Chairman of the General National Congress: Mohamed Magarief
Population
313,847,465
5,613,380
Life Expectancy
78.490 years
77.830 years
Capital City
Washington, DC
Tripoli (Tarabulus)
Largest city
New York City (population: 8,008,280)
Tripoli (population: 1,150,990)
Human Development Index
0.95
0.84
GDP per capita
$49,000 US
$14,100 US
Literacy Rate
99%
82.6%
Corruption Perception Index
7.3
2.6
Percentage of Women in Parliament
16.6%
7.7%
Wealthiest Citizens
William Gates III ($40.0bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
9.000%
30.000%
Death Penalty
Legal
Legal
Political System
Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
Jamahiriya (a state of the masses) in theory, governed by the populace through local councils; in practice, an authoritarian state
Independence date
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship)
Religions
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)
Sunni Muslim 97%, other 3%
Languages
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities
Libyan dinars (LYD) per US dollar - 1.2112 (2008 est.), 1.2604 (2007), 1.3108 (2006), 1.3084 (2005), 1.305 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.060%
3.900%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
110
0
Location
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia
Area
9,826,675 km sq
1,759,540 km sq
Coastline
19,924 km
1,770 km
Climate
mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior