Libya
Edited by:
Massimo Martini
Access
Libya has no regular direct air connections with Italy at the time of writing, due to the prolonged political instability following the fall of the Gaddafi regime in 2011. Under normal conditions, Tripoli Mitiga International Airport (MJI) and Benghazi Benina Airport (BEN) are the main airports in the country; charter flights and connections via Mediterranean hubs such as Tunis, Cairo or Malta are the most accessible options for reaching the country. The historical maritime connection between Italy and Libya, which provided regular crossings between Genoa/Civitavecchia and Tripoli, is suspended; the sea route is via ferries connecting Tunisia and Malta with Libya, or by crossing the Mediterranean via intermediate hubs. By land, Libya borders Tunisia to the north-west, Algeria to the west, Niger and Chad to the south and Sudan to the south-east; the Tunisian border is the most accessible for those coming from Europe. Libya's road network includes the Coastal Road that runs along the entire Mediterranean coast from east to west, connecting Benghazi to Tripoli; the internal network towards the Fezzan regions is partly paved. There is no operational rail network in the country. Internal public transport is limited to the main urban centres.
.Introduction
Libya occupies the central belt of North Africa, facing the Mediterranean Sea with a coastline of some 1,770 km. The territory, the fourth largest in Africa with 1,759,540 km², is more than ninety per cent desert: the Sahara dominates the interior of the country, interrupted in the south-east by the Tibesti massif with its highest point, the Bikku Bitti (2,267m), and in the south-west by the Fezzan Hills. The coastal strip is divided into the three historical regions of Tripolitania in the north-west, Cyrenaica in the north-east and the Fezzan in the southern hinterland. The country borders Tunisia and Algeria to the west, Niger and Chad to the south, Sudan to the southeast and Egypt to the east. Libya has been going through a phase of profound political instability since 2011, with the fall of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi - in power from 1969 to 2011 - and the fragmentation of power between rival factions; the political situation remains unresolved as of 2025.
Description
The Libyan territory is morphologically dominated by plains: much of the interior is a flat desert plateau, with some significant depressions including Sabkhat Ghuzayyil (-47m), the lowest point in the country. Tripolitania, in the north-west, hosts the Gefara plain along the coast, bordered to the south by a rocky plateau. Cyrenaica, in the north-east, on the other hand, has a limestone plateau (Jabal al-Akhdar, "green mountain") that approaches the sea with steeper escarpments, and which owes its name to the Mediterranean vegetation still present on its northern slopes. Southern Fezzan is an area of oases, sandy ergs and rocky plateaus; the Tibesti massif, partly shared with Chad, is home to the country's highest point in Bikku Bitti (2,267m).
Libya's history is marked by a succession of dominations: Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans (the cities of Leptis Magna, Sabratha and Cyrene bear witness to the Roman presence), Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs (conquest in 642 A.D.), Ottomans from 1551 and finally Italians from 1911 to 1943. The Italian colonial period profoundly transformed the country's infrastructure and left traces in Tripoli's urban layout. Independence was proclaimed in 1951 under King Idris I. In 1959, the first oil fields were discovered, which radically transformed the country's economy. In 1969, Colonel Qaddafi overthrew the monarchy and established the Jamahiriya (State of the Masses), a regime that lasted until the 2011 civil war and NATO intervention.
The Libyan economy is almost exclusively dependent on hydrocarbons, with some of the largest oil reserves in Africa. The main deposits are in the Sirte Basin. Oil production has been severely affected by the post-2011 political instability, with significant fluctuations in production. Agriculture is limited to the coastal strip, where cereals, olives and citrus fruits are cultivated with irrigation systems. The oases of the Fezzan (Sebha, Ubari, Ghat) practice date palm cultivation (Phoenix dactylifera).
Lebanon's cultural heritage includes world-class sites: Leptis Magna, founded by the Phoenicians and developed by the Romans to become one of the most important urban centres of the Empire, the ruins of Sabratha with its Roman theatre and forum columns, and the Greek city of Cyrene with its sanctuary of Apollo. All three sites, together with the Sabha kufra and the Tadrart Acacus cave paintings (declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985), are inscribed on the World Heritage List. The old city of Ghadames, an oasis in north-western Fezzan, has also been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986.
Walking in Libya is mainly related to the Saharan landscapes of the Fezzan: the lakes of Ubari (Gaberoun, Mandara and others) between the dunes of Erg Ubari, the rock formations of the Akakus and the picturesque oases of the Fezzan have historically been one of the most popular destinations for international Saharan tourism. The political instability of recent years has made access to these areas difficult; conditions for organised hiking remain to be assessed in relation to the security situation.
There is no developed mountaineering tradition in Libya. The highest point, Bikku Bitti (2,267m), is located in the Tibesti massif in a logistically difficult area in the southeast. The sandstone rock formations of the Akakus in the Fezzan have been the subject of caving and small climbing explorations in the past, mainly related to the documentation of rock carvings.
There are no internationally significant trail running events in Libya; political instability and the limited tourism infrastructure have prevented the development of this area.
.Information
General Data
Capital: Tripoli
Area: 1,759,540 km²
Minimum elevation: -47m (Sabkhat Ghuzayyil)
Maximum elevation: 2,267m - Bikku Bitti [to be verified slug]
Number of inhabitants: 7,400.000 (estimated 2024)
Official name: دولة ليبيا (Dawlat Lībiyā)
Name of inhabitants: Libyans
Main administrative subdivisions: 22 districts [to be verified individual slug]
Bordering countries: Algeria - Ciad - Egypt - Niger - Sudan - Tunisia
Institutional website: https://www.gov.ly