Libya Environment - 2024

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

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.)

Urbanization

urban population: 81.6% of total population (2023)

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

Food insecurity

severe localized food insecurity:due to civil insecurity, economic and political instability, and high food prices - an estimated 800,000 people, 10% of the population, need humanitarian assistance, of which 500,000 require food assistance; the country relies heavily on imports (up to 90%) to cover its cereal consumption requirements (mostly wheat for human consumption and barley for feed); between 2016 and 2020, the country sourced over 30% of its wheat imports from Ukraine, and 20% from the Russian Federation; almost 65% of total maize imports of 650,000 mt, and 50% of total barley imports of 1 million mt originated from Ukraine, making the Libya vulnerable to disruptions in shipments from the Black Sea region (2022)

Revenue from forest resources

0.06% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 29.84 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 50.56 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 45.76 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

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

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Lake Chad (2,497,738 sq km)

Major aquifers

Nubian Aquifer System, North Western Sahara Aquifer System, Murzuk-Djado Basin

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 700 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 280 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 4.85 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

700 million cubic meters (2020 est.)