Libya

Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the <a href="/facts/Maghreb/oIcU24Mz">Maghreb</a> region of <a href="/facts/North_Africa/ItxQAfs7">North Africa</a>. It borders the <a href="/facts/Mediterranean_Sea/Vr2pzVbM">Mediterranean Sea</a> to the north, <a href="/facts/Egypt/8Ttg0JwB">Egypt</a> to <a href="/facts/Egypt%E2%80%93Libya_border/CyesA32J">the east</a>, <a href="/facts/Sudan/yGeaNdvS">Sudan</a> to <a href="/facts/Libya%E2%80%93Sudan_border/CDQAHAfV">the southeast</a>, <a href="/facts/Chad/KStYoub3">Chad</a> to <a href="/facts/Chad%E2%80%93Libya_border/Kt9d0T8d">the south</a>, <a href="/facts/Niger/hRbX6MkM">Niger</a> to <a href="/facts/Libya%E2%80%93Niger_border/FPUsDWTJ">the southwest</a>, <a href="/facts/Algeria/UXDF4Tj6">Algeria</a> to <a href="/facts/Algeria%E2%80%93Libya_border/jx24U1Uw">the west</a>, and <a href="/facts/Tunisia/4uC8Po6k">Tunisia</a> to <a href="/facts/Libya%E2%80%93Tunisia_border/tkvCs4AG">the northwest</a>. With an area of almost 1.8 million km2 (700,000 sq mi), it is the 4th-largest country in <a href="/facts/Africa/XkqQUP9s">Africa</a> and the <a href="/facts/Arab_world/F8Jouq98">Arab world</a>, and the <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_and_outlying_territories_by_total_area/XQWaBfYo">16th-largest in the world</a>. Libya claims 32,000 square kilometres of southeastern Algeria, south of the Libyan town of <a href="/facts/Ghat,_Libya/hwIlexsv">Ghat</a>. The largest city and capital is <a href="/facts/Tripoli,_Libya/sIofmflD">Tripoli</a>, which is located in northwestern Libya and contains over a million of Libya's seven million people.
Libya has been inhabited by <a href="/facts/Berber_people/kuN9pFNf">Berbers</a> since the late <a href="/facts/Bronze_Age/c09qWcTt">Bronze Age</a> as descendants from <a href="/facts/Iberomaurusian/EoBsa2Hp">Iberomaurusian</a> and <a href="/facts/Capsian/JzDpgDEK">Capsian</a> cultures. In classical antiquity, the <a href="/facts/Phoenicia/6GXLneNU">Phoenicians</a> established city-states and trading posts in western Libya, while several <a href="/facts/Cyrenaica/w624AyBA">Greek cities</a> were established in the East. Parts of Libya were variously ruled by <a href="/facts/Ancient_Carthage/5BFU7yB5">Carthaginians</a>, <a href="/facts/Numidia/ErVpEwob">Numidians</a>, <a href="/facts/Achaemenid_Empire/avlzWxF0">Persians</a>, and <a href="/facts/Ptolemaic_Kingdom/sAg88Lvs">Greeks</a> before the entire region becoming a part of the <a href="/facts/Roman_Empire/l4E1aUuV">Roman Empire</a>. Libya was an <a href="/facts/Early_centers_of_Christianity/dBPI8hwT">early centre of Christianity</a>. After the <a href="/facts/Fall_of_the_Western_Roman_Empire/EjUtGSJm">fall of the Western Roman Empire</a>, the area of Libya was mostly occupied by the <a href="/facts/Vandal_Kingdom/CFpla7jU">Vandals</a> until the 7th century when <a href="/facts/Muslim_conquest_of_the_Maghreb/BA2TSPJg">invasions</a> brought <a href="/facts/Islam/zDLbL45C">Islam</a> to the region. From then on, centuries of <a href="/facts/Arab_migration_to_the_Maghreb/FhDV0aIE">Arab migration to the Maghreb</a> shifted the demographic scope of Libya in favour of <a href="/facts/Arabs/E77duPsg">Arabs</a>. In the 16th century, the <a href="/facts/Spanish_Empire/RaWWgnQS">Spanish Empire</a> and the <a href="/facts/Knights_of_St_John/Xjkj29TT">Knights of St John</a> occupied <a href="/facts/Tripoli,_Libya/sIofmflD">Tripoli</a> until <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Empire/6QvfTRsg">Ottoman</a> rule <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Tripolitania/srSzTwrI">began in 1551</a>. Libya was involved in the <a href="/facts/Barbary_Wars/2j4HQ4qs">Barbary Wars</a> of the 18th and 19th centuries. Ottoman rule continued until the <a href="/facts/Italo-Turkish_War/bmQ0fWc5">Italo-Turkish War</a>, which resulted in <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Italy/X5hxYBvF">Italy</a> occupying Libya and establishing two colonies, <a href="/facts/Italian_Tripolitania/uL0H3jqb">Italian Tripolitania</a> and <a href="/facts/Italian_Cyrenaica/GJGGBDqH">Italian Cyrenaica</a>, later unified in the <a href="/facts/Italian_Libya/Db7zNPLb">Italian Libya</a> colony from 1934 to 1943.
