Country Snapshot

Population (2019, millions)¹ 6.7
Population Projections (2030, millions)¹ 7.6
Economically active population in agriculture (as % of Economically active population)¹², 2019 2.1
Capital Tripoli
Surface Area (km²)² 1,759,540
Weather¹¹ In Tripoli: Hottest month, August, 22-30°C (average daily minimum and maximum); coldest month, January, 8-16°C; driest month, July, 1 mm average rainfall; wettest month, December, 94 mm average rainfall
Languages³ Official: Arabic – Others: Italian, English and Berber (Nafusi, Ghadamis, Suknah, Awjilah and Tamasheq)
Main Religions³ Main: Sunni Muslim – Others: Christian and others
Time⁴ Eastern European Time (EET) +0200 UTC
Driving Orientation⁵ Right Side
Internet Country Code⁶ .ly
Country Calling Code +218
Plug, Socket and Voltage⁷ Type C, D, F and L – 127V, 230V/50Hz
Currency Dinar (LYD) – 1/1000 = Dirham
Exchange Rate (As of 29 January 30, 2019, per USD)⁸ 1.38 (buy rate)
GDP at Market Prices (2018, current, billions of USD)⁹ 48.31
GDP Growth (2017, annual %)⁹ 7.84
Average GDP Growth (2014-2018, annual %)⁹ (0.22)
GDP per Capita, PPP (2018, current international $)⁹ 20,706
Inflation, Consumer Prices (2013, annual %)⁹ 2.6
Average Inflation, Consumer Prices (2010-2013, annual %)⁹ 6.74
Total Reserves in Months of Imports (2016)⁹ 69.98

Sources:
¹United Nations Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
²COMESA Statistics, COMESTAT Data Hub.
³CIA World Factbook.
⁴Time and Date Portal.
⁵Chartsbin Portal, “Worldwide Driving Orientation by Country”.
⁶Wikipedia, “List of Internet top-level domains”; and, Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, Root Zone Database.
⁷International Electrotechnical Commission, World Plugs.
⁸ Central Bank of Libya.
⁹World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.
¹¹Economist Intelligence Unit.
¹²AFDB Socio Economic Database.

Reasons to Invest in Libya

Source: Libya Privatization and Investment Board Online Portal.

Population

Population Projections (millions)

Population (2019) 6.7
Population Projections (2030) 7.4

Source: United Nations Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Population Residing in Urban Areas (%)

Population Projections (2019) 80.93
Percentage of Population Residing in Urban Areas (2030) 83.63

Source: United Nations Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Youth Literacy Rates (2015, %)

Youth Literacy Rate, Population 15-24 Years, Both Sexes 99.95
Youth Literacy Rate, Population 15-24 Years, Female 99.93
Youth Literacy Rate, Population 15-24 Years, Male 99.96

Source: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO Institute of Statistics.

Labour

Unemployment (2018, % of Total Labour Force, Modeled ILO Estimate)

Unemployment, Total 17.28
Unemployment, Female 24.6
Unemployment, Male 14.91

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.

Labour Force (2017, % of Ages 15+, Modeled ILO Estimate)

Labour Force Participation Rate, Total 52.37
Labour Force Participation Rate, Female 25.7
Labour Force Participation Rate, Male 78.96
Labour Force, Total (number) 2,507,512

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.

Economy Overview

GDP

2014 2015 2016 2017 2017
GDP at Market Prices (current, billions of USD) 41.14 27.84 26.22 38.11 48.31
GDP Growth (annual %) -24.0 -8.86 -2.79 26.67 7.84

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.

Value Added by Sector (% of GDP)

Indicator 2018 2019
Agriculture 1.14 1.18
Manufacturing 5.10 5.20
Industry 90.38 89.28
Services 27.48 28.54
Construction 4.65 4.63
Electricity, gas and water 1.44 1.47
Mining and quarrying 79.20 77.98
Education 0.85 0.86
Finance, real estate and business services 6.14 6.30
Public administration and Defense 14.88 15.57
Health and Social Work 0.70 0.72
Other services 4.20 4.33
Transport, storage and communication 1.50 1.55
Wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants 4.62 4.76

Source: AFDB Socio Economic Database.

Trade Profile

Import Partners (Imported Value, thousands, USD)

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
World 18,090,932 12,632,252 10,184,449 9,904,774 6,637,676
Italy 3,223,510 1,814,213 1,309,221 1,353,776 1,569,355
Egypt 1,159,901 629,203 613,585 454,459 659,623
Greece 324,580 182,193 403,699 331,658 554,961
Tunisia 0 594,049 486,814 432,986 548,606
Germany 805,463 439,050 356,233 370,728 436,171

Source: International Trade Center COMTRADE Statistics.

Export Partners (Exported Value, thousands, USD)

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
World 18,090,932 12,632,252 10,184,449 9,904,774 6,637,676
Italy 3,223,510 1,814,213 1,309,221 1,353,776 1,569,355
Egypt 1,159,901 629,203 613,585 454,459 659,623
Greece 324,580 182,193 403,699 331,658 554,961
Tunisia 0 594,049 486,814 432,986 548,606
Germany 805,463 439,050 356,233 370,728 436,171

Source: International Trade Center COMTRADE Statistics.

Libya’s Top Import Products (USD ‘000)

Chapter Description 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
All products 18,090,932 12,632,252 10,184,449 9,904,774 6,637,676
27 Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes 2,591,267 1,135,116 1,187,852 1,728,745 1,388,742
10 Cereals 844,063 657,678 436,312 603,404 650,404
84 Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof 1,802,498 828,701 678,762 696,435 391,985
85 Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles 1,723,550 1,132,560 982,981 640,070 356,761
30 Pharmaceutical products 383,510 313,471 341,084 372,963 339,466

Source: COMSTAT database

Libya’s Top Export Products (USD ‘000)

Chapter Description 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
All products 8,949,056 9,195,061 8,149,801 17,437,278 13,405,523
27 Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes 8,337,465 8,223,521 5,164,049 15,421,524 13,175,710
72 Iron and steel 114,113 85,562 86,393 140,148 80,315
99 Other products 20,712 503,981 0 14,534 21,315
74 Copper and articles thereof 51,367 37,396 54,183 76,598 20,137
31 Fertilizers 47,511 90,150 53,121 40,879 19,031

Source: COMSTAT database

Investment Profile

FDI outflows (millions of USD)

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
FDI Outflows 440.0 110.0 275.5 345.1 204.7

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2021

FDI Inward Stock (millions of USD)

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
FDI Inward Stock 18,461.9 18,461.9 18,461.9 18,461.9 18,461.9

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2021

FDI Outward Stock (millions of USD)

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
FDI Outward Stock 20,172.7 20,282.7 20,597.6 20,942.7 21,147.4

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2021

FDI Inflows Main Source Countries (in terms of number of projects)

United Kingdom, Tunisia, Italy, United Arab Emirates, United States, Egypt, Russia, Norway, Singapore, and France.

Source: Financial Times, fDi Markets, 2018

FDI Inflows Main Sectors (in terms of number of projects)

Coal, Oil and Natural Gas, Business Services, Financial Services, Real Estate, Hotels and Tourism, Metals, Transportation, Industrial Machinery, Equipment and Tools, Building and Construction Materials, and Chemicals.

Source: Financial Times, fDi Markets, 2018

FDI Inflows Main Companies (in terms of number of projects)

Hotel Properties, Woodside Petroleum (Woodside Energy), Hyflux, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company, Red Sea Housing Services, Shell Exploration and Production Libya, Tenaris, and Tunisie Profiles Aluminium (TPR).

Source: Financial Times, fDi Markets, 2018

Doing Business

Overall Doing Business Ranking

2020 186/190
2019 186/190

Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020

Starting a Business

2020 Rank 164/190
Procedures (number) 10
Time (days) 35
Cost (% of income per capita*) 24.6
Paid-in Minimum Capital (% of income per capita*) 30.0

*GNI per capita used: USD 6,330
Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020

Paying Taxes

Paying Taxes

2020 Rank 130/190
Payments (number per year) 19
Time (hours per year) 889
Total Tax Rate (% of profit) 32.6
Profit Tax (% of profit) 22.1
Labor Tax and Contributions (% of profit) 10.3
Other Taxes (% of profit) 0.2

Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020

Trading Across Borders

2020 Rank 129/190
Time to Export: Border Compliance (hours) 72
Cost to Export: Border Compliance (USD) 575
Time to Export: Documentary Compliance (hours) 72
Cost to Export: Documentary Compliance (USD) 50
Time to Import: Border Compliance (hours) 79
Cost to Import: Border Compliance (USD) 637
Time to Import: Documentary Compliance (hours) 96
Cost to Import: Documentary Compliance (USD) 60

Assumptions

Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020

Investment Regime

Legal Framework

Investment Code – Law N. 9 of 2010 (Promotion of Investment)

Investment Incentives

Source: Libya’s Privatization and Investment Board / Cooperation Department.

