Africa

Libya

While security in Libya is generally good, tensions in the Middle East remain high. Travellers should keep abreast of international events that might have repercussions in Libya, and avoid political gatherings and demonstrations whenever possible. Travelling with a guide or in groups is recommended in remote areas. The regions bordering Chad and Sudan should be avoided.

Libya is situated on the coast of North Africa and is the fourth largest country on the continent. It borders with Egypt in the east, Sudan in the southeast, Chad and Niger in the south, Algeria to the west and Tunisia in the northwest and the Mediterranean Sea in the north...More Information on Libya.

Full country name: Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Area: 1,759,540 sq km (679,360 sq mi)
Population: 5.7 million
Capital City:Tripoli (pop 1.7 million)
People: Arab (92%), Berbers (5%), plus Tuareg, Toubou, Black Africans and some Europeans - mostly Italians
Language: Arabic, Italian, English
Religion: Sunni Muslim (95%), Christianity (5%)
Government: Jamahiriya, or 'state of the masses', theoretically governed by the people
Head of State: Colonel Mu'ammar Abu Minyar Gaddafi
Head of Government: Mubarak Abdallah al-Shamekh

History of Libya

For most of their history, the peoples of Libya have been subjected to varying degrees of foreign control. The Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, and Byzantines ruled all or parts of Libya. Although the Greeks and Romans left impressive ruins at Cyrene, Leptis Magna, and Sabratha, little else remains today to testify to the presence of these ancient cultures.

The Arabs conquered Libya in the seventh century A.D. In the following centuries, most of the indigenous peoples adopted Islam and the Arabic language and culture. The Ottoman Turks conquered the country in the mid-16th century. Libya remained part of their empire–although at times virtually autonomous–until Italy invaded in 1911 and, in the face of years of resistance, made Libya a colony...More on Libya's History.

Overview of Libya's Economy

GDP: US$45.4 billion
GDP per capita: US$8900
Annual Growth: 6.5%
Inflation: 18.5%
Major Industries: petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement
Major Trading Partners: Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Turkey, Tunisia
Member of EU: No

Also Read: A short note on Economy of Libya

Political System of Libya

- Government of Libya
- Foreign relations of Libya

Climate, Vegetation and Fauna

Within Libya as many as five different climatic zones have been recognized, but the dominant climatic influences are Mediterranean and Saharan. In most of the coastal lowland, the climate is Mediterranean, with warm summers and mild winters. Rainfall is scanty, and the dry climate results in a year-round 98-percent visibility. The weather is cooler in the highlands, and frosts occur at maximum elevations. In the desert interior the climate has very hot summers and extreme diurnal temperature ranges.

Less than 2 percent of the national territory receives enough rainfall for settled agriculture, the heaviest precipitation occurring in the Jabal al Akhdar zone of Cyrenaica, where annual rainfall of 400 to 600 millimeters is recorded...more


Envoirnment: In the middle of Mediterranean North Africa, Libya is surrounded...more.

Education: Under the monarchy, all Libyans were guaranteed the right to education...more.

Culture:Cultural differences between the provinces are important...more.

Society Structure Of Libya:Well into the postindependence period, tradition and traditional...more

Religion Of Libya: Nearly all Libyans adhere to the Sunni branch of Islam...more

Family Life: Libyans reckon kinship patrilineally, and the household is based on blood...more.

Facts for the Traveler

Visas: Everyone except visitors from most Arab and African countries and Malta must have a visa to visit Libya. Before applying for a visa, you must have your passport translated into Arabic. Visas are only issued to visitors travelling as part of an organised tour.
Health risks: Small risk of malaria, diptheria, typhoid, rabies and hepatitis
Time: GMT/UTC plus 2 hours
Electricity: 220-40V
Weights & measures: Metric

Also Read: Money & Costs | Transport And Getting Around | Public holidays in Libya | Events Of Libya | Travel Tips

When to Go

The best time to visit Libya is between November and March, when daytime temperatures are relatively mellow…for a desert country. Conversely, if you drop by between April and October, don’t be surprised to find the mercury pushing 38°C (100°F) on a regular basis. The coastal atmosphere is generally humid (hovering around 55% in the afternoons year round), while inland the deserts are often as dry as dust. You should avoid travel to Libya in late spring (May through June) and early fall (October), when the country’s subject to the massive ghibli sandstorms from the south, which tend to last several days and interrupt all outdoor activities.

Also Read: Getting Around in Libya | Getting There & Away

What to See in Libya

Other Tourist Attractions in Libya

more...

What to do in Libya

Increasingly popular among tourists, desert safaris are the big guns in most tour providers’ arsenals. One of the most popular destinations is the Idehan Ubari, with its towering sand dunes and desert lakes. Further south, the prehistoric rock art of the Jebal Acacus is also a major drawcard.

Libya’s coastline is dappled with excellent beaches, some of which are all-natural and unadorned, while others have been thoroughly resortified. The ones closest to central Tripoli are usually somewhat messy, though the water’s clean enough and they are convenient. For a more natural setting, try hitting the sands around Benghazi in Cyrenaica. A nascent diving industry has begun making bubbles in Libya, with the submerged ruins near Leptis Magna and Apollonia as their most exciting offerings, and there are a few water sports available at the beaches just south of Tripoli.

The earliest inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Bantu tribes during a series of migrations. The southern part of the country was named Matabeleland after the Ndebele tribe who occupied the area in the early 1800’s under a loose confederation of Ndebele-speaking tribes headed by the Khumalo tribe under [...]
Countries in Africa Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Cote d’Ivoire Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Republic of the Congo Rwanda Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
Religion in Africa Africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs, with Christianity and Islam being the most widespread. Approximately 40% of all Africans are Christians and another 40% Muslims. Roughly 20% of Africans primarily follow indigenous African religions. A small number of Africans also have beliefs from the Judaic tradition, such as the Beta Israel [...]
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Economy of Africa Africa is the world’s poorest inhabited continent: the United Nations’ Human Development Report 2003 (of 175 countries) found that positions 151 (Gambia) to 175 (Sierra Leone) were taken up entirely by African nations. It has had (and in some ways is still having) a shaky and uncertain transition from colonialism, with increases in corruption [...]
Politics in Africa Colonial Africa Colonialism had a destabilizing effect on what had been a number of ethnic groups that is still being felt in African politics. Prior to European influence, national borders were not much of a concern, with Africans generally following the practice of other areas of the world, such as the Arabian peninsula, where [...]
History of Africa Africa is home to the oldest inhabited territory on earth, with the human race originating from this continent. During the mid 20th century, anthropologists discovered many fossils and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as 7 million years ago. The famous Leakey family, with ties to both Britain and Africa, discovered fossil [...]
Geography of Africa Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the main mass of the Earth’s surface. It includes within its remarkably regular outline an area, of c. 30,360,288 km² (11,722,173 mi²), including the islands. Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea, it is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the [...]
Etymology of Africa The name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra - “land of the Afri” (plural, or “Afer” singular) - for the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, corresponding to modern-day Tunisia. The Afri were a tribe - possibly Berber [...]

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