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North Africa

Libya

Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria.

Muslim population96.6%of the population

Population7.5 millionpeople (current)

CapitalTripoliUTC+2

Currency4.83 = $1Libyan dinars (LYD) (2024)

Country basics

Libya is a North African state on the Mediterranean coast, mostly covered by Saharan desert.

Libya is a country with Tripoli as its capital and Arabic as its official language, and it holds the largest proven oil reserves in Africa. The dinar is the currency, crude oil funds the state, and authority has been contested since 2011.

Official name

State of Libya

Region

Africa · Northern Africa

Government

Unitary republic under a provisional government (GNU)

Time zonesCheck the offset for your own city

UTC+01:00

Driving side

Right

Phone code

+218

Currency

Libyan dinar (LYD, ل.د)

Member of

Arab League; UN; African Union; OPEC

Website

https://www.gov.ly

Faith and language

Religions

Muslim (official; virtually all Sunni) 96.6%, Christian 2.7%, Buddhist <1%, Hindu <1%, Jewish <1%, folk religion <1%, other <1%, unaffiliated <1%

Languages

Arabic

People and cities

Population

7.5 million (current)

Median ageHalf the population is younger than this

26.4 years (2025)

Living in cities

81.6% (2023)

Largest cities

Tripoli (capital) 1.183 million · Misratah 984,000 · Benghazi 859,000

Money and cost of living

Exchange rateYearly average; check today’s rate before you budget

4.83 Libyan dinars (LYD) per US dollar (2024)

Income per personGDP per person, adjusted for local prices (2021 dollars)

$12,300 (2024)

InflationHow much prices rose over the year

2.1% (2024)

Unemployment

18.7% (2024)

Health and daily life

Life expectancy

77.7 years (2024)

Doctors

2.04 per 1,000 people (2017)

Hospital beds

3.2 per 1,000 people (2021)

Safe drinking water

99.9% of people (2022)

Electricity

70% of people (2022)

Internet users

89% of people (2023)

Land and climate

Climate

Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior

SizeAbout 2.5 times the size of Texas; slightly larger than Alaska

1,759,540 sq km

Natural hazards

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

National holiday

Liberation Day, 23 October (2011)