Libya
- economy & notes
Libya's economy is overwhelmingly reliant upon the oil sector for its revenues:
oil makes up 95% of export earnings 95% of export earnings, 25% of GDP, and 60%
of public sector wages.
Since the end of Libya's international isolation and the lifting of sanctions in
2003/4, the government has begun economic reforms in an attempt to reintegrate
the country into the international economic system and attract much-needed
foreign direct investment, particularly in its energy sector. The growth of the
hydrocarbons industry has so far failed to trickle down to the mass of the
population,
in part because of Libya's creaking socialist economy. Privatisation is one of
the government's main priorities, but progress towards it has been slow and
intermittent.
However, some progress has been made in diversifying the economy. Non-oil
manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP,
have
expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production
of
iron, aluminium, steel, and petrochemicals. Climatic conditions and poor soils
severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports around 75% of its food.
Long-term progress will depend on the extent to which the eccentric Colonel
Gaddafi is willing to abandon his socialist ideology in the pursuit of economic
development. Reducing poverty and rampant unemployment will be key to any
sustainable growth.
Key financial figures
| GDP (purchasing power parity) |
$78.79 billion (2007 est.) |
| GDP (official exchange rate) |
$66.01 billion (2007 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate |
5.4% (2007 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) |
$13,100 (2007 est.) |
| Oil - production |
1.72 million bbl/day (2006 est.) |
| Oil - consumption |
266,000 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
| Oil - exports |
1.34 million bbl/day (2004) |
| Oil - imports |
1,233 bbl/day (2004) |
| Oil - proved reserves |
39.13 billion bbl (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Natural gas - production |
10.84 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption |
5.591 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports |
5.246 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports |
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves |
1.43 trillion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Current account balance |
$11.71 billion (2007 est.) |
| Exports |
$36.37 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.) |
| Exports - commodities |
Crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas, chemicals |
| Exports - partners |
Italy 38%, Germany 15.1%, Spain 9.3%, Turkey 6.2%, France 6.2%, US 5.2% (2005) |
| Imports |
$15.35 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.) |
| Imports - commodities |
Machinery, semi-finished goods, food, transport equipment, consumer products |
| Imports - partners |
Italy 21.2%, Germany 10.2%, Tunisia 5.9%, Turkey 4.8%, UK 4.8%, France 4.7%, South Korea 4.6%, China 4.5% (2005 |