one of the highest in Africa, reflecting the substantial improvements that have been made over the past two decades. Female illiteracy rates have fallen most dramatically from a high of 70 per cent in 1980, to 35 per cent in 1997. The education system has nevertheless failed in the area of skills development, resulting in a large number of expatriate teachers, doctors and scientists.

HISTORY & POLITICS

Constitution & political system
		Constitution	- adopted 11 December 1969; revised 2 March 1977
		Legal system	- based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts, no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts
		Legislative branch	- unicameral General People's Congress
		Elections	- national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of peoples' committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress.

SECURITY INFORMATION

Conflict History

Libya is an independent Arab Republic in North Africa whose President is Muammar al-Qaddafi. It always was an independent country but was colonized by the Italians between the two world wars. It received its independence in conformity with the League of Nations protocols in 1951.

Desperately poor at the time of independence, the discovery of oil in 1959 made in one of the wealthiest countries in Africa. Against the background of growing Arab nationalism and radicalism, in 1969 a young 27-year old led a coup d’etat against the King who was away on business in Turkey. The Free Officers Movement as they were called encountered no resistance from the armed forces and established a Revolutionary Command Council to run the country. Political opposition was outlawed and critics of the military government were either imprisoned or exiled.

Strongly anti-imperialist in ethos, the Free Officers Movement soon closed all USA and UK bases in the country and embarked on an ambitious and largely successful modernization programme. Libya, as a result, records one of the highest standards of living on the continent. Gaddafi’s erratic foreign policy, however, gained him few friends and relationships with both the USA and the West soured culminating in the Lockerbie affair in 1989. UN sanctions were imposed on Libya for Gadaffi’s alleged sponsoring of international terrorism. These sanctions have subsequently been lifted.

Political dissent  is discouraged and when it becomes vocal, actively suppressed. Gadaffi presides over a highly centralized state and his authority appears largely unchallenged and, given his monopoly of power of the security forces, unchallengeable. An ongoing dispute between Chad and Libya over a piece of territory known as the Aozou strip has resulted in clashes between Libyan and Chadian security forces. In 1991 the ICJ in the Hague ruled in favour of Chad’s claim to the contested territory - a decision which Libya abided by. Relations with Chad have since improved and Libya faces no serious external threat.

Security Situation

Given the highly centralized nature of the political system and the pervasive influence of the security establishment, internal political opposition is minimal. Gadaffi has encountered problems with Islamic fundamentalists, most notably the Libyan Islamic Group, and it attempted to assassinate him in 1997. Based mainly in the United Kingdom its influence within Libya does not appear to be substantial.

Two groups who have also been involved in clashes with the security forces include the Islamic Martyr’s movement whose reputed leader, Muhammad al-Hami, was killed in clashes with the security forces in July 1996, and the Libyan National Liberation Army backed by the USA and CIA which had a force 600 - 700 strong, although it now seems mostly to have disbanded. The founding of the Libyan Patriot’s movement appears, at this stage, to be largely a London-based movement.

Security-Related Budget

Libyan defence expenditure declined from US $1.5 billion in 1998 to US$1.3 billion in 1999. The defence budget declined from US$1.3 billion in 1998 to US$1.2 billion in 2000. Defence expenditure constitutes 4.7% of annual GDP.

Political Oversight

Given the strong role of the executive in governing Libya and the influence of Gadaffi’s personality on national politics, the legislature exercises little effective oversight over the national defence function.

Gadaffi remains both Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and Minister of Defence. No formal Ministry of Defence exists and such functions are centralized under the Presidency. Gadaffi retains a high degree of“hands on” control over the armed forces but recent divisions within the armed forces have caused tensions between him and the General Staff.

In 1993 senior officers were implicated in a foiled coup and Gadaffi has resorted to periodic purges of the armed forces to ensure his control over them. New procurement prospects, however, may result in a quietening of dissent in the ranks.

Gadaffi buttresses his rule via the appointment of select colleagues and friends to senior positions - particularly those in the security forces. Musa Kusa is the head of Libya’s intelligence services and is a close friend of Gadaffi’s.

