Characteristics of Libya: population, economy, geography, national composition

The state of Libya today is one of the most successful African countries. It is located in the north of the mainland. The area of the state is almost 1 760 thousand km ² . The capital is the city of Tripoli.

In the north, Libya has access to the Mediterranean, thus being the largest African country in the Mediterranean basin. Neighbors with Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Chad and Niger.

History

Country Libya - a state whose history begins back in ancient times. According to archaeological excavations scientists have found out that the sites of ancient people in this territory date back to the Neolithic period. In the ancient period of history, Libya passed from hand to hand and belonged at different times to Carthage, Phenicia, Ancient Greece and Rome, Byzantium. In the VII century it became part of the Arab Caliphate.
In the Middle Ages, in the 16th century it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. From this period, Islam spread throughout the country. Remained in the Empire until its collapse in 1911. After becoming a colony of Italy.

The turning point in the state

The country gained its independence in 1951, becoming the United Kingdom. However, the king was overthrown in 1969 and the Socialists, led by Muammar Kadafi, came to power, forming the Libyan Arab Republic. Later, the state was renamed the Jamahiriya (popular masses). This is the name of the territory of present-day Libya. The population in 2011 in the course of political unrest and civil war, with the help of dissidents and revolutionaries, overthrew past power headed by Gaddafi. Since then, there have been constant military clashes that can not be calmed down and now the country is in a state of civil war.

Name of State

The name of the country comes from the ancient adverb of the Berber tribes who lived in these territories. The first political association of people was called "Libu", subsequently the state formed on these lands became so called. According to the rules of translating Arabic dialects into Russian, it would be correct to call the country "Libya", but the previously consolidated "Libya" remained normatively fixed.

Geographical description

Libya today is 90% composed of the desert, although in earlier times there was much more vegetation here. In the west, the relief rises a little, forming the plateau of Idhan-Marzuk and Aubari. Here is the highest point of the country - Mr. Bikku Beatty (2,267 m). Closer to the coast, the desert departs, leaving a small piece of arable land. This area occupies only 1% of the total territory, but supplies food to the needs of Libya. The coastline is rugged, its length is 1,770 km. The largest bay is Sidra.

Climate

The climate of Libya, whose population suffers from unexpected turns of weather conditions, differs in desert regions and on the coast. In the desert - the climate is dry, tropical, with characteristic sharp fluctuations in temperature day and night. The average temperature in January in the desert is + 15 ° С ... +18 ° С, in July + 40 ° С ... + 45 ° С. Often this mark rises to + 50 ° C. It is in the desert, not far from the capital, the temperature maximum of the planet is recorded + 57,8 ° С. In the northern part of the country, the climate is slightly softer - subtropical, Mediterranean type. Precipitation here falls in the year 200-250 mm. In the desert part, this indicator decreases to 50-100 mm / year. In addition, dust storms are constantly blowing in this area (hamsin, died). Most of the territory is unsuitable for agriculture. Due to climatic conditions, the animal and plant world of the country is very poor. Due to what the already small population of Libya suffers greatly - there is a constant hunger.

The population of Libya

Despite the large territory of the state, only about 6 million people live in Libya. Most of the local residents gathered in the northern regions of the state, as the living conditions are softer in terms of climate. 88% of people live in large cities: the capital of Tripoli and the city of Benghazi. The density of the population of Libya is 50 people per 1 km ² . It is worth noting that this indicator is quite small.

A characteristic feature of the population is that one third of people living in Libya are children under 15 years old. This inequality is due to the fact that during the civil war in recent years, more than 50 thousand people were killed. Of the adult population. Also, more than 1 million people emigrated from the country.

Nation

In terms of national composition, the population of Libya is homogeneous. Most of them are Arabs. Also in cities there are ethnic groups of Circassians, Tuaregs, Berbers. They are the most populated territory of Libya. The population on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea consists of a few communities of Greeks, Maltese, Italians. Mostly they are engaged in fishing. The official language of the state is Arabic. Sometimes there is Italian and English.

97% of the population profess Islam of the Sunni direction. Christianity accounts for just under 3%. Singles and representatives of other religions meet.

Administrative division and economic characteristics

Since 2007, Libya has introduced a new system of administrative division. The state is divided into 22 municipalities.

For a long time, the fate of Libya (the population has suffered for several centuries) was not very successful. She was one of the poorest countries on the planet, but by the 1960s the situation had changed. It was during this period that the largest oil deposits were found on the territory of the state. Due to the fact that all labor resources were thrown on the development of the oil industry, the level of development of other industries dropped, and later they completely ceased to develop.

In addition to oil production, only agriculture is more or less developed in Libya, which provides only the needs of the local population.

The cultural level of the country's development is average. More than 90% of people living before the age of 16 can read and write. However, the population of Libya is gradually decreasing, because living here and getting higher education, including technical education, is quite difficult because of constant armed conflicts. All financing of the country goes to military support.