Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa by area, and the 17th largest in the world. The capital , Tripoli , is home to 1.7 million of Libya's 5.7 million people. The three traditional parts of the country are Tripolitania , the Fezzan and Cyrenaica. The name "Libya" is an indigenous (i.e. Berber ) one, already attested in Egyptian texts as R'bw (= Libu ), which refers to one of the tribes of Berber peoples living west of the Nile. In Greek, the tribesmen were called Libyes and their country became "Libya", although in ancient Greece the term had a broader meaning, encompassing all of North Africa west of Egypt, and sometimes referring to the entire continent of Africa. Later on, at the time of Ibn Khaldun , the same big tribe was known as Lawata. Libya has one of the highest gross domestic products (GDP) per person in Africa, largely because of its substantial petroleum reserves.

Ruins of the Roman city of Sabratha, west of Tripoli		About 90% of the country is desert

The country is led by Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi , whose foreign policy has often brought him into conflict with the west and governments of other African countries. However, Libya publicly gave up any nuclear aspirations in the 2000s, and Libya's foreign relations today are less contentious.

Tripoli's Old City		Mosque in Ghadames, close to the Tunisian and Algerian border. About 97% of Libyans are Islam followers.

• 3-Letter abbreviation: LBY
• 2-Letter abbreviation: LY
• Country common name: Lybia
• Country official name: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
• Continent: Africa
• Capital: Tripoli
• Other major cities: Benghazi, Zuwarah, Misratah, Surt, Tobruk
• Currency: Libyan dinar
• Official languages: Arabic
• Motto: "God is Great"
• National holiday: Revolution Day, 1 September (1969)

• Surface area: 1,759,540 km²
• Highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m
• Neighbouring countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km
• Neighbouring seas and oceans: Mediterranean Sea

• Population (in millions): 6,036,914
• Gross domestic product (GDP) per inhabitant (in US dollars): 12,700 (2006 est.)
• Density (inhabitants per km²): 3.2
• Average age (in years): 23.3
• Life expectancy at birth (in years): 76.88

• Country international telephone code: + 218
• Internet code: .ly
• Number of Internet users: 205,000 (2005)