Located on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa and bordering Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Algeria and Tunisia, Libya has a rich history dating back to the Phoenician era. Various civilisations ruled over the regions of Tripolitania in the north-west, Cyrenaica in the east and Fezzan in the south-west, which make up modern Libya, including the Romans, the Ottomans and the Italians, before the country became independent in 1951.
Tripoli, Libya’s capital city, was founded by the Phoenicians in the 7th century BCE. It was later conquered by the Romans in 146 BCE and remained a province of the Roman Empire until about 450 CE. In the 7th century CE, Islamic conquests introduced North Africa to a series of Islamicate states.
The area comprising modern Libya came under Ottoman rule in the 16th century. Italy occupied Libya following the end of the Italo-Turkish War in 1912, and the area remained an Italian colony until the end of the Second World War. When the country gained independence in 1951, a monarchy was established under Mohammed Idris Al Senussi. The monarchy was short-lived, however, and was overthrown in 1969 by Muammar Gaddafi. Gaddafi’s four decades of rule, during which political opposition was outlawed, ended in 2011 when his regime was overthrown by a popular movement during the wave of regional uprisings known as the Arab Spring.
Though there has been an end to violent conflict, political stalemate continues and the government is currently divided between Tripoli and Tobruk. In the last couple of years the country has made substantial strides towards recovery in the private sector and the wider economy, although challenges remain.
Oil production and exports have historically been the cornerstone of the economy, accounting for 96% of export earnings and around two-thirds of GDP. The industry has, however, been impacted by recent instability, with production levels fluctuating and coming to a complete standstill at times. In 2020 oil production was at its lowest in decades due to the blockade of oil ports by the Libyan National Army (LNA). Coupled with the global decrease in demand for oil due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this resulted in a decline in GDP.
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