Relations with the EU have improved since Gadaffi handed over the two Lockerbie suspects for trial - a move that the EU believed called for a lifting of sanctions against the country. As a result of the resolution of the Lockerbie impasse relations with the UK and France have improved significantly and EU countries will no continue to court Libya because of its oil reserves. Links with Italy are good and political co-operation between the two countries has been cemented by Italy’s decision n to write off a long-standing debt.

Libya has close bi-lateral links with Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Mauritania. Relations with South Africa are developing and the country has, particularly in the 1980s and the 1990s, attempted to extend its influence in Sub-Saharan African countries such as Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Mali and The Gambia.

It has also been known to finance rebel movements in these areas - the two most prominent being Charles Taylor in Liberia and Foday Sankoh’s Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone. Gadaffi’s“Green Book” ideas enjoyed considerable influence amongst many West African intellectuals during the 1970s and the 1980s.

International Treaties/Protocols/Alliances

Libya is a member of the UN, OAU, OPEC, the League of Arab States, Arab Maghreb Union, African Development Bank and OIC.

Forces Deployed Outside The Country

Libya has not directly deployed troops outside its country, apart from its war against Chad in the 1980s, and because of its international isolation has not participated in either UN or regional peace-keeping exercises. It has, however, provided generous financial assistance to a variety of rebel groupings referred to in point [6] above and has trained both rebel groupings (the Pan African Congress of South Africa for example) and resistance movements (the PLO, Lebanese resistance movements etc) throughout the 1970s and the 1980s.

ARMED FORCES

Senior Personnel
		Commander-in-Chief : President (Colonel) M. Gadaffi
		Minister of Defence : None
		Chief of the Armed Forces  :Abu Bakr Younis Jaber
		Cdr Presidential Guard : Brigadier Qaseem al-Qanqa
		Director Administration : Col Ahmed Aoun
		Director Procurement : Col Jumaa Balniran
		Director Strategic Weapons : Colonel Gadaffi

Structure

The Libyan Army is organized into seven military districts and five Presidential Guards have been created - a product of the 1994 - 1995 restructuring process. Its strength is 45 000 personnel of which 40 000 are conscripts. It also possesses some 40 000 reserves organized into a People’s Militia.

The structure of the Army is as follows:

a. 21 X Infantry Btns

b. 10 X Armoured Btns

c. 22 X Artillery Btns

d. 15 X Special Forces

e. 8 X Air Defence Btns

The Army is charged with border protection and acting as a rapid deployment force depending on operational circumstances. Doctrine is a mixture of Egyptian doctrine which was adopted after the 1969 coup and socialist principles derived from the concepts of a People’s Army.

The Air Force into an Air Defence Command which is subdivided into squadrons and regiments which attention paid to close air support and ground attack. Eight close battlefield support squadrons and nine air defence squadrons exist. The size of the Air Force is 22 000 persons including 15 000 conscripts. It has 426 combat aircraft and 52 armed helicopters with many more in store.

Much of Libyan air doctrine appears now to be of an ad hoc nature and contracted personnel from Yugoslavia. South Africa, Russia, North Korea and Pakistan provide piloting, maintenance and technical services.

The Navy includes a Coast Guard and consists of 8 000 persons. Doctrine is based on the Soviet system.

The Libyan armed forces are very well-equipped with a variety of weapons drawn from Soviet, French, Chinese and Italian sources. It is questionable, ohwever, whether they have both the force levels and the skills to operate all these systems in their entirety in the situation of a national mobilization.

Bases

El Adem, Ajdabiyah, Aouzou, El Bayda, Benghazi, Ghat and Misratah (Army); El Adem, El Bayda, Benghazi, Ghat, Sabhah, Tobruk and Tripoli (Air Force); Tripoli, Darnah, Benghazi, Ras Hilal, Al-Girdabiyah (Navy).

Composition

The Libyan armed forces are a combination of regular, conscript and reserve forces. Regular forces constitute 36 000 personnel, conscripts constitute 40 000 and reserves constitute a further 40 000 of the total force levels.

Defence Equipment