Country Snapshot

Population (2019, millions)¹ 6.7
Population Projections (2030, millions)¹ 7.6
Economically active population in agriculture (as % of Economically active population)¹², 2019 2.1
Capital Tripoli
Surface Area (km²)² 1,759,540
Weather¹¹ In Tripoli: Hottest month, August, 22-30°C (average daily minimum and maximum); coldest month, January, 8-16°C; driest month, July, 1 mm average rainfall; wettest month, December, 94 mm average rainfall
Languages³ Official: Arabic – Others: Italian, English and Berber (Nafusi, Ghadamis, Suknah, Awjilah and Tamasheq)
Main Religions³ Main: Sunni Muslim – Others: Christian and others
Time⁴ Eastern European Time (EET) +0200 UTC
Driving Orientation⁵ Right Side
Internet Country Code⁶ .ly
Country Calling Code +218
Plug, Socket and Voltage⁷ Type C, D, F and L – 127V, 230V/50Hz
Currency Dinar (LYD) – 1/1000 = Dirham
Exchange Rate (As of 29 January 30, 2019, per USD)⁸ 1.38 (buy rate)
GDP at Market Prices (2018, current, billions of USD)⁹ 48.31
GDP Growth (2017, annual %)⁹ 7.84
Average GDP Growth (2014-2018, annual %)⁹ (0.22)
GDP per Capita, PPP (2018, current international $)⁹ 20,706
Inflation, Consumer Prices (2013, annual %)⁹ 2.6
Average Inflation, Consumer Prices (2010-2013, annual %)⁹ 6.74
Total Reserves in Months of Imports (2016)⁹ 69.98

Sources:
¹United Nations Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
²COMESA Statistics, COMESTAT Data Hub.
³CIA World Factbook.
⁴Time and Date Portal.
⁵Chartsbin Portal, “Worldwide Driving Orientation by Country”.
⁶Wikipedia, “List of Internet top-level domains”; and, Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, Root Zone Database.
⁷International Electrotechnical Commission, World Plugs.
⁸ Central Bank of Libya.
⁹World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.
¹¹Economist Intelligence Unit.
¹²AFDB Socio Economic Database.

Reasons to Invest in Libya

Source: Libya Privatization and Investment Board Online Portal.

Population

Population Projections (millions)

Population (2019) 6.7
Population Projections (2030) 7.4

Source: United Nations Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Population Residing in Urban Areas (%)

Population Projections (2019) 80.93
Percentage of Population Residing in Urban Areas (2030) 83.63

Source: United Nations Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Youth Literacy Rates (2015, %)

Youth Literacy Rate, Population 15-24 Years, Both Sexes 99.95
Youth Literacy Rate, Population 15-24 Years, Female 99.93
Youth Literacy Rate, Population 15-24 Years, Male 99.96

Source: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO Institute of Statistics.

Labour

Unemployment (2018, % of Total Labour Force, Modeled ILO Estimate)

Unemployment, Total 17.28
Unemployment, Female 24.6
Unemployment, Male 14.91

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.

Labour Force (2017, % of Ages 15+, Modeled ILO Estimate)

Labour Force Participation Rate, Total 52.37
Labour Force Participation Rate, Female 25.7
Labour Force Participation Rate, Male 78.96
Labour Force, Total (number) 2,507,512

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.

Economy Overview

GDP

2014 2015 2016 2017 2017
GDP at Market Prices (current, billions of USD) 41.14 27.84 26.22 38.11 48.31
GDP Growth (annual %) -24.0 -8.86 -2.79 26.67 7.84

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.

Value Added by Sector (% of GDP)

Indicator 2018 2019
Agriculture 1.14 1.18
Manufacturing 5.10 5.20
Industry 90.38 89.28
Services 27.48 28.54
Construction 4.65 4.63
Electricity, gas and water 1.44 1.47
Mining and quarrying 79.20 77.98
Education 0.85 0.86
Finance, real estate and business services 6.14 6.30
Public administration and Defense 14.88 15.57
Health and Social Work 0.70 0.72
Other services 4.20 4.33
Transport, storage and communication 1.50 1.55
Wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants 4.62 4.76

Source: AFDB Socio Economic Database.

Trade Profile

Import Partners (Imported Value, thousands, USD)

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
World 18,090,932 12,632,252 10,184,449 9,904,774 6,637,676
Italy 3,223,510 1,814,213 1,309,221 1,353,776 1,569,355
Egypt 1,159,901 629,203 613,585 454,459 659,623
Greece 324,580 182,193 403,699 331,658 554,961
Tunisia 0 594,049 486,814 432,986 548,606
Germany 805,463 439,050 356,233 370,728 436,171

Source: International Trade Center COMTRADE Statistics.