During <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>, Libya was an area of warfare in the <a href="/facts/North_African_Campaign/nDYFvCVF">North African Campaign</a>. The <a href="/facts/Italian_settlers_in_Libya/XuhP0Cj8">Italian population</a> then went into decline and Libya became independent as a <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Libya/uGsNeUn2">kingdom</a> in 1951. A <a href="/facts/Nonviolent_revolution/e4T2qTJF">bloodless</a> <a href="/facts/1969_Libyan_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat/vnwEQLxj">military coup in 1969</a>, initiated by a coalition led by Colonel <a href="/facts/Muammar_Gaddafi/JFp2s57J">Muammar Gaddafi</a>, overthrew <a href="/facts/Idris_of_Libya/F3XRIxIa">King Idris I</a> and created a <a href="/facts/Republic/vc8D2pA8">republic</a>. Gaddafi was often described by critics as a <a href="/facts/Dictator/ueVW1a39">dictator</a>, and was one of the world's longest serving non-royal leaders. He <a href="/facts/History_of_Libya_under_Muammar_Gaddafi/vKj7t2Rt">ruled</a> for 42 years until being overthrown and <a href="/facts/Death_of_Muammar_Gaddafi/S0hvMXc0">killed</a> in the <a href="/facts/First_Libyan_Civil_War/dlCgacp1">2011 civil war</a>, which was part of the wider <a href="/facts/Arab_Spring/IJrjLoll">Arab Spring</a>, with authority transferred to the <a href="/facts/National_Transitional_Council/w061sgUb">National Transitional Council</a> then to the elected <a href="/facts/General_National_Congress/ctA6xXBQ">General National Congress</a>. Since 2011, Libya has been involved in a <a href="/facts/Libyan_crisis_(2011%E2%80%93present)/HTeFylmN">political and humanitarian crisis</a>, and by 2014, two rival authorities claimed to govern Libya, which led to a <a href="/facts/Second_Libyan_Civil_War/eUU839hL">second civil war</a>, with parts of Libya split between the Tobruk and Tripoli-based governments as well as various tribal and <a href="/facts/Islamism/4u3G2nEf">Islamist</a> militias. The two main warring sides signed a permanent ceasefire in 2020, and a <a href="/facts/Government_of_National_Unity_(Libya)/LC7Q848v">unity government</a> took authority to plan for democratic elections, though political rivalries continue to delay this.
In March 2022, the <a href="/facts/House_of_Representatives_(Libya)/2ez5DU9K">House of Representatives</a> ceased recognising the <a href="/facts/Government_of_National_Unity_(Libya)/LC7Q848v">Government of National Unity</a> and proclaimed an alternative government, the <a href="/facts/Government_of_National_Stability/g4IgA1zX">Government of National Stability</a> (GNS). Both governments have been functioning simultaneously since then, which has led to dual power in Libya. The international community continues to recognise the unity government as the legitimate government of the country. Libya is a developing country ranking 92nd by HDI, the highest score in mainland Africa, and has the <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_proven_oil_reserves/1TqTuhrp">10th-largest proven oil reserves</a> in the world. Libya has the highest level of greenhouse gas emissions per person in Africa, but has made little progress toward developing climate commitments. Libya is a member of the <a href="/facts/United_Nations/fgXLnmgT">United Nations</a>, the <a href="/facts/Non-Aligned_Movement/PIdnjRvD">Non-Aligned Movement</a>, the <a href="/facts/African_Union/Pz1DVnDN">African Union</a>, the <a href="/facts/Arab_League/15f9WWWM">Arab League</a>, the <a href="/facts/Organisation_of_Islamic_Cooperation/wWSQSzfF">Organisation of Islamic Cooperation</a>, and <a href="/facts/OPEC/aQ9cxyG6">OPEC</a>. The country's official religion is <a href="/facts/Islam_in_Libya/DUJvvfXh">Islam</a>, with 96.6% of the Libyan population being <a href="/facts/Sunni_Islam/WYo0zeq0">Sunni Muslims</a>. The official language of Libya is <a href="/facts/Modern_Standard_Arabic/rXAjtFSs">Arabic</a>, with vernacular <a href="/facts/Libyan_Arabic/v65rGaN1">Libyan Arabic</a> being spoken most widely. The majority of Libya's population is <a href="/facts/Arabs/E77duPsg">Arab</a>.

Libya open-in-new

Libya