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 km22. The capital is the city of Tripoli.
In the north, Libya has access to the Mediterranean Sea, thus is the largest African country in the Mediterranean basin. Neighbors with Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Chad and Niger.
History
The country of Libya is a state whose history begins in ancient times. According to archaeological excavations, scientists have found that the sites of ancient people in this area date back to the Neolithic era. In the ancient period of history, Libya passed from hand to hand and belonged at different times to Carthage, Phoenicia, Ancient Greece and Rome, Byzantium. In the 7th century it became part of the Arab Caliphate.
In the Middle Ages, in the 16th century it was captured by the Ottoman Empire. From this period, Islam spread throughout the country. Remained part of the empire until its collapse in 1911. After that it becomes a colony of Italy.
Tipping point in the state
HisThe country gained independence in 1951, becoming the United Kingdom. However, the king was overthrown in 1969 and the socialists came to power, led by Muammar Gaddafi, forming the Libyan Arab Republic. Later, the state was renamed Jamahiriya (popular masses). This is the name given to the territory of present-day Libya. The population in 2011 during political unrest and civil war, with the help of dissidents and revolutionaries, overthrew the previous government led by Gaddafi. Since then, military clashes have been constantly taking place here, which cannot be calmed down and now the country is in a state of civil war.
State name
The name of the country comes from the ancient dialect of the Berber tribes who lived in these territories. The first political association of people was called "Libu", later the state formed on these lands became so called. According to the rules for translating Arabic dialects into Russian, it would be correct to call the country "Libya", but the previously established "Libya" remained normatively fixed.
Geographical characteristic
Libya today is 90% desert, although in earlier times there was much more vegetation. In the west, the relief rises slightly, forming the Idekhan-Marzuk and Aubari plateaus. Here is the highest point of the country - the city of Bikku Bitti (2267m). Closer to the coast, the desert recedes, leaving a small patch of arable land. This area occupies only 1% of the entire territory, but provides food for the needsLibya. The coastline is indented, its length is 1,770 km. The largest bay is Sidra.
Climate
Libya's climate, whose population is plagued by unexpected twists in weather patterns, differs between the desert regions and along the coast. In the desert, the climate is dry, tropical, with characteristic sharp fluctuations in temperature day and night. Average January temperatures in the desert are +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, that the temperature maximum of the planet was +57.8°C. In the northern part of the state, the climate is slightly milder - subtropical, Mediterranean type. Precipitation here falls in the year 200-250 mm. In the desert part, this figure decreases to 50-100 mm/year. In addition, dust storms (khamsin, death) are constantly blowing in this territory. Most of the territory is unsuitable for agriculture. Due to climatic conditions, the flora and fauna of the country is very poor. Due to which the already small population of Libya suffers greatly - there is constant hunger.
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 here are milder in terms of climate. 88% of people live in large cities: the capital Tripoli and the city of Benghazi. The population density of Libya is 50 people per 1 km2. It is worth noting that this indicator is quite small.
A characteristic feature of the population is that a third of the people living in Libya are children under 15 years old. This inequality is due to the fact that more than 50 thousand people died during the civil war in recent years. adult population. Also, more than 1 million people emigrated from the country.
Nations
In terms of national composition, the population of Libya is homogeneous. Most of them are Arabs. Also in the cities there are ethnic groups of Circassians, Tuareg, Berbers. They inhabited most of the territory of Libya. The population on the Mediterranean coast consists of a few communities of Greeks, M altese, Italians. They are mainly engaged in fishing. The official language of the state is Arabic. Occasional Italian and English.
97% of the population practice Sunni Islam. Christianity accounts for just under 3%. Representatives of other religions also meet alone.
Administrative divisions and economic characteristics
Since 2007, a new system of administrative division has been introduced in Libya. The state is divided into 22 municipalities.
For a long time, the fate of Libya (the population has been suffering for several centuries) was not very successful. It was one of the poorest countries on the planet, but by the 60s of the last century 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 into the development of the oil industry, the level of development of othersindustries fell, and later they completely stopped developing.
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 residents under the age of 16 can read and write. However, the population of Libya is gradually declining, because living here and getting higher education, including technical education, is quite difficult due to constant armed conflicts. All funding for the country goes to military support.
