Bulgaria (2002) | Libya (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 28 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast); Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Dobrich, Gabrovo, Khaskovo, Kurdzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Shumen, Silistra, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofiya, Sofiya-Grad, Stara Zagora, Turgovishte, Varna, Veliko Turnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Yambol | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 14.6% (male 572,961; female 543,004)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 2,569,199; female 2,648,461) 65 years and over: 16.9% (male 540,109; female 747,603) (2002 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 215 (2001) | 140 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 128
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 92 (2002) |
total: 59
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 87
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 75 (2002) |
total: 80
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 41 under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 110,910 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km |
total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly larger than Alaska |
Background | The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman Turks. Bulgaria regained its independence in 1878, but having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, it fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a People's Republic in 1946. Communist domination ended in 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multiparty election since World War II and began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime. Today, reforms and democratization keep Bulgaria on a path toward eventual integration into NATO and the EU - with which it began accession negotiations in 2000. | From the earliest days of his rule following his 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused 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 appears to have decreased after the sanction imposition. 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 finally resolved in 2004 several outstanding cases against his government for terrorist activities in the 1980s by paying compensation to the families of victims of the UTA and La Belle disco bombings. |
Birth rate | 8.05 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 27.17 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $5.57 billion
expenditures: $5.68 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $10.28 billion
expenditures: $7.86 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Sofia | Tripoli |
Climate | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 354 km | 1,770 km |
Constitution | adopted 12 July 1991 | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria |
conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
Currency | lev (BGL) | Libyan dinar (LYD) |
Death rate | 14.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 3.48 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $10.3 billion (2001 est.) | $4.194 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador James William PARDEW
embassy: 1 Suborna Street, Sofia 1000 mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100 FAX: [359] (2) 981-89-77 |
the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli in May 1980, resumed embassy activities in February 2004 under the protective power of the US interests section of the Belgian Embassy in Tripoli, then opened a Liaison Office in Tripoli in June 2004 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Elena POPTODOROVA
chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-7969 FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973 consulate(s): New York |
Libya does not have an embassy in the US but maintains an interest section under the protective power of the United Arab Emirates Embassy in the US |
Disputes - international | because of a shift in the Danube course since the last correction of the boundary in 1920, a joint Bulgarian-Romanian team will recommend sovereignty changes to several islands and redefine the boundary | Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in Niger in currently dormant disputes; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya |
Economic aid - recipient | $300 million (2000 est.) | $15 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | Bulgaria, a former communist country striving to enter the European Union, has experienced macroeconomic stability and positive growth rates since a major economic downturn in 1996 led to the fall of the then socialist government. A $300 million stand-by agreement negotiated with the IMF at the end of 2001 will help the government maintain economic stability as it seeks to overcome high rates of poverty and unemployment and, at the same time, cut the budget deficit and contain inflation. | The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and 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 three 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. 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 about 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 34.42 billion kWh (2000) | 18.77 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 3.2 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 1.5 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 38.84 billion kWh (2000) | 20.18 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 48%
hydro: 8% nuclear: 44% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Musala 2,925 m |
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from industrial emissions; rivers polluted from raw sewage, heavy metals, detergents; deforestation; forest damage from air pollution and resulting acid rain; soil contamination from heavy metals from metallurgical plants and industrial wastes | 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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Bulgarian 83.6%, Turk 9.5%, Roma 4.6%, other 2.3% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (1998) | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
Exchange rates | leva per US dollar - 2.2147 (January 2002), 2.1847 (2001), 2.1233 (2000), 1.8364 (1999), 1,760.36 (1998), 1,681.88 (1997)
note: on 5 July 1999, the lev was redenominated; the post-5 July 1999 lev is equal to 1,000 of the pre-5 July 1999 lev |
Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.2929 (2003), 1.2707 (2002), 0.6051 (2001), 0.4994 (2000), 0.3936 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Georgi PURVANOV (since 22 January 2002); Vice President Angel MARIN (since 22 January 2002)
head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA (since 24 July 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Nikolay VASILEV (since 24 July 2001), Kostadin PASKALEV (since 24 July 2001), and Lidiya SHULEVA (since 24 July 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 11 November and 18 November 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) nominated by the president; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister election results: Georgi PURVANOV elected president; percent of vote - Georgi PURVANOV 54.13%, Petar STOYANOV 45.87% |
chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Prime Minister) Shukri Muhammad GHANIM (since 14 June 2003) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: NA |
Exports | $5.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels | crude oil, refined petroleum products (1999) |
Exports - partners | Italy 14%, Turkey 10%, Germany 9%, Greece 8%, Serbia and Montenegro 8% (2001) | Italy 38.8%, Spain 13.4%, Germany 13.4%, Turkey 7.1%, France 6.1% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red; the national emblem formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe has been removed - it contained a rampant lion within a wreath of wheat ears below a red five-pointed star and above a ribbon bearing the dates 681 (first Bulgarian state established) and 1944 (liberation from Nazi control) | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $50.6 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $35 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 14%