Export Partners (Exported Value, thousands, USD)

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
World 18,090,932 12,632,252 10,184,449 9,904,774 6,637,676
Italy 3,223,510 1,814,213 1,309,221 1,353,776 1,569,355
Egypt 1,159,901 629,203 613,585 454,459 659,623
Greece 324,580 182,193 403,699 331,658 554,961
Tunisia 0 594,049 486,814 432,986 548,606
Germany 805,463 439,050 356,233 370,728 436,171

Source: International Trade Center COMTRADE Statistics.

Libya’s Top Import Products (USD ‘000)

Chapter Description 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
All products 18,090,932 12,632,252 10,184,449 9,904,774 6,637,676
27 Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes 2,591,267 1,135,116 1,187,852 1,728,745 1,388,742
10 Cereals 844,063 657,678 436,312 603,404 650,404
84 Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof 1,802,498 828,701 678,762 696,435 391,985
85 Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles 1,723,550 1,132,560 982,981 640,070 356,761
30 Pharmaceutical products 383,510 313,471 341,084 372,963 339,466

Source: COMSTAT database

Libya’s Top Export Products (USD ‘000)

Chapter Description 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
All products 8,949,056 9,195,061 8,149,801 17,437,278 13,405,523
27 Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes 8,337,465 8,223,521 5,164,049 15,421,524 13,175,710
72 Iron and steel 114,113 85,562 86,393 140,148 80,315
99 Other products 20,712 503,981 0 14,534 21,315
74 Copper and articles thereof 51,367 37,396 54,183 76,598 20,137
31 Fertilizers 47,511 90,150 53,121 40,879 19,031

Source: COMSTAT database

Investment Profile

FDI outflows (millions of USD)

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
FDI Outflows 440.0 110.0 275.5 345.1 204.7

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2021

FDI Inward Stock (millions of USD)

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
FDI Inward Stock 18,461.9 18,461.9 18,461.9 18,461.9 18,461.9

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2021

FDI Outward Stock (millions of USD)

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
FDI Outward Stock 20,172.7 20,282.7 20,597.6 20,942.7 21,147.4

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2021

FDI Inflows Main Source Countries (in terms of number of projects)

United Kingdom, Tunisia, Italy, United Arab Emirates, United States, Egypt, Russia, Norway, Singapore, and France.

Source: Financial Times, fDi Markets, 2018

FDI Inflows Main Sectors (in terms of number of projects)

Coal, Oil and Natural Gas, Business Services, Financial Services, Real Estate, Hotels and Tourism, Metals, Transportation, Industrial Machinery, Equipment and Tools, Building and Construction Materials, and Chemicals.

Source: Financial Times, fDi Markets, 2018

FDI Inflows Main Companies (in terms of number of projects)

Hotel Properties, Woodside Petroleum (Woodside Energy), Hyflux, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company, Red Sea Housing Services, Shell Exploration and Production Libya, Tenaris, and Tunisie Profiles Aluminium (TPR).

Source: Financial Times, fDi Markets, 2018

Doing Business

Overall Doing Business Ranking

2020 186/190
2019 186/190

Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020

Starting a Business

2020 Rank 164/190
Procedures (number) 10
Time (days) 35
Cost (% of income per capita*) 24.6
Paid-in Minimum Capital (% of income per capita*) 30.0

*GNI per capita used: USD 6,330
Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020

Paying Taxes

Paying Taxes

2020 Rank 130/190
Payments (number per year) 19
Time (hours per year) 889
Total Tax Rate (% of profit) 32.6
Profit Tax (% of profit) 22.1
Labor Tax and Contributions (% of profit) 10.3
Other Taxes (% of profit) 0.2

Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020

Trading Across Borders

2020 Rank 129/190
Time to Export: Border Compliance (hours) 72
Cost to Export: Border Compliance (USD) 575
Time to Export: Documentary Compliance (hours) 72
Cost to Export: Documentary Compliance (USD) 50
Time to Import: Border Compliance (hours) 79
Cost to Import: Border Compliance (USD) 637
Time to Import: Documentary Compliance (hours) 96
Cost to Import: Documentary Compliance (USD) 60

Assumptions

Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020

Investment Regime

Legal Framework

Investment Code – Law N. 9 of 2010 (Promotion of Investment)

Investment Incentives

Source: Libya’s Privatization and Investment Board / Cooperation Department.