The most interesting facts about Libya, from an ancient crossroads of civilisations to bizarre natural phenomena in the Sahara Desert.
Fast facts
Official name: State of Libya
Capital city: Tripoli
Population: 6,890,535
Area: 1,759,540 sq km
Major languages: Arabic, Italian, English, French
Time zone: UTC+2 (Eastern European Time)
Interesting facts about Libya
1. Libya, located in North Africa, is the continent’s fourth-largest and the world’s 17th-largest country by area.
2. Libya has been inhabited for thousands of years. The UNESCO-listed Rock-Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus has a collection of thousands of cave paintings dating from 12,000 BC to 100 AD.
3. Libya was originally inhabited by the Berber people, also known as Amazigh. Berbers are considered the indigenous inhabitants of North Africa and have occupied the region since at least 2000 BC.
4. Libya has an ancient history: in the 7th century BC, Phoenicians settled in Tripolitania; in the 6th century BC, Carthage conquered Tripolitania; in the 4th century BC, Greeks colonized Cyrenaica and named it Libya; and in 74 BC, the Romans conquered Libya.
5. The UNESCO-listed Archaeological Site of Cyrene was one of the main cities of the Greek empire. It was founded around 631 BC and was later incorporated into the Roman Empire until an earthquake struck in 365 AD.
6. Libya was also part of the Ottoman Empire from the 16th century until Italy seized control around 1911-12.
7. The name Libya stems from an ancient tribe called the Libu, first mentioned in texts from the 13th century BC.
8. During World War II, the Allied forces ousted Italy. France and Britain administered the country until 1951 when Libya became independent under King Idris I.
9. Libya has Africa’s largest proven oil reserves, with 48 billion barrels in 2021. It ranks in the world’s top 10 countries for proven oil reserves.
10. Following independence, Libya was divided into three regions—Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fezza—which are represented in Libya’s flag, which has three horizontal stripes of red, black, and green. The flag also features a star and crescent, which are symbolic of Islam, as is green.
11. King Idris I was deposed by Colonel Gaddafi in 1969, who ruled until he was killed in 2011.
12. Gaddafi was toppled in 2011 following an armed rebellion assisted by Western military intervention. The rebellion led to a civil war which then led to Gaddafi’s death following his capture by rebel forces.
13. From 1977 to 2011, Libya was renamed the Libyan Arab Republic to the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriyah by Gaddafi.
14. At that time, the country had a plain green flag, the only national flag to have a single plain color. After Gaddafi’s overthrow, the flag reverted, and the red also came to represent the blood that was shed for freedom.
15. Tripoli, Libya’s capital, was originally founded by the Phoenicians in the 7th century BC. The city changed rulers many times, and by the 3rd century AD, it was known as Regio Tripolitana by the Romans, meaning “region of the three cities,” which derives from the Greek words “tria” and “polis”, meaning “three cities”
16. One of these cities was the UNESCO-listed Leptis Magna, widely accepted as one of the most beautiful cities of the Roman Empire.
17. Around 28% of adult men in Libya are affected by obesity, while the rate among women is nearly double.
18. Over 90% of Libya is desert or semi-desert.
19. Libya is part home to the Sahara Desert, the world’s largest hot desert (excludes Arctic and Antarctic deserts). The part of the Sahara in Libya is known as the Libyan Desert.
20. Hidden in the Sahara is the Ubari Sand Sea, a deep red lake fed by springs from an underground aquifer created by ancient rains. The lake gets its color from algae adapted to survive in its hypersaline water.
21. Deep in the Libyan Sahara Desert is the Waw an Namus volcanic crater. The crater is the remnants of an ancient volcano that carried black ash 12 miles across the set and is in stark contrast to the surrounding sand.
22. According to the UK Foreign Office, Libya is one of 17 countries deemed to be entirely unsafe for tourists to visit.
23. Libya is also among the 10 most dangerous countries in the world, according to the International SOS Travel Risk Map. It has been assessed as carrying an ‘extreme travel security risk’.
24. Libya has Africa’s highest CO2 emissions when measured by metric tons per capita. It has the world’s 27th highest.
25. Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was convicted of the worst terrorist attack in UK history. In 1988, 270 people died when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. In 2001, Megrahi was found guilty of murder after a historic trial under Scottish law in the Netherlands.
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Caitriona Maria is an education writer and owner of The Facts Institute. A teacher for seven years, she has been committed to providing students with the best learning opportunities possible, both domestically and abroad. Dedicated to unlocking students' potential, Caitriona has taught English in several countries and continues to explore new cultures through her travels.