ence at the airfield's water supply located in
Chad; maritime boundary dispute with Tunisia; claims part of
northern Niger and part of southeastern Algeria

Climate: Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior

Terrain: mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus,
depressions
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, gypsum

Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 8%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 90%

Irrigated land: 2,420 sq km (1989 est.)

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
natural hazards: hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind
lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms
international agreements: party to - Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified -
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea

People
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Population: 5,445,436 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 48% (male 1,319,696; female 1,274,865)
15-64 years: 49% (male 1,375,441; female 1,308,613)
65 years and over: 3% (male 87,434; female 79,387) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.67% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 44.42 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.7 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.1 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.04 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 59.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 64.67 years
male: 62.48 years
female: 66.97 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.26 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan

Ethnic divisions: Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians,
Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians

Religions: Sunni Muslim 97%

Languages: Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in
the major cities

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write