industry: 29% services: 58% (2001) |
agriculture: 8.6%
industry: 46.1% services: 45.3% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,400 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.4% (2002 est.) | 3.2% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 43 00 N, 25 00 E | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 37,288 km
paved: 33,786 km (including 324 km of expressways) unpaved: 3,502 km (2001) |
total: 83,200 km
paved: 47,590 km unpaved: 35,610 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 23% (1997) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | major European transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and, to a lesser degree, South American cocaine for the European market; limited producer of precursor chemicals; some money laundering of drug-related proceeds through financial institutions | - |
Imports | $6.9 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods (1999) |
Imports - partners | Russia 19.9%, Germany 15.3%, Italy 9.6%, France 6.0% (2001) | Italy 27.8%, Germany 10.5%, Tunisia 7.6%, UK 7.1%, France 6%, Turkey 4.6% (2003) |
Independence | 3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire) | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2002 est.) | NA |
Industries | electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | 14.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 25.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.04 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.9% (2002 est.) | 2.8% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 200 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 8,000 sq km (1998 est.) | 4,700 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Administrative Court; Supreme Court of Cassation; Constitutional Court (12 justices appointed or elected for nine-year terms); Supreme Judicial Council (consists of the chairmen of the two Supreme Courts, the Chief Prosecutor, and 22 other members; responsible for appointing the justices, prosecutors, and investigating magistrates in the justice system; members of the Supreme Judicial Council elected for five-year terms, 11 elected by the National Assembly and 11 by bodies of the judiciary) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 3.83 million (2000 est.) | 1.51 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.) | agriculture 17%, industry 29%, services 54% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,808 km
border countries: Greece 494 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia and Montenegro 318 km, Turkey 240 km |
total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
Land use | arable land: 39%
permanent crops: 1.8% other: 59.2% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 98.78% (2001) |
Languages | Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
Legal system | civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sobranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 June 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NMS2 42.74%, UtdDF 18.18%, CFB 17.15%, MRF 7.45%; seats by party - NMS2 120, UtdDF 51, CFB 48, MRF 21; note - seating as of March 2003 - NMS2 110, UtdDF 50, CFB 48, MRF 20, independents 12 |
unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.5 years
male: 67.98 years female: 75.22 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 76.28 years
male: 74.1 years female: 78.58 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 98% (1999) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
Merchant marine | total: 77 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 881,758 GRT/1,312,833 DWT
ships by type: bulk 43, cargo 15, chemical tanker 4, container 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 129,627 GRT/105,110 DWT
by type: cargo 8, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea/passenger 4 foreign-owned: Algeria 1, Kuwait 1 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (subordinate to Ministry of Defense), Internal Forces (subordinate to Ministry of Interior), Civil Defense Forces (subordinate to the president) | Armed Peoples on Duty (Army), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $356 million (FY02) | $1.3 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.7% (FY02) | 3.9% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,873,052 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,588,533 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,566,816 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 938,196 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 56,104 (2002 est.) | males: 61,828 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian |
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | earthquakes, landslides | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | -4.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 525 km; natural gas 1,500 km (1999) | condensate 225 km; gas 3,611 km; oil 7,252 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; Coalition for Bulgaria or CfB (coalition of parties dominated by BSP) [Sergei STANISHEV]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or VMRO [Krasimir KARAKACHANOV]; Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II or NMS2 [Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA]; People's Union or PU (includes Bulgarian Agrarian National Union and Democratic Party) [Anastasiya MOZER]; St. George's Day [Lyuben DILOV, Jr.]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Ekaterina NADEZHDA]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Democratic Forces or UtdDF (a coalition between the UDF and PU, dominated by the former) | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | agrarian movement; Bulgarian Democratic Center; Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Democratic Alliance for the Republic or DAR; New Union for Democracy or NUD; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements; an anti-QADHAFI Libyan exile movement exists, primarily based in London, but has little influence |
Population | 7,621,337 (July 2002 est.) | 5,631,585
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 35% (2000 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | -1.11% (2002 est.) | 2.37% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002) |
Radios | 4.51 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 4,294 km
standard gauge: 4,049 km 1.435-m gauge (2,710 km electrified) narrow gauge: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (2002) |
0 km
note: Libya is working on 7 lines totaling 2,757 km of 1.435-m gauge track; it hopes to open a 191 km line by the end of 2004 (2003) |
Religions | Bulgarian Orthodox 83.8%, Muslim 12.1%, Roman Catholic 1.7%, Jewish 0.1%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 2.3% (1998) | Sunni Muslim 97% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: extensive but antiquated
domestic: more than two-thirds of the lines are residential; telephone service is available in most villages; a fairly modern digital cable trunk line now connects switching centers in most of the regions, the others are connected by digital microwave radio relay international: direct dialing to 58 countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 2 Intelsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) |
general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: country code - 218; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,186,731 (2001) | 750,000 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.054 million (2001) | 100,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999) |
Terrain | mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 1.13 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.42 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 18% (2002 est.) | 30% (2001) |
Waterways | 470 km (1987) | - |