0 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north

Climate:
Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior

Terrain:
mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m

Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, gypsum

Land use:
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.19%
other: 98.78% (2001)

Irrigated land:
4,700 sq km (1998 est.)

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

Environment - current issues:
desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the
Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in
the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under
the Sahara to coastal cities

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note:
more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert

People Libya

Population:
5,631,585
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 34.2% (male 983,050; female 941,603)
15-64 years: 61.7% (male 1,794,396; female 1,679,828)
65 years and over: 4.1% (male 113,391; female 119,317) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 22.4 years
male: 22.5 years
female: 22.2 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.37% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
27.17 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
3.48 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 25.7 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 23.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 28.04 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.28 years
male: 74.1 years
female: 78.58 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
3.42 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: