2016 Country Review

Libya 2016 Country Review http://www.countrywatch.com Table of Contents Chapter 1 1 Country Overview 1 Country Overview 2 Key Data 6 Libya 7 Africa 8 Chapter 2 10 Political Overview 10 History 11 Political Conditions 16 Political Risk Index 116 Political Stability 131 Freedom Rankings 146 Human Rights 158 Government Functions 165 Government Structure 170 Principal Government Officials 182 Leader Biography 188 Leader Biography 188 Foreign Relations 195 National Security 221 Defense Forces 227 Chapter 3 229 Economic Overview 229 Economic Overview 230 Nominal GDP and Components 232 Population and GDP Per Capita 234 Real GDP and Inflation 235 Government Spending and Taxation 236 Money Supply, Interest Rates and Unemployment 237 Foreign Trade and the Exchange Rate 238 Data in US Dollars 239 Energy Consumption and Production Standard Units 240 Energy Consumption and Production QUADS 241 World Energy Price Summary 242 CO2 Emissions 243 Agriculture Consumption and Production 244 World Agriculture Pricing Summary 247 Metals Consumption and Production 248 World Metals Pricing Summary 251 Economic Performance Index 252 Chapter 4 264 Investment Overview 264 Foreign Investment Climate 265 Foreign Investment Index 269 Corruption Perceptions Index 282 Competitiveness Ranking 293 Taxation 302 Stock Market 303 Partner Links 303 Chapter 5 304 Social Overview 304 People 305 Human Development Index 306 Life Satisfaction Index 310 Happy Planet Index 321 Status of Women 330 Global Gender Gap Index 333 Culture and Arts 343 Etiquette 344 Travel Information 346 Diseases/Health Data 355 Chapter 6 361 Environmental Overview 361 Environmental Issues 362 Environmental Policy 363 Greenhouse Gas Ranking 364 Global Environmental Snapshot 375 Global Environmental Concepts 386 International Environmental Agreements and Associations 400 Appendices 424 Bibliography 425 Libya Chapter 1 Country Overview Libya Review 2016 Page 1 of 437 pages Libya Country Overview LIBYA Located in Northern Africa, Libya is bordered by the countries of Tunisia and Algeria to the west, Niger and Chad to the south, Sudan to the south east, Egypt to the east, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north. Due to its mainly desert landscape, Libya is a sparsely populated country relative to its land area. Population density is about 50 people per square kilometer (80 per square mile) in the two northern regions of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, but falls to less than one person per square kilometer (1.6 per square mile) elsewhere. Ninety percent of the people live in less than 10 percent of the area, primarily along the coast. More than half the population is urban. In total, the population of Libya is more than six million. Libyans are primarily a mixture of Berbers and Arabs; today, there is little distinction remaining between these two groups. Other ethnic and national groups represented in Libya include Tunisian, Egyptians, Italians, Greeks, Maltese, Indians and Pakistanis. Sunni Islam has the most adherents in Libya. Arabic is the official language, and although the use of Italian dates back to Libya's colonial history. French and English are also spoken in some quarters in Libya. The literacy rate is quite high in Libya, relative to the rest of the world at 83 percent, however, that rate belies the distinction of the genders whereby men enjoy markedly higher rates of literacy when compared with females. In terms of history, Libya was conquered by the Arabs in the seventh century; in the following centuries, its indigenous people were Arab-ized as they adopted the religion of Islam, as well as the Arabic language and culture. In the mid-16th century, Libya was conquered again -- this time by the Ottoman Turks. Libya remained part of the Ottoman Empire until Italy invaded its territory in 1911. A year later, Libya became an Italian colony. After World War II, British and French forces occupied the area until a United Nations resolution made Libya an independent nation state 1951. The discovery of oil in 1959 transformed Libya into a wealthy nation state, by international standards. Indeed, Libya is considered a country with "high human development," according to the Human Development Index (HDI), which is formulated by the United Nations Development Program. A monarchy ruled Libya until 1969 when a military coup d'etat led by Muammar Qadhafi seized power. Qadhafi abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the country to be the new Libyan Arab Libya Review 2016 Page 2 of 437 pages Libya Republic. In fact, the official name of the country was formalized as the extraordinarily lengthy "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya." The term "Jamahiriya" denotes a state of the masses in theory, although in practice, it translates into an authoritarian state. In terms of policy, Qadhafi's confrontational stances on matters of foreign affairs, as well as Libya's reputation as a state sponsor of terrorism, led