1. DEMOGRAPHY, Libya
Date Posted: 16-Feb-2006
Jane's Sentinel Security Assessment - North Africa
DEMOGRAPHY
Social Indicators TOP
Regional Distribution TOP
Overall population distribution between the three main geographical regions is about 60 per
cent (3.3 million) in Tripolitania (west coast), 30 per cent (1.5 million) in Cyrenaica (east
coast), and 10 per cent (600,000) in the desert interior. In coastal Cyrenaica and Tripolitania
the population density is more than 50 per km2; in the desert it is less than one person per
km2.
The most populous cities of Libya are Tripoli (with around 1.5 million inhabitants), Benghazi
(over 600,000), Homs (up to 200,000) and Misurata (150,000). Urban migration is of serious
concern to the Libyan authorities. The urbanised proportion of the population is now
estimated to be 84 per cent. It is hoped that projects such as the Great Man-Made River will
encourage a reversal of the trend.
District Population (2003 estimate) Density (population per km2)
Tarabulus (Tripoli) 1,500,000 570
Bangazi (Benghazi) 720,000 62
Az-Zawiyah 330,000 81
An-Nuqat al-Khams 270,000 52
Misratah (Misurata) 260,000 122
Al-Khums (Homs) 220,000 109
Al-Jabal al-Akhdar 180,000 26
Gharyan 170,000 2.2
Darnah 160,000 7.5
Surt (Sirte) 160,000 2.9
Zlitan 150,000 52
Al-Fatih 150,000 11
Ajdabiya 150,000 0.7
Al-Aziziyah 130,000 77
Tubruq (Tobruk) 140,000 1.5
Tarhunah 130,000 52
Yafran 110,000 10
Sabha (Sebha) 110,000 6.6
Ghadamis 80,000 1.1
Sawfajjin 70,000 1.3
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2. Awbari 70,000 0.8
Ash-Shati 70,000 0.7
Murzuq 60,000 0.2
Al-Kufrah 40,000 0.1
Al-Jufrah 30,000 0.3
Ethnic Groups TOP
The majority of Libyan people are of Berber-Arab descent. While there are very few Libyans
who could claim to be pure Arab, there are still distinct Berber groups southwest of Tripoli
near the Tunisian border, as well as other smaller minority groups, such as the nomadic
Tuareg people of the southwestern desert and a small number of Toubou, a nomadic group
that mainly lives in Chad, in the far south of Libya.
The population also includes large minorities of Tunisians, Egyptians and other Arabs,
including Palestinians, as well as some south Asians attracted by higher wages in Libya's oil
economy. Over recent decades a significant number of black Africans, mainly from Sudan,
Chad, Mali, Niger and Nigeria, have migrated to Libya for economic reasons. Foreign worker
presence peaked in the mid-1990s with an estimated one-third of the total population. This
coincided with an increase in domestic unemployment and led to the expulsion of hundreds
of thousands of workers from 1995. African workers were the target of anti-black riots in
September 2000 when as many as 500 were killed by angry mobs and several thousand
illegal workers were subsequently deported. Although tens of thousands of West Africans
continue to cross the Sahara to Libya annually, most now seek to use the Libyan coast as a
springboard for crossing the Mediterranean to Italy and other EU states. These cannot be
included within Libya's resident population.
Ethnic groups Per cent
Libyan Arab 75
Egyptian and other Arab 15
Black African 6
Berber 3
Tuareg and Toubou 1
Note
· All figures are 2003
estimates.
Ethnic Groups
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3. Language TOP
Arabic is the most commonly used language in all aspects of Libyan communication,
although Italian and English are understood by many of the better educated inhabitants of the
country's larger cities. Berber and Tamasheq (Tuareg) dialects are spoken in localised areas.
Religion TOP
The vast majority of the population is of the Sunni Muslim faith and follows the Maliki
school; consequently, there are few cleavages in society caused by religious friction. The
more mystical Sufi branch of Islam has also had an impact on Libya, especially the Sanusi
revivalist movement that helped the Cyrencia region of Libya resist Italian colonisation. The
Sanusi order was eventually crushed by the Italians and although King Idris, who ruled from
independence until he was deposed in 1969, was a Sanusi, the movement failed to launch a
widespread revival and was effectively banned by Ghadaffi. Although Islam has been
declared the state religion, other denominations are tolerated and the regime remains
completely intolerant of any form of politicised Islam, continuing to persecute those it
suspects of being part of the Islamist opposition.
Religion Per cent
Sunni Muslim 97
Other 3
Religion
UPDATED
2006 Jane's Information Group
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