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"Libya." Geography, Africa, Q-files Encyclopedia, 30 Mar. 2026.
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Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.
Libya 2026. Geography, Africa. Retrieved 6 August 2026, from
https://www.q-files.com/geography/africa/libya
Geography, Africa, s.v. "Libya," accessed August 6, 2026.
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Libya
Apart from a narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean coast, about 90% of the Libya is made up of the Libyan Desert, part of the vast Sahara Desert and one of the hottest and driest places on Earth. Here, vast sand dunes and gravel plains stretch for hundreds of kilometres; some areas have not seen rain for many years. Even in the north of Libya, there are only a few green areas. This region has a sunny Mediterranean climate and is where Libya’s only farmland is found. The southern desert is too dry to support more than a sparse population. Since 2011, Libya has been racked by political upheaval and civil war, leading to the collapse of its economy.
People
Libya was first settled by Berber peoples more than 3000 years ago. Today, most Libyans are descendants of the Berbers, as well as Arab and Turkish peoples who have settled in the country in the last millennium. Most of the population lives in a narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean coast. About one sixth of Libyans live in the capital, Tripoli, in western Libya.
Oil
Libya has some of the world’s largest known oil reserves. When oil production began in 1961, Libya went from being a poor, agricultural country to one that was wealthy and developing fast as an industrial nation. Today, Libya's economy is still heavily based on oil, which makes up 97% of all its exports. Most of it comes from oilfields in northern and central Libya and is transported by pipeline to ports along the coast. The oil industry supports other industries, such as oil-refining and the production of chemicals.
Oases
Libya’s desert is scattered with small pockets of lush vegetation called oases. Here, underground rivers, called aquifers, bubble up to the surface, providing a vital lifeline for people living in the desert. Nomadic farmers bring their animals to drink and graze by the water, while farmers grow palm trees to produce dates.
People living in oasis towns and villages build houses with covered alleyways between them. The outside walls of the house are covered with lime and mud to reflect the blazing sunlight and keep the insides cool. Some Libyan oases have grown into major towns as oil workers have moved to them to work on nearby oilfields.
Civil wars
Between 2011 and 2020, Libya was racked by political upheaval and war. Following an uprising against President Gaddafi, part of the Arab Spring protest movements, in February 2011, civil war broke out between the rebels and government forces. Thanks to assistance provided by NATO air forces, the rebels were successful in overthrowing Gadaffi and establishing a new government.
However, in 2014 a second civil war erupted, this time raging between two rival governments, one, the House of Representatives based in Tubruq (Tobruk) in eastern Libya, and another, the General National Congress in Tripoli, in western Libya. Parts of Libya fell outside of either government's control, with various Islamist fighters seizing some cities, and terrorist attacks, both in Libya and in European countries, taking place. Meanwhile, the Libyan economy collapsed. Refugees risk their lives trying to escape by crossing the Mediterranean to Europe in unseaworthy boats. Between 2013 and 2018, nearly 700,000 migrants reached Italy by sea, many of them from Libya.
On 23th October 2020, the warring parties reached a permanent ceasefire agreement in all areas of Libya, and all foreign fighters involved in the war on both sides were sent home. On 10th March 2021, an interim unity government (the GNU) was formed and will remain in place until a presidential election. This was originally scheduled for December 2021, but it has been delayed several times since, leaving the unity government in power. This has caused tensions—and outbreaks of fighting—which threaten to re-ignite full-scale war.
Consultant: Nicholas Harris
Facts about Libya
Population 7,361,263 (2024 estimate)
Area 1,759,540 sq km
Highest point Bikku Bitti 2267 m (7438 ft)
Capital Tripoli (metro area population 2.2 million)
Other major cities Benghazi (Banghazi) pop. 1,501,000), Misratah (550,000)
Languages Arabic, Berber
Religions Muslim 96%, Christian 3%, others 1%
Ethnicity Arab / Berber 97%, others 3%
Currency Libyan dinar (LYD)
Chief exports crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas, chemicals
History of Libya
1500 BC
Berber peoples live in the region that is modern-day Libya
7th century BC
Phoenicians settle in northwestern Libya (then known as Tripolitania)
4th century BC
Greeks colonize eastern Libya, calling their new land Cyrenaica
74 BC
Cyrenaica becomes a province of the Roman Empire
5th–6th century
A Germanic people called the Vandals sweep across North Africa, occupying parts of Libya. Cyrenaica becomes part of the Byzantine Empire
647
Arabs conquer Cyrenaica and introduce Islam to the region
1551
Libya becomes part of the Ottoman Empire; the three provinces in the region, Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan, are made into one province called Tripoli
1801–05
War breaks out between Northern African Berber states and the USA over piracy along the Mediterranean coast
1911
Italy seizes control of the region from the Ottomans
1912
Omar Mukhtar sets up a resistance movement against Italian rule
1920s
150,000 Italians settle in the region, now an Italian colony
1934
Italy names the region Libya (an ancient Greek name for North Africa)
1931
Italy crushes the resistance movement; Omar Mukhtar is captured and executed
1943
During World War II, Allies drive the Italians and their German allies out of Libya. The country falls under Allied occupation, and is divided between the French and British for the next eight years; Italians relinquish all claims to the country in 1947
1951
Libya becomes independent with King Idris al-Sanusi as head of state
1961
New oil pipeline is opened and Libya begins to export oil
1969
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi leads a military coup and overthrows King Idris. He becomes the new leader and declares Libya a socialist country
1980
Libyan forces fight in civil war in northern Chad
1986
US bombs Libyan military and residential areas of Tripoli, killing 101 people
1992
United Nations places sanctions (trade restrictions) on Libya
1995
Gaddafi forces around 30,000 Palestinian refugees to leave Libya
2005
Oil and gas companies return to Libya for the first time in more than 20 years
2011
Violent protests break out over human rights, calling for Gaddafi to stand down. First Civil War breaks out: Libyan rebels, backed by NATO air forces, capture Gaddafi’s home and he goes into hiding. Two months later, he is captured and killed. A new government takes power and declares Libya “liberated”.
2013
A new law comes into force banning officials who served under Gaddafi from holding positions of power
2014
Control of the country is split between a government in Tripoli and a parliament in the eastern city of Tobruk (Tubruq); Libya's Second Civil War breaks out between the forces of the rival governments, with radical Islamist fighters seizing the cities of Derna and Sirte (2015)
2017
Peace talks take place in the United Arab Emirates between the leader of the UN-backed Tripoli government, Fayez al-Sarraj, and the rival Tobruk government led by Khalifa Haftar
2020
Permanent ceasefire agreement between rival government ends the Second Civil War. An interim unity government is formed in March 2021.
2022
Fighting breaks out between factions of the unity government (Government of National Unity or GNU) and the recently-formed rival Government of National Stability, backed by the Libyan National Army, in Tripoli
2023
(September) Storm Daniel, a tropical cyclone, brings torrential rains, causing two dams near the city of Derna (Darnah) to burst. The devastating floods wash away entire neighbourhoods, resulting in thousands of deaths. Between 10,000 and 100,000 people are missing, feared dead. Libyan authorities are criticized for having no plan to evacuate residents.
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