to heightened tensions with the West in the 1980s, and Libya's position as an increasingly isolated country in global context. When Libya was blamed for the bombing of a Pan-American flight that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, the country was regarded as something of a rogue state, with Qadhafi having the dubious distinction as being a pariah in the international community. In 1992, the United Nations imposed sanctions on Libya. Those United Nations sanctions were lifted in the fall of 2003, only after Libya accepted responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing. In late 2003, Libya revealed its ambitions to develop weapons of mass destruction and announced that it would end the program and renounce terrorism. Since then, Libya has made significant strides in normalizing relations with Western nations. However, that progress saw some degree of a setback -- at least with regard to the United States -- in 2009 when a Scottish court decided to free Abdel Baset al-Megrahi -- the terrorist responsible for the bombing of the Pan American flight that exploded over the town of Lockerbie -- on compassionate grounds. This move reminded the world of Libya's past record as a state-sponsor of terrorism and raised questions about the United Kingdom's complicity in the questionable decision. The case became marred by further controversy after a Times of London news story was published suggesting an "oil for freedom" deal between Libya and the United Kingdom. In 2011, Libya returned to the forefront of the international purview with its burgeoning anti- government/pro-democracy protest movement, and concomitantly, the Qadhafi regime's harsh and violent response to the people. Libya was one of many countries in the region of North Africa and the Middle East being subject to such mass action. Indeed, the pro-democracy campaigns in the region had already n the first half of February 2011 led to the ousting of long-time Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011, and the resignation of long-serving Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Now, Qadhafi was experiencing the greatest threat to his presidential tenure coming from the streets of Libya as the transformational winds of Tunisia's "Jasmine Revolution" and Egypt's "Nile Revolution" swept across theMaghreb and the Middle East. Update -- When the uprising in Libya began, all signs on the ground at the time were pointing toward a likely end to rule by Qadhafi. The question remained as to how long it would take for the people to liberate themselves from Qadhafi's grip, and how much blood would have to be shed before that end ensued. Libya Review 2016 Page 3 of 437 pages Libya Months later, when pro-Qadhafi forces were carrying out relentless and bloody assault against opposition-held areas, the answer to those questions became clearer. If the Qadhafi regime could command the loyalty of its forces, the chances of a quick end to the chaos in Libya were quite small. Instead, it was quite possible that Qadhafi could squash the uprising with the gratuitous use of military might against his own people. But the harsh squashing of the uprising was unlikely to eliminate the anger and hatred for the Qadhafi regime by the people in the eastern part of this country -- now clearly divided between pro-Qadhafi and anti-Qadhafi factions. In fact, there were fears that it could fuel the slide into a civil war. Clearly, the decision by the international community to intervene into the conflict, for the purpose of protecting the opposition, transformed the landscape, no doubt changing the momentum of the pro-Qadhafi factions. Since the goals of Security Council Resolution 1973 and the resulting "Operation Odyssey Dawn" were not expressly inclusive of "regime change," it was initially thought that Qadhafi could prevail at the helm of Libya. Now, with the G8 countries making it clear that Qadhafi no longer held legitimacy, it was apparent that a fight to the end was in the offing. It was likely that the country itself might ultimately see some transformation, since the division between east and west has only amplified. But even stalemate in Libya between pro-rebel east and pro-government west provided no blueprint for a future resolution, with rebel-held Misrata in the west standing as a flashpoint in the ongoing conflict. The rebel advance in August 2011 augured the possibility of an end in the offing, and reports of the fall of the last Qadhafi strongholds and the death of the former Libyan leader himself in October 2011, hinted toward a Qadhafi-free future, and raised hopes for a new and free Libyan nation state. As the spirit of regional unrest transfixed the region, the final chapter in this story was yet to be written. That being said, the post-colonial structure of the Arab world in the Maghreb and the Middle East would be affected by the pro-democracy wave washing over the region.

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