Libya
Country in North Africa From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Libya,[lower-alpha 4] officially the State of Libya,[lower-alpha 5] is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad to the south, Niger to the southwest, Algeria to the west, and Tunisia to the northwest, as well as maritime borders with Greece, Italy and Malta to the north. Libya comprises three historical regions: Tripolitania, Fezzan, and Cyrenaica. With an area of almost 1.8 million km2 (700,000 sq mi), it is the fourth-largest country in Africa and the Arab world, and the 16th-largest in the world.[7] Libya claims 32,000 square kilometres of southeastern Algeria, south of the Libyan town of Ghat.[1][8] The country's official religion is Islam, with 96.6% of the Libyan population being Sunni Muslims.[1] The official language of Libya is Arabic, with vernacular Libyan Arabic being spoken most widely. The majority of Libya's population is Arab.[9] The largest city and capital, Tripoli, is located in northwestern Libya and contains over a million of Libya's seven million people.[10]
State of Libya[a]
| |
|---|---|
| Anthem: ليبيا، ليبيا، ليبيا "Libya, Libya, Libya" | |
.svg) Location of Libya (dark green) in northern Africa | |
| Capital and largest city | Tripoli[1]
32°52′N 13°11′E |
| Official languages | Arabic[b] |
| Local vernacular | Libyan Arabic |
| Ethnic groups (1999)[2] | |
| Religion (2020)[1] |
|
| Demonym(s) | Libyan |
| Government | Unitary republic under a provisional government |
| Mohamed al-Menfi[lower-alpha 1] | |
| Musa Al-Koni[lower-alpha 2] | |
| Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh[lower-alpha 3] | |
| Aguila Saleh Issa | |
| Legislature | House of Representatives |
| Establishment | |
| 15 August 1551 | |
| 5 November 1911 | |
• Independence declared[c] | 10 February 1947 |
| 24 December 1951 | |
| 1 September 1969 | |
| 2 March 1977 | |
| 17 February 2011 | |
| 19 March 2011 | |
| 23 October 2020 | |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,759,541 km2 (679,363 sq mi) (16th) |
| Population | |
• 2024 estimate | 7,361,263[1] (103rd) |
• Density | 4.184/km2 (10.8/sq mi) (218th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2024 estimate |
• Total |  $183.39 billion[3] (79th) |
• Per capita | $26,928[3] (68th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2024 estimate |
• Total | $48.22 billion[3] (93rd) |
• Per capita | $6,987 [3] (93rd) |
| HDI (2022) |  0.746[4]high (92nd) |
| Currency | Libyan dinar (LYD) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| Drives on | right |
| Calling code | +218 |
| ISO 3166 code | LY |
| Internet TLD | .ly ليبيا. |
| |
.svg)
Libya has been inhabited by Berbers since the late Bronze Age as descendants from Iberomaurusian and Capsian cultures.[11] 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 becoming a part of the Roman Empire. Libya was an early centre of Christianity. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the area of Libya was mostly occupied by the Vandals until the 7th century when invasions brought Islam to the region. From then on, centuries of Arab migration to the Maghreb shifted the demographic scope of Libya in favour of Arabs. In the 16th century, the Spanish Empire and the Knights of St John occupied Tripoli until Ottoman rule began in 1551. Libya was involved in the Barbary Wars of the 18th and 19th centuries. Ottoman rule continued until the Italo-Turkish War, which resulted in the Italian occupation of Libya and the establishment of two colonies, Italian Tripolitania and Italian Cyrenaica (1911–1934), later unified in the Italian Libya colony from 1934 to 1943.
During World War II, Libya was an area of warfare in the North African Campaign. The Italian population then went into decline. Libya became independent as a