Libya
Capital: Tripoli · Northern Africa
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa.
Photo: Luca Galuzzi ( Lucag ), CC BY-SA 2.5 · source
Exploring the Akakus Mountains
Photo: Saharate, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Martyrs' Square Tripoli
Photo: David Holt, CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
The outskirts of the city of Bayda - Libya.
Photo: ليبي صح, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Did you know?
Libya has been inhabited by Berbers since the late Bronze Age as descendants from Iberomaurusian and Capsian cultures. In classical antiquity, the Phoenicians established city-states and trading posts in western Libya, while several Greek cities were established in the East. Parts of Libya were variously ruled by Carthaginians, Numidians, Persians, and Greeks before the entire region became a part of the Roman Empire. Libya was an early centre of Christianity.
Wikipedia: Libya – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0
ENI Oil platform Bouri DP4
Photo: Cipiota, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Photo: Libiya11, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Etymology
The origin of the name "Libya" first appeared in an inscription of Ramesses II, written as rbw in hieroglyphic. 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 of Cyrenaica and Marmarica. An army of 40,000 men and a confederacy of tribes known as "Great Chiefs of the Libu" were led by King Meryey who fought a war against pharaoh Merneptah in year 5 (1208 BC).
Wikipedia: Libya – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0
Moving sand dunes, rocks and mountains in Tadrart Acacus a desert area in south western Libya, part of the Sahara.
Photo: Luca Galuzzi, CC BY-SA 2.5 · source
The famous arch on Route L3, KM96
Photo: Saharate, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
The temple of Zeus in the Greek ancient city of Cyrene in Libya.
Photo: David Holt, CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
History
The coastal plain of Libya was inhabited by Neolithic peoples from as early as 8000 BC. The Afroasiatic ancestors of the Berber people are assumed to have spread into the area by the Late Bronze Age. The earliest known name of such a tribe was the Garamantes, based in Germa. The Phoenicians were the first to establish trading posts in Libya. By the 5th century BC, the greatest of the Phoenician colonies, Carthage, had extended its hegemony across much of North Africa, where a distinctive civilisation, known as Punic, came into being.
Wikipedia: Libya – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: unknown author, Public domain · source
Leaving traces on soft sand dunes in Tadrart Acacus a desert area in western Libya, part of the Sahara .
Photo: Luca Galuzzi ( Lucag ), CC BY-SA 2.5 · source
Photo: unknown author, Public domain · source
Geography
Libya extends over 1,759,540 square kilometres (679,362 sq mi), making it the 16th-largest nation in the world by size. Libya is bounded to the north by the Mediterranean Sea, the northwest by Tunisia, the west by Algeria, the southwest by Niger, the south by Chad, the southeast by Sudan, and the east by Egypt, as well as maritime borders with Greece, Italy and Malta to the north. Libya lies between latitudes 19° and 34°N, and longitudes 9° and 26°E. Libya comprises three historical regions: Tripolitania, Fezzan, and Cyrenaica.
Wikipedia: Libya – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0
Politics and elections
The politics of Libya has been in a tumultuous state since the start of the Arab Spring and the NATO intervention related Libyan crisis in 2011. The crisis resulted in the collapse of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the killing of Muammar Gaddafi, amidst the First Libyan Civil War and 2011 foreign military intervention. The crisis was deepened by factional violence in the aftermath of the First Civil War, resulting in the outbreak of the Second Libyan Civil War in 2014.
Wikipedia: Libya – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0
Economy
The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which account for over half of GDP and 97% of exports. Libya holds the largest proven oil reserves in Africa and is an important contributor to the global supply of light, sweet crude. During 2010, when oil averaged at $80 a barrel, oil production accounted for 54% of GDP. Apart from petroleum, the other natural resources are natural gas and gypsum. The International Monetary Fund estimated Libya's real GDP growth at 122% in 2012 and 16.7% in 2013, after a 60% plunge in 2011.
Wikipedia: Libya – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0
Demographics
Libya is a large country with a relatively small population concentrated very narrowly along the coast. Its population density is about 50 inhabitants per square kilometre (130/sq mi) in the two northern regions of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, 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 and Misrata. Libya has a population of about 6.7 million, 27.7% of whom are under the age of 15. In 1984 the population was 3.6 million, an increase from the 1.54 million reported in 1964.
Wikipedia: Libya – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0
Culture
Many Arabic speaking Libyans consider themselves as part of a wider Arab community. This was strengthened by the spread of Pan-Arabism in the mid-20th century, and their reach to power in Libya where they instituted Arabic as the only official language of the state. Under Gaddafi's rule, the teaching and even use of indigenous Berber language was strictly forbidden. In addition to banning foreign languages previously taught in academic institutions, leaving entire generations of Libyans with limitations in their comprehension of the English language.
Wikipedia: Libya – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0