The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks from the area around Tripoli in 1911 and did not relinquish their hold until 1943 when defeated in World War II. Libya then passed to UN administration and achieved independence in 1951. Following a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi began to espouse his own political system, the Third Universal Theory.

The system is a combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal practices and is supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people themselves in a unique form of "direct democracy." Qadhafi has always seen himself as a revolutionary and visionary leader. He used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. In addition, beginning in 1973, he engaged in military operations in northern Chad's Aozou Strip - to gain access to minerals and to use as a base of influence in Chadian politics - but was forced to retreat in 1987.

UN sanctions in 1992 isolated Qadhafi politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Libyan support for terrorism appeared to have decreased after the imposition of sanctions. During the 1990s, Qadhafi also began to rebuild his relationships with Europe. UN sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally lifted in September 2003 after Libya resolved the Lockerbie case.

In December 2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, and Qadhafi has made significant strides in normalizing relations with western nations since then. He has received various Western European leaders as well as many working-level and commercial delegations, and made his first trip to Western Europe in 15 years when he traveled to Brussels in April 2004.

Qadhafi also resolved in 2004 some of the outstanding cases against his government for terrorist activities in the 1980s by compensating some families of victims of the Pan Am 103, French airliner UTA, and La Belle disco bombings. The US resumed full diplomatic relations with Libya in May 2006 and rescinded Libya's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism in June.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 6,036,914 note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 33.4% (male 1,029,096/female 985,606) 15-64 years: 62.4% (male 1,940,287/female 1,827,429) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 124,892/female 129,604) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 23.3 years male: 23.4 years female: 23.2 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 2.262% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 26.09 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 3.47 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.044 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.062 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.964 male(s)/female total population: 1.052 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 22.82 deaths/1,000 live births male: 25.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.88 years male: 74.64 years female: 79.23 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 3.21 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 10,000 (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

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Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: intermediate food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: may be a significant risk in some locations during the transmission season (typically April through October) (2007)

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Nationality: noun: Libyan(s) adjective: Libyan

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Ethnic groups: Berber and Arab 97%, other 3% (includes Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, and Tunisians)

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Religions: Sunni Muslim 97%, other 3%

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Languages: Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 est.)

The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute about 95% of export earnings, about one-quarter of GDP, and 60% 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, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Libyan officials in the past four years have made progress on economic reforms as part of a broader campaign to reintegrate the country into the international fold. This effort picked up steam after UN sanctions were lifted in September 2003 and as Libya announced in December 2003 that it would abandon programs to build weapons of mass destruction. Almost all US unilateral sanctions against Libya were removed in April 2004, helping Libya attract more foreign direct investment, mostly in the energy sector. Libyan oil and gas licensing rounds continue to draw high international interest; the National Oil Company set a goal of nearly doubling oil production to 3 billion bbl/day by 2010. Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps - including applying for WTO membership, reducing some subsidies, and announcing plans for privatization - are laying the groundwork for a transition to a more market-based economy. The non-oil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for more than 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. Libya's primary agricultural water source remains the Great Manmade River Project, but significant resources are being invested in desalinization research to meet growing water demands.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $72.34 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $34.1 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 5.8% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $12,300 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 7.3% industry: 51.3% services: 41.4% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: 1.787 million (2006 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 17% industry: 23% services: 59% (2004 est.)

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Unemployment rate: 30% (2004 est.)

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Population below poverty line: 7.4% (2005 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.1% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 7.4% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $33.34 billion expenditures: $19.3 billion; including capital expenditures of $5.6 billion (2006 est.)

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Public debt: 5.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle

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Industries: petroleum, iron and steel, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement

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Industrial production growth rate: NA%

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Electricity - production: 19.44 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: 18.08 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Oil - production: 1.72 million bbl/day (2006 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 237,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: 1.326 million bbl/day (2004)

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Oil - imports: 1,233 bbl/day (2004)

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Oil - proved reserves: 42 billion bbl (2006 est.)

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Natural gas - production: 8.06 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 5.93 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - exports: 2.13 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - proved reserves: 1.472 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

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Current account balance: $14.5 billion (2006 est.)

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Exports: $37.02 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas, chemicals

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Exports - partners: Italy 37.4%, Germany 14.8%, Spain 7.8%, US 6.2%, France 5.6%, Turkey 5.4% (2006)

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Imports: $14.47 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: machinery, semi-finished goods, food, transport equipment, consumer products

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Imports - partners: Italy 18.8%, Germany 7.8%, China 7.5%, Tunisia 6.2%, France 5.8%, Turkey 5.2%, South Korea 4.8%, US 4.6%, UK 4% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $57.48 billion (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $4.492 billion (2006 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $18 million (2004 est.)

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Currency (code): Libyan dinar (LYD)

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Exchange rates: Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.3108 (2006), 1.3084 (2005), 1.305 (2004), 1.2929 (2003), 1.2707 (2002)

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Fiscal year: calendar year