West Bank (2004) | Libya (2007) | |
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Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.8% (male 518,470; female 493,531)
15-64 years: 52.8% (male 623,785; female 595,376) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 34,226; female 45,816) (2004 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 | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 3 (2003 est.) | 141 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 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: 5,860 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly larger than Alaska |
Background | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external and internal security and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank that began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement. Following the death of longtime Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT in November 2004, the election of his successor Mahmud ABBAS in January 2005 could bring a turning point in the conflict. | 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. 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 resolved in 2004 some of the outstanding cases against his government for terrorist activities in the 1980s by compensating some families of victims of the Pan Am 103, French airliner UTA, and La Belle disco bombings. The US resumed full diplomatic relations with Libya in May 2006 and rescinded Libya's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism in June. |
Birth rate | 33.21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 26.09 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $676.6 million
expenditures: $1.155 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (includes Gaza Strip) (2003 est.) |
revenues: $35.85 billion
expenditures: $16.27 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | - | name: Tripoli
geographic coordinates: 32 53 N, 13 10 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,770 km |
Constitution | - | 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: none
conventional short form: West Bank |
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 | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) | - |
Death rate | 4.07 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 3.47 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.) | $4.492 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad Interim William B. MILAM
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 | - | 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 | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation | 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 | $2 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (2001-02 est.) | ODA, $24.44 million (2005 est.) |
Economy - overview | Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996 due to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment, which in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Israel's use of comprehensive closures during the next three years decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year-long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and severely disrupted trade and labor movements. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant and administrative structure, widespread business closures, and a sharp drop in GDP. Including Gaza Strip, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israel, in Israeli settlements, or in joint industrial zones have lost their jobs. In addition, about 80,000 Palestinian workers inside the Territories are losing their jobs. International aid of $2 billion in 2001-02 to the West Bank and Gaza Strip prevented the complete collapse of the economy. In 2004, on-going border issues and the death of Yasser ARAFAT continued to complicate the economic situation. | 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 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, 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 billion bbl/day by 2010. 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 | NA kWh | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants | 21.15 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | 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 | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | Berber and Arab 97%, other 3% (includes Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, and Tunisians) |
Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996) | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.3108 (2006), 1.3084 (2005), 1.305 (2004), 1.2929 (2003), 1.2707 (2002) |
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 (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 | $603 million f.o.b., includes Gaza Strip | 1.326 million bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas, chemicals |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000) | Italy 37.1%, Germany 14.6%, Spain 7.7%, US 6.1%, France 5.6%, Turkey 5.4% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) | calendar year |
Flag description | - | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.7 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 2.2%
industry: 79.5% services: 18.3% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | -22% (2002 est.) | 5.8% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 244 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts(August 2003 est.) | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert |
Heliports | - | 2 (2007) |
Highways | total: 4,500 km
paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements (1997 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $1.9 billion c.i.f., includes Gaza Strip | 1,233 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | machinery, semi-finished goods, food, transport equipment, consumer products |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000) | Italy 18.9%, Germany 7.8%, China 7.6%, Tunisia 6.3%, France 5.8%, Turkey 5.3%, US 4.7%, South Korea 4.3%, UK 4% (2006) |
Independence | - | 24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers | petroleum, iron and steel, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | total: 20.16 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
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) | 2.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.) | 2.7% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | - | 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, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 4,700 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court |
Labor force | NA | 1.748 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 13%, industry 21%, services 66% (1996) | agriculture: 17%
industry: 23% services: 59% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 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: 16.9%
permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001) |
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 98.78% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
Legal system | - | 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 General People's Congress (approximately 2,700 seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.88 years
male: 71.14 years female: 74.72 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 76.88 years
male: 74.64 years female: 79.23 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | 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 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 - dollar figure | NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 3.9% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | - | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun: NA
adjective: NA |
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | droughts | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | arable land | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | 2.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 882 km; gas 3,481 km; oil 6,916 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | - | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | 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 | 2,311,204
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.) |
6,036,914
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 60% (2003 est.) | 7.4% (2005 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.21% (2004 est.) | 2.262% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000) |
AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2001) |
Railways | - | 0 km
note: Libya is working on seven lines totaling 2,757 km of 1.435-m gauge track; it hopes to have trains running by 2008 (2006) |
Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | Sunni Muslim 97%, other 3% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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 and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank |
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 | 301,600 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2002) | 483,000 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 480,000 (cellular subscribers in both West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2003) | 3.928 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 12 (plus 1 repeater) (1999) |
Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 4.52 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 3.21 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 50% (includes Gaza Strip) (2002 est.) | 30% (2004 est.) |