Libya: Background & Geography

Introduction Libya
Background:
 From the earliest days of his rule following his 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused 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. Chadian forces were able to force the Libyans to retreat from the Aozou Strip in 1987. UN sanctions in the 1990s isolated QADHAFI politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Later, when QADHAFI found that he could not easily break free of the sanctions and when he realized that Arab nations were lukewarm to his many unusual political initiatives, he turned his attention to Africa where he achieved mixed success at influence-building. Libyan support for terrorism appears to have decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. 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.
Geography Libya
Location:
 Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia
Geographic coordinates:
 25 00 N, 17 00 E
Map references:
 Africa
Area:
 total: 1,759,540 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km
Area - comparative:
 slightly larger than Alaska
Land boundaries:
 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
Coastline:
 1,770 km
Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
 territorial sea: 12 NM
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north
Climate:
 Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior
Terrain:
 mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions
Elevation extremes:
 lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m
Natural resources:
 petroleum, natural gas, gypsum
Land use:
 arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.17%
other: 98.8% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
 4,700 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
 hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms
Environment - current issues:
 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note:
 more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert

See Also: