Norfolk Island (2005) | Libya (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 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Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |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: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 33.4% (male 1,029,096/female 985,606)
15-64 years: 62.4% (male 1,940,287/female 1,827,429) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 124,892/female 129,604) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 141 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 60
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 81
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 41 under 914 m: 18 (2007) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Alaska |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks from the area around Tripoli in 1911 and did not relinquish their hold until 1943 when defeated in World War II. Libya then passed to UN administration and achieved independence in 1951. Following a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI began to espouse 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. During the 1990s, QADHAFI began to rebuild his relationships with Europe. UN sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally lifted in September 2003 after Libya accepted responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing. In December 2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction and to renounce terrorism, 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. Libya has responded in good faith to legal cases brought against it in US courts for terrorist acts that predate its renunciation of violence. Claims for compensation in the Lockerbie bombing, LaBelle disco bombing, and UTA 772 bombing cases are ongoing. The US rescinded Libya's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism in June 2006. In late 2007, Libya was elected by the General Assembly to a nonpermanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2008-2009 term. |
Birth rate | NA | 26.09 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $39.62 billion
expenditures: $19.51 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | name: Tripoli
geographic coordinates: 32 53 N, 13 10 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 32 km | 1,770 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | none; note - following the September 1969 military overthrow of the Libyan government, the Revolutionary Command Council replaced the existing constitution with the Constitutional Proclamation in December 1969; in March 1977, Libya adopted the Declaration of the Establishment of the People's Authority |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
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 |
Death rate | NA | 3.47 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $4.837 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires J. Christopher Stevens
embassy: Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, Souq At-Tlat Al-Qadim, Tripoli mailing address: US Embassy, 8850 Tripoli Place, Washington, DC 20521-8850 telephone: [218] 21-335-1848 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ali Suleiman AUJALI
chancery: 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 705, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 944-9601 FAX: [1] (202) 944-9060 |
Disputes - international | none | Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in the Tommo region of Niger in a currently dormant dispute; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | ODA, $24.44 million (2005 est.) |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute about 95% of export earnings, about one-quarter of GDP, and 60% of public sector wages. Substantial revenues from the energy sector coupled with 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 five 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, helping Libya attract more foreign direct investment, mostly in the energy sector. Libyan oil and gas licensing rounds continue to draw high international interest; the National Oil Company set a goal of nearly doubling oil production to 3 million bbl/day by 2015. 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 more than 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. Libya's primary agricultural water source remains the Great Manmade River Project, but significant resources are being invested in desalinization research to meet growing water demands. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 18.18 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 21.15 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | Berber and Arab 97%, other 3% (includes Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, and Tunisians) |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.2604 (2007), 1.3108 (2006), 1.3084 (2005), 1.305 (2004), 1.2929 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
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) al-Baghdadi Ali al-MAHMUDI (since 5 March 2006) 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 March 2006 (next to be held NA) election results: NA |
Exports | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | 1.326 million bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas, chemicals |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Italy 36.7%, Germany 14.3%, Spain 8.7%, US 6.1%, France 5.6%, Turkey 5.3% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 2.1%
industry: 81.7% services: 16.2% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 5.4% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert |
Heliports | - | 2 (2007) |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | 1,233 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | NA | machinery, semi-finished goods, food, transport equipment, consumer products |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Italy 18.9%, Germany 7.9%, China 7.5%, Tunisia 6.3%, France 5.8%, Turkey 5.2%, US 4.7%, South Korea 4.3%, UK 4% (2006) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 5.6% (2007 est.) |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | petroleum, iron and steel, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 22.82 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 3.3% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | NA | 4,700 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 1,345 | 1.82 million (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | agriculture: 17%
industry: 23% services: 59% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 98.78% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | based on Italian and French civil law systems and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
unicameral General People's Congress (approximately 2,700 seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 76.88 years
male: 74.64 years female: 79.23 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north exclusive fishing zone: 62 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 17 ships (1000 GRT or over) 67,200 GRT/85,931 DWT
by type: cargo 11, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 3 (Kuwait 1, Norway 1, Syria 1) registered in other countries: 4 (Malta 3, Tunisia 1) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | - |
Military branches | - | Armed Peoples on Duty (APOD, Army), Libyan Arab Navy, Libyan Arab Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Jamahiriya al-Arabia al-Libyya, LAAF) (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.9% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | fish | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | NA | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 882 km; gas 3,425 km; oil 6,956 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | none | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | 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 | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 6,036,914
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 7.4% (2005 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | 2.262% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2001) |
Railways | - | 0 km
note: Libya has announced plans to build seven lines totaling 2,757 km of 1.435-m gauge track (2006) |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | Sunni Muslim 97%, other 3% |
Sex ratio | NA | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.044 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.062 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.964 male(s)/female total population: 1.052 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996; combined fixed line and mobile telephone density reached 75 telephones per 100 persons in 2006
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 | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 483,000 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 3.928 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 12 (plus 1 repeater) (1999) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | NA | 3.21 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 30% (2004 est.) |