Libya

Libya

The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which constitute practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest GDPs per person in Africa and have allowed the Libyan state to provide an extensive and impressive level of social security, particularly in the fields of housing and education.

 

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.

 

Compared to its neighbors, Libya enjoys an extremely low level of both absolute and relative poverty. Libyan officials in the past three years have made progress on economic reforms as part of a broader campaign to reintegrate the country into the international fold. Initial steps have included applying for membership of the World Trade Organization, reducing subsidies, and announcing plans for privatization. These efforts 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.

 

Under the previous Prime Minister, Shukri Ghanem, and current prime minister Baghdadi Mahmudi, Libya is undergoing a business boom. Many government-run industries are being privatized. Most US sanctions have been lifted; and as of May 2006, the remaining vestiges are scheduled for removal pending US Congressional approval. 

 

Many international oil companies have returned to the country, including controversial oil giants Shell and Exxon-Mobil. Tourism is on the rise, bringing increased demand for hotel accommodation and for capacity at airports such as Tripoli International. A multi-million dollar renovation of Libyan airports has recently been approved by the government to help meet such demands. At present 300,000 people visit the country annually; the Libyan government hopes to increase this figure to an ambitious 10,000,000 by 2015.

 

Total GDP: $88.83 billion (2008 est.)

 

GDP Growth Rate: 6.3% (2008 est.)

 

GDP Per Capita: $14,400 (2008 est.)

 

Population: 6,310,434 (July 2009 est.)

 

Population Growth Rate: 2.17% (2009 est.)

 

Fertility Rate: 3.08 children born/woman (2009 est.)

 

Age Structure:

0-14 years: 33% (male 1,064,866/female 1,019,790)

15-64 years: 62.7% (male 2,033,478/female 1,920,755)

65 years and over: 4.3% (male 133,092/female 138,453)

(2009 est.)

 

Source: CIA World Factbook