Luxembourg (2004) | Libya (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 3 districts; Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg | 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Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |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: 19% (male 45,422; female 42,638)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 155,519; female 151,891) 65 years and over: 14.5% (male 26,981; female 40,239) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 33.9% (male 997,364/female 955,272)
15-64 years: 62% (male 1,842,775/female 1,729,235) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 117,967/female 122,950) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits, wine grapes; livestock products | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 2 (2003 est.) | 139 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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: 2,586 sq km
land: 2,586 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly larger than Alaska |
Background | Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a grand duchy in 1815 and an independent state under the Netherlands. It lost more than half of its territory to Belgium in 1839, but gained a larger measure of autonomy. Full independence was attained in 1867. Overrun by Germany in both World Wars, it ended its neutrality in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union and when it joined NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union), and in 1999 it joined the euro currency area. | 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 appeared to have decreased after the imposition of sanctions. 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 | 12.21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 26.82 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $11.82 billion
expenditures: $12.06 billion, including capital expenditures of $760 million (2003 est.) |
revenues: $13.52 billion
expenditures: $12.23 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.6 billion (2004 est.) |
Capital | Luxembourg | Tripoli |
Climate | modified continental with mild winters, cool summers | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,770 km |
Constitution | 17 October 1868, occasional revisions | 11 December 1969; amended 2 March 1977 |
Country name | conventional long form: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
conventional short form: Luxembourg local long form: Grand Duche de Luxembourg local short form: Luxembourg |
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 | euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
- |
Death rate | 8.42 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 3.48 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $4.069 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Peter TERPELUK, Jr.
embassy: 22 Boulevard Emmanuel Servais, L-2535 Luxembourg City mailing address: American Embassy Luxembourg, Unit 1410, APO AE 09126-1410 (official mail); American Embassy Luxembourg, PSC 9, Box 9500, APO AE 09123 (personal mail) telephone: [352] 46 01 23 FAX: [352] 46 14 01 |
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 Arlette CONZEMIUS-PACCOURD
chancery: 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-4171 FAX: [1] (202) 328-8270 consulate(s) general: New York and San Francisco |
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 | none | 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 - donor | ODA, $147 million (2002) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $4.4 million ODA (2002) |
Economy - overview | This stable, high-income economy features solid growth, low inflation, and low unemployment. The industrial sector, initially dominated by steel, has become increasingly diversified to include chemicals, rubber, and other products. Growth in the financial sector, which now accounts for about 22% of GDP, has more than compensated for the decline in steel. Most banks are foreign-owned and have extensive foreign dealings. Agriculture is based on small family-owned farms. The economy depends on foreign and trans-border workers for more than 30% of its labor force. Although Luxembourg, like all EU members, has suffered from the global economic slump, the country has maintained a fairly strong growth rate and enjoys an extraordinarily high standard of living. | 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 four 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. Almost all US unilateral sanctions against Libya were removed in April 2004. 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 | 6.07 billion kWh (2001) | 19.43 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 744 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 6.389 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 457 million kWh (2001) | 20.89 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Moselle River 133 m
highest point: Buurgplaatz 559 m |
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland | 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-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
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 | Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese, Italian, Slavs (from Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo) and European (guest and resident workers) | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.305 (2004), 1.2929 (2003), 1.2707 (2002), 0.6051 (2001), 0.5122 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Grand Duke HENRI (since 7 October 2000); Heir Apparent Prince GUILLAUME (son of the monarch, born 11 November 1981)
head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Claude JUNCKER (since 1 January 1995) and Vice Prime Minister Jean ASSELBORN (since 31 July 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following popular elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; the deputy prime minister is appointed by the monarch; they are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies note: government coalition - CSV and LSAP |
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 | 634 bbl/day (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass | crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas |
Exports - partners | Germany 23.3%, France 19%, Belgium 10.4%, UK 9.1%, Italy 6.8%, Spain 4.6%, Netherlands 4.3% (2003) | Italy 37%, Germany 16.6%, Spain 11.9%, Turkey 7.1%, France 6.2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and light blue; similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which uses a darker blue and is shorter; design was based on the flag of France | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $25.01 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.5%
industry: 16.6% services: 82.9% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 8.7%
industry: 45.7% services: 45.6% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $55,100 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.2% (2003 est.) | 4.9% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 45 N, 6 10 E | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; the only Grand Duchy in the world | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert |
Heliports | 1 (2003 est.) | 1 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total: 5,189 km
