Libya (2001) | Saint Helena (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 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Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions | 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
35.41% (male 947,645; female 907,854) 15-64 years: 60.64% (male 1,645,085; female 1,533,066) 65 years and over: 3.95% (male 101,701; female 105,248) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 18.8% (male 717/female 692)
15-64 years: 71.2% (male 2,751/female 2,593) 65 years and over: 10% (male 342/female 407) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle | coffee, corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, lobster (on Tristan da Cunha) |
Airports | 136 (2000 est.) | 1
note: Wideawake Field on Ascension Island (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
58 over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
78 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 40 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
1,759,540 sq km land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 413 sq km
land: Saint Helena Island 122 sq km; Ascension Island 90 sq km; Tristan da Cunha island group 201 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Alaska | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999. | Saint Helena is a British Overseas Territory consisting of Saint Helena and Ascension Islands, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha.
Saint Helena: Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. During the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa, several thousand Boer prisoners were confined on the island between 1900 and 1903. Ascension Island: This barren and uninhabited island was discovered and named by the Portuguese in 1503. The British garrisoned the island in 1815 to prevent a rescue of Napoleon from Saint Helena and it served as a provisioning station for the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron on anti-slavery patrol. The island remained under Admiralty control until 1922, when it became a dependency of Saint Helena. During World War II, the UK permitted the US to construct an airfield on Ascension in support of trans-Atlantic flights to Africa and anti-submarine operations in the South Atlantic. In the 1960s the island became an important space tracking station for the US. In 1982, Ascension was an essential staging area for British forces during the Falklands War, and it remains a critical refueling point in the air-bridge from the UK to the South Atlantic. Tristan da Cunha: The island group consists of the islands of Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale, Inaccessible, and Gough. Tristan da Cunha is named after its Portuguese discoverer (1506); it was garrisoned by the British in 1816 to prevent any attempt to rescue Napoleon from Saint Helena. Gough and Inaccessible Islands have been designated World Heritage Sites. South Africa leases the site for a meteorological station on Gough Island. |
Birth rate | 27.67 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.13 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$6.85 billion expenditures: $4.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $11.2 million
expenditures: $11 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92/93) |
Capital | Tripoli | name: Jamestown
geographic coordinates: 15 56 S, 5 44 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior | Saint Helena: tropical marine; mild, tempered by trade winds
Ascension Island: tropical marine; mild, semi-arid Tristan da Cunha: temperate marine; mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena) |
Coastline | 1,770 km | Saint Helena: 60 km
Ascension Island: NA Tristan da Cunha: 40 km |
Constitution | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 | 1 January 1989 |
Country name | 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 |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Helena |
Currency | Libyan dinar (LYD) | - |
Death rate | 3.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.53 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.1 billion (2000 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980 | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Libya does not have an embassy in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger and also a part of southeastern Algeria | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.4 million (1995) | $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997) |
Economy - overview | The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes 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. In this statist society, import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil 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 requirements. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. Following the suspension of UN sanctions in 1999, Libya has been trying to increase its attractiveness to foreign investors, and several foreign companies have visited in search of contracts. | The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost one-half of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, raising livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK. |
Electricity - consumption | 17.577 billion kWh (1999) | 4.65 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 18.9 billion kWh (1999) | 5 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,062 m; Green Mountain on Ascension Island 859 m; Mount Actaeon on Saint Helena Island 818 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Climate Change, Desertification, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
- |
Ethnic groups | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% |
Exchange rates | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.5101 (January 2001), 0.5081 (2000), 0.4616 (1999), 0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997), 0.3651 (1996)
note: Libya currently has two rates for foreign trade; one for government operations and foreign companies and one for Libyan individuals (0.45 dinars per US dollar in December 1998) |
Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001)
note: the Saint Helenian pound is on par with the British pound |
Executive branch | 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 (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000) 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: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief Michael CLANCY (since 15 October 2004) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, three ex-officio officers, and five elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $13.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, refined petroleum products | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Italy 33%, Germany 24%, Spain 10%, France 5%, Turkey 4%, Tunisia 4% (1999) | Tanzania 37.7%, US 17.4%, Japan 15.2%, UK 8.4%, Nigeria 4.8%, Spain 4.5% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $45.4 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
