Economy - overview:
The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. Higher oil prices in the last three years led to an increase in export revenues, which has improved macroeconomic balances but has done little to stimulate broad-based economic growth. Libya is making slow progress toward economic liberalization and the upgrading of economic infrastructure, but truly market-based reforms will be slow in coming.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $41 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
1.2% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 9%
industry: 45%
services: 46% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1% (2001 est.)
Labor force:
1.5 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
services 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate:
30% (2001)
Budget:
revenues: $13.7 billion
expenditures: $8.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)
Industries:
petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement
Industrial production growth rate:
NA%
Electricity - production:
20.18 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
18.77 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
1.429 million bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
216,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
29.75 billion bbl (January 2002 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
1.321 trillion cu m (January 2002 est.)
Agriculture - products:
wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle
Exports:
$11.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
crude oil, refined petroleum products (1999)
Exports - partners:
Italy 39.6%, Germany 15.5%, Spain 14%, Turkey 6.3%, France, Switzerland, Tunisia (2001)
Imports:
$6.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods (1999)
Imports - partners:
Italy 28.5%, Germany 12.1%, UK 6.6%, Tunisia 6.0%, France, South Korea (2001)
Debt - external:
$4.4 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$15 million (2000)
Currency:
Libyan dinar (LYD)
Currency code:
LYD
Exchange rates:
Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.2 (2003), 0.5968 (2002), 0.5096 (2001), 0.4994 (2000), 0.3936 (1999)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
NOTE: The information regarding Libya on this page is re-published from the 2003 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Guinea Geography 2003 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Libya Economy 2003 should be addressed to the CIA.