paved: 5,189 km (including 114 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
total: 83,200 km
paved: 47,590 km unpaved: 35,610 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | 50,700 bbl/day (2001) | NA |
Imports - commodities | minerals, metals, foodstuffs, quality consumer goods | machinery, transport equipment, semi-finished goods, food, consumer products (1999) |
Imports - partners | Belgium 29%, Germany 22.9%, France 11.4%, China 10.9%, Netherlands 4.8% (2003) | Italy 25.5%, Germany 11%, South Korea 6.1%, UK 5.4%, Tunisia 4.7%, Turkey 4.6% (2004) |
Independence | 1839 (from the Netherlands) | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.7% (2003 est.) | NA |
Industries | banking, iron and steel, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum | petroleum, iron and steel, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 24.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2003 est.) | 2.9% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, 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 |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (includes Belgium) (1998 est.) | 4,700 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | judicial courts and tribunals (3 Justices of the Peace, 2 district courts, and 1 Supreme Court of Appeals); administrative courts and tribunals (State Prosecutor's Office, administrative courts and tribunals, and the Constitutional Court); judges for all courts are appointed for life by the monarch | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 200,000 (of whom 87,400 are foreign cross-border workers primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany) (2003) | 1.59 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1.9%, industry 8%, services 90.1% (1999 est.) | agriculture 17%, industry 29%, services 54% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 359 km
border countries: Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 138 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: 23.28%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 76.32% (includes Belgium) (2001) |
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 98.78% (2001) |
Languages | Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language) | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
Legal system | based on civil law system; 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 Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 13 June 2004 (next to be held by June 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - CSV 36.1%, LSAP 23.4%, DP 16.1%, Green Party 11.6%, ADR 10%; seats by party - CSV 24, LSAP 14, DP 10, Green Party 7, ADR 5 note: there is also a Council of State that serves as an advisory body to the Chamber of Deputies; the Council of State has 21 members appointed by the Grand Duke on the advice of the prime minister |
unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.58 years
male: 75.31 years female: 82.07 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 76.5 years
male: 74.29 years female: 78.82 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2000 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, between France and Germany | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
Merchant marine | total: 40 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 652,454 GRT/805,101 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 11, container 8, liquefied gas 4, passenger 4, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 7 foreign-owned: Belgium 7, Denmark 1, Finland 3, France 3, Germany 10, Monaco 1, Netherlands 5, Switzerland 1, United Kingdom 7, United States 3 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 17 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 129,627 GRT/105,110 DWT
by type: cargo 7, liquefied gas 3, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 1 (Algeria 1) (2005) |
Military branches | Army | Armed Peoples on Duty (Army), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $231.6 million (2003) | $1.3 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (2003) | 3.9% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 115,721 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 95,107 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 2,601 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | National Day (Birthday of Grand Duchess Charlotte) 23 June | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun: Luxembourger(s)
adjective: Luxembourg |
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | NA | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | iron ore (no longer exploited), arable land | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | 8.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 155 km (2004) | condensate 225 km; gas 3,611 km; oil 7,252 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Action Committee for Democracy and Justice or ADR [Gast GIBERYOEN]; Christian Social People's Party or CSV (known also as Christian Social Party or PCS) [Francois BILTGEN]; Democratic Party or DP [Claude MEISCH]; Green Party [Francois BAUSCH]; Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Alex BODRY]; Marxist and Reformed Communist Party DEI LENK (the Left) [no formal leadership]; other minor parties | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | ABBL (bankers' association); ALEBA (financial sector trade union); Centrale Paysanne (federation of agricultural producers); CEP (professional sector chamber); CGFP (trade union representing civil service); Chambre de Commerce (Chamber of Commerce); Chambre des Metiers (Chamber of Artisans); FEDIL (federation of industrialists); LCGP (center-right trade union); OGBL (center-left trade union) | 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 | 462,690 (July 2004 est.) | 5,765,563
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.28% (2004 est.) | 2.33% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mertert | As Sidrah, Az Zuwaytinah, Marsa al Burayqah, Ra's Lanuf, Tripoli, Zawiyah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002) |
Railways | total: 274 km
standard gauge: 274 km 1.435-m gauge (242 km electrified) (2003) |
0 km
note: Libya is working on 7 lines totaling 2,757 km of 1.435-m gauge track; it hopes to have trains running by 2008 (2004) |
Religions | 87% Roman Catholic, 13% Protestants, Jews, and Muslims (2000) | Sunni Muslim 97% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 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: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables
domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; buried cable international: country code - 352; 3 channels leased on TAT-6 coaxial submarine cable (Europe to North America) |
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 | 355,400 (2002) | 750,000 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 473,000 (2002) | 100,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1999) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999) |
Terrain | mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope down to Moselle flood plain in the southeast | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 1.79 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 3.34 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.6% (2003 est.) | 30% (2004) |
Waterways | 37 km (on Moselle River) (2003) | - |