Libya

Situated in the north of Africa, and sharing a border to the west with fellow OPEC Member Country Algeria, Libya is the 16th largest country in the world in terms of land mass, comprising more than 1.7 million square kilometres. More than a quarter of the country’s six million plus inhabitants live in its capital city, Tripoli. Arabic is the main language.

Apart from petroleum, Libya's other natural resources are natural gas and gypsum. Its economy depends primarily on revenues from the oil sector, which contribute about 95 per cent of export earnings, about one-quarter of gross domestic product, and 60 per cent of public sector wages. Substantial revenues from the energy sector, coupled with a small population, give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa. The national currency is the dinar.

Libya joined OPEC in 1962.

Did you know?

• Libya's huge man-made river is the largest water transportation project ever undertaken and carries more than five million cubic metres of water per day across the desert to coastal areas.
• Libya's first productive oil well was struck in 1959 at Amal and Zelten, now known as Nasser. The country began exporting oil in 1961.

• b/d (barrels per day)
• cu. m. (cubic metres)

Source: Annual Statistical Bulletin 2010/2011 Edition