Facts about Libya

Libya is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. Tripoli is the capital city as well as the largest city in the country. Arabic is the country’s national language, and the Libyan dinar is the country’s national currency. The official name of the country is the State of Libya. Similarly, “Ya Beladi” is the country’s national anthem, and the Great Man-Made River (GMMR) is the country’s Principle River. Pomegranate Blossom is the national flower, and the Palm tree is the national tree of Libya. Further, Arabian Eagle is the country’s national bird, and Lion Panthera is the national animal of Libya. Additionally, Football is the country’s national sport, and Pomegranate is the national fruit. With these interesting facts about Libya, let’s learn more about the history, culture, religion, people, industries, tourism, tradition, and many more.

Quick Facts about Libya

 
The official name of the Country: The State of Libya
Area: 1,759,541 km2
Population(2022): 7.03 million
Population density: 4 per kilometers Square
GDP (PPP)(2021): $90.513 Billion
GDP Per Capita (nominal): $4,068
Continent: Africa
Capital: Tripoli
Spoken Language: Arabic, English, Tamasheq, Ghadamis, Nafusi, Suknah, Awjilah, Berber, Tamazight, and Italian are some highly spoken languages in the country.
Official Languages: Arabic
Largest by area: 16th largest country
Religion: Islam: 97%, Christianity: 2.7 %, Other: 0.3%.
Government: Unitary provisional unity government
Currency: Libyan dinar (LYD)
Calling Code: +218
Time Zone: UTC +2 (EET)

10. Interesting Facts about Libya

1. Bordering countries of Libya

The country shares its land borders with six countries. It is bordered by Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Algeria to the west, Chad to the south, Niger to the southwest, and Tunisia to the northwest.
Further, Libya shares its coast borders with the Mediterranean sea to the north.

2. 16th largest country in the world

Libya is the 16th largest country in the world. It is much larger than any European country except Russia. It is about the size of Alaska. But it has a population of around 7 million, which makes it smaller than Israel, Austria, and Serbia.
Further, the population density of the country is 4 per kilometers Square which is one of the lowest population densities in the world.

3. Libya had only one king

In Libya's entire history, the country had only one king; King Idris. He managed to conquer and unite the provinces of Tripolitania, Fezzan, and Cyrenaica, forming today's Libya.
King Idris reigned from 1951 and ruled for 18 years until 1969 and was overthrown by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi (also spelled Qadhafi).

4. The country is covered by the Libyan Desert

Roughly 90% of Libya is covered by the Libyan Desert, a part of the much larger Sahara desert. The Libyan desert is one of the most sun-baked and arid places on earth. So that this part of the country is one of the hottest, driest, harshest, and most remote in the world.
This area has no average rainfall since the land may go for decades with no rain and you can see the ratio of rainfall in this area is five to ten years or sometimes more than ten years.

5. Tripoli is a Greek word that means “three cities”

The capital city of Libya is Tripoli, and Tripoli is a Greek word that means "three cities". The city was formed through the unification of 3 cities; Oea, Leptis Magna, and Sabratha.
Tripoli city was founded by Phoenicians 2700 years ago and ruled by Greeks, Carthaginians Romans, and Arabs.
The Arabic name for it is Tarabulus. This is one of the popular facts about Libya.

6. Muammar Gaddafi the well-known leader

Muammar Gaddafi was one of the most well-known leaders of the 20th century. He took power through a coup in 1969.
During the latter years of Gaddafi’s regime, he renamed the country's official name with the Great Socialist people's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in 1977. Today, the official name of the country is the State of Libya. He was also the longest-serving leader in Libya.
Gaddafi was one of the most infamous and ruthless dictators in the world, and he died during the 2011 civil war.

7. To protect American ships from attack by Barbary pirates

Swedes, Americans, and Tripolitan Libyans went to war twice because of Pirates in the 19th century. The issue was that American merchant ships had to pay tributes to the sultan, or else they were attacked by pirates.
The wars are known as the Barbary wars and Thomas Jefferson was the one that decided to go to war.

8. One of the world’s biggest water projects

Libya has undertaken one of the world's greatest projects called the Great Manmade River project. Also, it is the largest irrigation system in history.
The Great Manmade River project is a network of 2820 km of pipes that deliver freshwater throughout the country.
It is designed to carry vast quantities of sub-Saharan water to the coastal regions, and this project could supply freshwater to Libya for up to 1000 years. This is one of the interesting facts about Libya.

9. Home of the largest oil Reserves

Libya is home to some of the largest oil reserves in Africa. The discovery of oil in Libya in the 1950s was a great turnaround for the country which had previously been ranked among the poorest in the world.
In 2010 the country's annual oil production was 1.65 million barrels per day. Today, oil and petroleum products form the largest portion of the country's exports and government revenue.
The petroleum sector contributes about 80% of its GDP.

10. Popular Libyan tea

Libyan tea is as thick as black syrup as a result of mixing a lot of tea leaves and a high sugar concentration.
These are some interesting facts about Libya.

Libya facts

• Libya becomes independent on December 24, 1951.
• Bette Peak is the highest mountain in Libya. It is at 2,266 meters (7,434 feet).
• Libya imports most of the food from African countries.
• In 74BC the Romans conquered Libya and ruins from that era can be seen even today and even a Greek temple.
• Consumption of alcohol is prohibited in the country.
• Libya has also 1,770 kilometers of Coastline which is the longest of any North African country. The area of the Mediterranean sea north of Libya is frequently called the Libyan Sea.
• Built-in the 16th century, the Red Castle was significant for having been the seat of the Ottoman Empire.
• Libya has been home to as many as 140 tribes.
• Historically, Libya was divided into only 3 regions namely Fezzan, Tripolitania, and Cyrenaica.
• Libya's city of Cyrene was part of the ancient Greek empire.
• Acacus Mountains have remnants of rock paintings and carvings dating back to 120,000 BC and 100 AD. The carving depicts humans in different aspects of life and different animal species too.

These are some popular Libya facts.

In Conclusion

In this article, we discussed some interesting facts about Libya. After reading this article, you might gain some knowledge about Libya. If you have still queries and want to learn more about the country, then please comment to us. Further, if you already visited this beautiful country, and want to add more interesting facts to this article that are not included in the article above, please comment to us. Also, share your take on this article.
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