7% industry: 47% services: 46% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,900 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.5% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 25 00 N, 17 00 E | Saint Helena: 15 57 S 5 42 W
Ascension Island: 7 57 S 14 22 W Tristan da Cunha island group: 37 15 S 12 30 W |
Geography - note | - | Saint Helena harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns; Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha is the highest island mountain in the South Atlantic and a prominent landmark on the sea lanes around southern Africa |
Highways | total:
24,484 km paved: 6,800 km unpaved: 17,684 km (1996) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $7.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts |
Imports - partners | Italy 24%, Germany 12%, Tunisia 9%, UK 7%, France 6%, South Korea 5% (1999) | UK 53.5%, South Africa 14.3%, Spain 10.3%, Tanzania 8.5%, US 4.6% (2005) |
Independence | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing, philatelic sales |
Infant mortality rate | 28.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 18.34 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.96 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 18.5% (2000 est.) | 3.2% (1997 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | ICFTU, UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 4,700 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Magistrate's Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 1.5 million (2000 est.) | 2,486
note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services and government 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.) | agriculture: 6%
industry: 48% services: 46% (1987 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
4,383 km border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,150 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 0% other: 91% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 12.9%
permanent crops: 0% other: 87.1% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities | English |
Legal system | 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 | British common law and statutes, supplemented by local statutes |
Legislative branch | unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) | unicameral Legislative Council (16 seats, including the speaker, 3 ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 August 2005 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 12 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.65 years male: 73.53 years female: 77.88 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 77.93 years
male: 75.02 years female: 80.98 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.2% male: 87.9% female: 63% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 20 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa; Ascension Island lies 700 nm northwest of Saint Helena; Tristan da Cunha lies 2300 nm southwest of Saint Helena |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
12 NM note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
28 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 399,725 GRT/654,843 DWT ships by type: cargo 10, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Command | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.3 billion (FY99/00) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.9% (FY99/00) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,459,400 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
866,012 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
61,694 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) |
Nationality | noun:
Libyan(s) adjective: Libyan |
noun: Saint Helenian(s)
adjective: Saint Helenian note: referred to locally as "Saints" |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha, last eruption in 1961 |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum | fish, lobster |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements | none |
Population | 5,240,599
note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya (July 2001 est.) |
7,502
note: only Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha islands are inhabited (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.42% (2001 est.) | 0.56% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 17, FM 4, shortwave 3 (1998) | Saint Helena: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0
Ascension: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2005) |
Radios | 1.35 million (1997) | - |
Railways | note:
Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (1001) |
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Religions | Sunni Muslim 97% | Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | NA years of age |
Telephone system | 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: 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) |
general assessment: can communicate worldwide
domestic: automatic digital network international: country code - 290; international direct dialing; satellite voice and data communications; satellite earth stations - 5 (Ascension Island - 4, Saint Helena - 1) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 380,000 (1996) | 2,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1998) | 0
note: three television channels are received in Saint Helena via satellite and distributed by UHF (2005) |
Terrain | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions | the islands of this group result from volcanic activity associated with the Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridge
Saint Helena: rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains Ascension: surface covered by lava flows and cinder cones of 44 dormant volcanoes; ground rises to the east Tristan da Cunha: sheer cliffs line the coastline of the nearly circular island; the flanks of the central volcanic peak are deeply dissected; narrow coastal plain lies between The Peak and the coastal cliffs |
Total fertility rate | 3.64 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.55 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Transportation - note | - | there is no air connection to Saint Helena or Tristan da Cunha; an international airport for Saint Helena is in development for 2010 |
Unemployment rate | 30% (2000 est.) | 14% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |