Libya – education
The school system in Libya is free and apart from Koranic schools public with compulsory schooling for 6-15 year olds. Teaching takes place mainly in gender-segregated classes. Curricula are designed centrally, and special emphasis is placed on vocational education. It is a goal to reduce illiteracy, which includes approximately 17% of all adults (2003), as well as getting more girls to continue their education.
The education system comprises a six-year primary school, followed by postgraduate education, which consists of two three-year levels divided into a general line and a vocational education line. In addition, there is a four-year line that trains teachers for primary school. Further education takes place at the country’s five universities and other higher education institutions.
OFFICIAL NAME: Dawlat Libya
CAPITAL CITY: Tripoli
POPULATION: 6,200,000 (Source: COUNTRYaah)
AREA: 1,760,000 km²
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (S): Arabic, few Berber languages
RELIGION: Sunni Muslims 97%, others 3%
COIN: dinar
CURRENCY CODE: SOUND
ENGLISH NAME: Libya
INDEPENDENCE: 1951
POPULATION COMPOSITION: Arabs 90%, Berbers 5%, others 5%
GDP PER residents: $ 11,046 (2013)
LIFE EXPECTANCY: men 74 years, women 78 years (2014)
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, HDI: 0.784
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, POSITION: 55
INTERNET DOMAIN NAME: .shelter
Libya is a Republic of North Africa between Tunisia and Egypt. Most of the country is desert and largely uninhabited. The narrow coastal zone towards the Mediterranean accommodates almost the entire population and has traditionally had close connections to the rest of the Mediterranean culture.
- AbbreviationFinder.org: Find two-letter abbreviation for each independent country and territory, such as LY which stands for Libya.
Under the leadership of Colonel Gaddafi, the country experienced from 1969 an increasing isolation from the international community, on the basis of suspicions that Libyan agents were behind terrorist acts abroad; from 2003, however, a normalization of relations began. A number of oil fields contain approximately 3% of the world’s known oil reserves, and Libya’s economy is completely dominated by oil exports.
Gaddafi was overthrown and killed in 2011 after a civil war in which NATO warplanes sided with the rebels, but tensions between nationalists and Islamists sparked a new civil war in 2014.
Libya – Constitution
Libya is an Islamic, socialist state. There is no real constitution, but the country’s government is based on directives on direct democracy from Gaddafi’s Green Paper.. The stated intention is to create the conditions for as large a popular participation as possible through a People’s Congress of 3000 members, which is based on local people’s congresses and committees, which are composed of representatives from all kinds of organizations. No elections are held and the Arab Socialist Federation (ASU) is the only political party. The People’s Congress elects a general secretary who is also the head of state and is served by a general secretariat that functions as a kind of legislative assembly. The executive power officially lies with a people’s committee, whose members replace the pre-revolutionary ministers. Libya’s real political power is Gaddafi, who does not hold an official post but holds the title of Leader of the Revolution. Check youremailverifier for Libya social condition facts.
Libya – economy
The majority of the economy, including foreign companies, was nationalized after the military coup in 1969, and a number of development plans became guidelines for economic policy. One of the main goals was to create a broader production structure to make the country less dependent on the oil sector. Falling oil prices in the 1980’s and, above all, US and UN sanctions against the country, introduced in resp. 1978 and 1992, meant that economic policy, in effect, had to be geared towards ensuring the survival of the economy. The oil sector continued to be the country’s economic base, but in order to promote economic growth, the government has since 1988 allowed private enterprise in, among other things, Trade and service.
UN sanctions were lifted in 1999, gradually followed by the normalization of relations with the United States, and since 2003 Libya has launched a market-oriented reform program that also opens up the activities of foreign oil companies; in 2005, the first oil concessions were auctioned off. However, the state continues to control the economy to a large extent through control of prices, etc. and in particular the large oil-financed public sector, which runs a broad education and health program. In the context of housing and food subsidies, this has placed infant mortality as the lowest on the continent and life expectancy as the second longest (after Tunisia). Following a stagnation in 2001-02, economic growth is again strong (8.5% in 2005), helped by high oil prices.
