The city and district of Misrata, Libya’s third-largest urban centre, is situated on the Mediterranean coast roughly 200km east of Tripoli and 800km west of Benghazi. As the single largest port of entry for goods arriving into the country, Misrata has long had a reputation for being the trade capital of Libya. It has historically been regarded as the country’s business capital, particularly in…
Libya’s banking sector was somewhat underdeveloped before the 2011 conflict, and its government-controlled banking system served primarily as a means to finance public projects with deposits. Due to the introduction of new players, innovative products and services and regulatory reforms, the banking sector in Libya and Misrata has undergone significant changes. The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) and…
Significant political and economic turmoil in Libya since 2011 has had a ripple effect across various sectors of the economy in Misrata. The development of the logistics sector has been hindered by challenges such as infrastructure shortfalls, security concerns and political instability, with the World Bank’s logistics performance index placing Libya at 139th globally in 2023. However, the…
The automotive industry plays a significant role in the local economy, contributing to employment, trade and economic growth. Between 2005 and 2011 annual sales of passenger vehicles in Libya ranged from 35,000 to 39,000 units. This fell significantly in 2012 but had recovered by 2015. Although the national automotive market has been slow to rebound from its decline to 11,000 vehicles sold in 2017,…
Misrata’s manufacturing segment has witnessed significant technological advancement and innovation. Automation and digitalisation have begun improving production processes, efficiency and productivity in some cases. Advanced machinery, such as computer numerical control machines and robotics, is being adopted to streamline operations and reduce costs. Digital technologies and data analytics are…
Since the discovery of oil in the early 1900s and the start of production in 1959, the economy has been centred around hydrocarbons. Libya is a founding member of the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries and a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). It has 48.4bn barrels of proven crude oil reserves – the most in Africa – and 1.5trn cu metres of proven…
Libya’s urban population has been rising rapidly, with urbanisation rates climbing from 49% in 1970 to 79% in 2016. As of 2019 around 85% of Libyans resided in the major cities of Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata and Bayda. With the population predicted to increase in the coming years, access to housing, food, clean drinking water and employment opportunities – as well as health care, education…
While Libya is a leading oil and gas producer in Africa, it has faced a power production deficit for several years, though the gap was beginning to narrow in the second half of 2022. In August 2022 the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) reported a shortage of 3200 MW in July, with production capacity ranging between 5100 and 5300 MW and demand at 8480 MW. In June 2022 GECOL linked…
While oil and gas will continue to play a significant role in the global energy mix over the next two decades, as the demand and consumption of fossil fuels move through and past their peak, many countries are taking action to increase efficiency, reduce costs and mitigate security concerns. Libya was projected to see its energy consumption rise by more than 250% in 2012-20. However, continued…
Among the countries in the so-called Southern Neighbourhood region – comprising Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia – Libya is the only one yet to conclude an association agreement with the EU. This is attributable to the security and stability concerns of recent years. Libya ranked 47th among the EU’s trade partners in 2020. However, as Libya’s…
