Libya Energy Situation

Overview

Libya
Lebanon Flag.png	Libya Location.png
Capital	Tripoli (32°52′N 13°11′E)
Official language(s)	Arab (official), English, Italian
Government
President
Total area	1,759,540 km2
Population	6,733,620 (July 2012 est.)
Rural population	22% of total population (2010)
GDP (nominal)	92.62 billion US $ (2010)
GDP Per capita	14,100 US$ (2010)
Currency	Libyan Dinar
Time zone	GMT+2
Electricity generation	26.95 TWh/year (2008)
Access to Electricity	%
Wind energy (installed capacity)	MW(Year)
Solar Energy (installed capacity)	MW (Year)

Introduction

With about 1,76 sq km, Libya is the second biggest North African country. Located between Algeria and Tunisia in the west and Egypt in the east, Libya also borders the Mediterranean Sea in the north and (from west to east) Niger, Chad and the Sudan in the south. Virtually a hundred percent of its land territory is land area. Apart from the access to the sea (about 12 nm), Libya has no water resources on land, which consists to more than 90% of desert or semi-desert. Libyan climate ranges from Mediterranean along the coast line to extremely dry in the interior when going south. Although the barren, flat and undulating plains allow only a limited amount of land (1.03% of total territory) to be arable, Libya’s soil is hiding great richness. Most prominent natural resources are petroleum, natural gas and gypsum. Especially the first two natural resources are the main driving factor for the Libyan economy. Hydrocarbons contribute about 95% of export earning, 65% of the GDP and about 80% of government revenue. It also due to the fossil matter, that Libya has also always enjoyed a fairly high international interest and relevance. Although the revolution of 2011, which has brought the old regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to a downfall, has empeded economic goals, it is also widely considered to be an unique opportunity entrepreneurial activity and thus economic growth.

The ethnic composition of the population is mainly given by Arabs, arabized Berbers, Tuareg and Tubu. A vast majority of approximately 97% of the population avows itself to the religion of the Islam (Sunni Muslim). Main national language is arabic.

Libyan politics have been marked by the Arabic spring that took place in 2011. It ended with the defeat of the old Libyan regime and the death of the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. The ousted regime had been opposed by the National Transitional Council (NTC) that had formed in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. After its international recognition as the governing body of Libya, the NTC has been officially inaugurated on the 24th of October 2011 with Abdel Rahim el Kib as the head of government. The constituent assembly is supposed to be elected in the first half-year of 2012.