Libya has traditionally had large trade surpluses. Although the balance of payments has periodically shown deficits because guest workers and foreign companies (which, despite sanctions and nationalizations still operate in the oil sector) send significant sums out of the country, Libya has never built up a large foreign debt. The country has applied for membership of the WTO and is trying, by financial means, to play an active role in big politics.
Oil dependence has had a major impact on exchange rate policy, with the dinar from 1973 to 1986 pegged to the dollar and then to the World Bank’s currency basket. However, weak economic developments and rising inflation have led to several depreciations of the currency in the 1990’s.
Libya’s main trading partners are Italy, Germany and Spain, while trade with its Arab neighbors is of little importance. Denmark’s exports to Libya in 2005 amounted to DKK 226 million. DKK, and imports of 76 mill. kr.
Libya – military
The peacekeeping force of the armed forces is (2006) 76,000, of which approximately half conscripts with 1 to 2 years of service. The army is at 45,000, the navy at 8,000 and the air force at 23,000. The reserve, “Folkemilitsen”, is 40,000 men. All three defenses are equipped with a mix of older and newer Soviet as well as newer French and other Western-produced equipment. The Army is only capable of manning part of its very extensive stockpile. The fleet is a balanced composite coastal fleet. The Air Force is relatively very strong. It is doubtful whether the impressive size of the country’s armed forces is matched by a reasonable quality. The armed forces are likely to be seen to a significant extent as the regime’s symbol of prestige. After the bombing of a Pan Amthe jumbo jet over Lockerbie in 1988, Libya from 1992 was denied access to advanced weapons until the extradition of the suspects in 2000. In 1989, Libya was also responsible for the bombing of a DC-10 from UTA but from 2004 Libya paid compensation to the survivors. This has paved the way for Libya to become the first non-French user of the Rafale fighter jet.
In 1973, Libyan fighter jets from Egyptian bases participated in the October War.
In 1977, thousands of Libyans wanted to march to Cairo to protest Egypt’s rapprochement with Israel, but they were stopped at the border. This escalated into border disputes between the armed forces of Egypt and Libya with airstrikes and armor for four days.
In 1978-79, Tanzania invaded Uganda to overthrow Uganda’s dictator Idi Amin. Muammar Gaddafi had sent 2,000-3,000 Libyan troops with heavy weapons to help, but they came to stand for the brunt of the resistance. Idi Amin fled to Libya.
In the 1980’s, Libya’s armed forces came into conflict with the great powers the United States and France. The United States does not recognize Libyan supremacy over the Gulf of Sidra and in 1981 and 1989 there were fighting between US naval forces and Libya. In 1986, the Americans bombed Tripoli (Operation El Dorado Canyon) in retaliation for a suspected bombing in Berlin. In Operation Épervier (1986), French and Chadian forces pushed Libyan forces out of northern Chad culminating in the 1987 Toyota War.
Libya today claims 32,000 km2 of south-eastern Algeria and 25,000 km2 in the Tommo region of Niger. In addition, Chadian rebel groups from the Aozou region have training camps in southern Libya.
Libya – mass media
All mass media were tightly controlled by the government, and Gaddafi’s Green Book was Libya’s press law. The distribution of the printed press is very small, and only quite a few dailies are published. The official daily newspaper, Al-Fajr al-Jadid (New Dawn), is published by the State News Agency Jamahiriya News Agency (Jana) and was founded in 1969.
Other newspapers and magazines are also affiliated with the government or the trade union movement. Radio began broadcasting in 1957, television in 1968. Radio has been a popular medium for decades; video is also widespread, and in the 1990’s, television also began to gain ground. Since 1999, contact with the outside world has increased, e.g. with beginning access to internet and satellite TV.
