Libya Environment - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

desertification; limited natural freshwater resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, brings water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities; water pollution is a significant problem; the combined impact of sewage, oil byproducts, and industrial waste threatens Libya's coast and the Mediterranean Sea

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Law of the Sea

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 44.17 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 50.56 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 45.76 megatons (2020 est.)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 700 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial: 280 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural: 4.85 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources

700 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

Climate

Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior

Land use

agricultural land: 8.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 7.6% (2018 est.)

forest: 0.1% (2018 est.)

other: 91.1% (2018 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

forest revenues: 0.06% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 81% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.45% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Food insecurity

severe localized food insecurity: due to civil insecurity, economic and political instability, and high food prices - an estimated 1.3 million people (23% of the population) are in need of humanitarian assistance of which 700,000 require food assistance; half of the people in need of humanitarian assistance are internally displaced or migrants that are residing in, or transiting through, the country (2021)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 2,147,596 tons (2011 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Libya on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Libya 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Libya 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.