Libya Economy, Economy of Libya

The economy of Libya thrives on the incomes generated from the petroleum sector of the country. More socialist in nature, the economy of Libya accounts for half of the country’s GDP. In fact, the nation experienced encouraging growth rates in its economy since 2000, with 8.1% hike in the GDP in 2006.

Sectoral growth And Libya Economy:

Agriculture: The scarcity of skilled laborers is one of the difficulties faced by the agricultural sector in Libya, leading to substantial hampering of production. Merely 1% of the total land area located around the Barce plain lands and Al-Jifarah in Libya is actually cultivated. In fact, agricultural activities in Libya are highly dependent on irrigation. Cultivation accounts for 7% of the Libyan GDP. Food crops are mostly grown here, making Libyan agriculture the second-largest sector in the national economy.

Industries And Libya Economy: The industrial sector in Libya is dominated by the production of petroleum. In fact, oil has everything to do with the industrial activities in Libya, both in terms of financial investments, raw inputs and overall profits. During 1970s, the exploitation and marketing of petroleum in Libya by the foreign companies was taxed at 95% in the midst of 1980s. This indicates the nation accrues immense wealth from its oilfields. The total GDP contribution from the Libyan industries is around 47%.

As far as the manufacturing sectors in Libya are concerned, it showed signs of development between 1960s and 70s. However, the pace of its growth is far behind that of the oil sector, contributing approximately 20% to the country’s GDP.

Services: The Libyan service sector accounted for a contribution of 46% to the GDP in 1997.

International trade: The foreign trade in Libya is based mainly on the export of crude petroleum to the European countries. In fact, the export of unrefined oil and other petroleum products dominate the Libyan export market, accounting for almost 93% of all exports. The remaining revenue comes from the export of miscellaneous products like hydrocarbons, manufactured and natural gases and fertilizers.

As far as Libyan imports are concerned, commodities like consumer and semi-finished items, food products, machinery and transports tools are brought in from countries like Germany, United States, Britain, Italy, China, France, South Korea, Tunisia and Turkey.

For more information on Libya, please see the following links:

Facts about Libya

Libya Money