Libya, officially called the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is a country in North Africa. The countries that border Libya are Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west. Mediterranean sea borders it from North. Libya is 17th largest country in the world in terms of land area and 4th largest in Africa. The capital of Libya is Tripoli where most of the population is concentrated. The three traditional parts of the country are Tripolitania, the Fezzan and Cyrenaica. Libya has one of the highest Gross Domestic Products in Africa, largely because of its huge petroleum reserves. At present the country is led by Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi.

The history of Libya is covered under five distinct periods: Ancient period, the Islamic period, Ottoman rule, Italian rule, and the modern era. Ancient people came to Libya during 8th millennium BC. These people were Neolithic trained in growing crops and keeping animals. Further Libya was occupied by many other descents like Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals and Byzantines. Although the Greeks and Romans left ruins at Cyrene, Leptis Magna and Sabratha, little other evidence remains of these ancient cultures. Phoenicians were the first people to introduce trade and business to Libya. Further many other business developments took place in Libya in ancient times.

Arab people came to Libya during 643 AD, however, Islam was not imposed onto Libya until 11th century. Libya was under control of Ottomans Empire until the early 20th century. In 1911, war between Italy and Turkey broke and Italy occupied Libya. Later Libya was made part of national territory of Italy by Benito Mussolini in 1939. Libya was the place for intense fighting during World War II (1939 - 1945). German and Italian forces thrown out by allies in 1943, and Britain and France shared the control over Libya. By the peace treaty of 1947, Libya rejected all claims to the territory. In 1949, United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution calling for the granting of Independence to Libya by January 1, 1952. Libya declared independence on December 24, 1951. Libya was the first South African nation to gain independence through United Nations.

The modern day government system in Libya is Jamahiriya (“state of the masses”) by the General People’s Congress (GPC) founded in 1976, which is a national legislature. Libya has adopted its constitution in 1977; the legislature is government as suggested by constitution. The principle at the back political arrangement is the Third Universal Theory, expounded by Muammar al-Qaddafi in his three-volume tract, The Green Book. Muammar al-Qaddafi came into power in 1969 as an outcome of a military coup and recognized as head of the state. In practice he holds ultimate power. Local government i.e. Basic People’s Congresses elects representatives to General People’s Congress. Organizations like Popular Committees are also significant rudiments of the political scene. The administration of Libya is distributed over 26 municipalities and 1500 communes. The Judicial system in Libya comprises of a supreme court, courts of appeal, courts of first instance, and summary courts.

Berber and Arab people constitutes to about 97 percent of Libyan population. Remaining 3%population is of people of other nationalities who came here for work. More than 87 percent people living in Libya are confined on the coast in urban areas. A small number of Libyans still live in nomadic or semi nomadic groups in the plains and desert. Islam is the state religion and Arabic is the official language. English and Italian are widely used in business settings and trade, though government discourages use of foreign languages.

Most of the Libyan geography is covered with the Sahara desert. Much of the country’s land consists of barren, rock-strewn plains and sand sea. In the northeast and northwest two small hills rises, the Tibesti massif rises near the southern border. Libya has no permanent rivers. There are three natural regions of Libya; the largest is Cyrenaica to the east of the Gulf of Sidra. Agricultural region of Tripolitania lies to the west of the Gulf of Sidra. Basin of Fezan is in the southwestern part of Libya.

Libya offers arid, and desert climate throughout the year. There are zones along the coast, where Mediterranean climate prevails; summers are hot and dry, winters are wet and cold. Average daily temperature in Tripoli ranges from 8 degree Celsius to 16 degree Celsius in January and 22 degree Celsius to 29 degree Celsius in July. Tripoli records 15 inches of average annual rainfall. The Cyrenaican coastal city of Banghāzī experiences temperature very much like Tripoli, but average annual rainfall is 11 inches. The Plateau and hilly areas are a bit more humid. Northern highlands are much hotter and average annual rainfall is less, around 6 inches. The highest temperature ever recorded on Earth occurred at Al ‘Azīzīyah, southwest of Tripoli, where the temperature peaked at 58°C (136°F) in 1922.

Petroleum is the main under earth resource of Libya. Besides, Natural gas, gypsum, limestone, marine salt, potash, and natron (sodium carbonate) are also found in abundance. Vegetation in Libya is not up to the mark. Date palms and olive and orange trees nurture in scattered oases in the desert, and junipers and mastic trees are found in the higher elevations. Wildlife in Libya includes desert rodents, hyenas, gazelles, and wildcats, Eagles, hawks, and vultures etc.

The economy of Libya largely depends upon petroleum, which constitutes to approximately 25% of GDP. The construction and manufacturing sector accounts for 20% of GDP. Libya imports approximately 75% of its food. Tourism is on the rise in Libya. At present 130,000 people visit the country annually; the Libyan government hopes to increase this figure to an ambitious 1,000,000 by 2015.