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A view of the Benghazi port, 2013

Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad to the south, Niger to the southwest, Algeria to the west, and Tunisia to the northwest. With an area of almost 1.8 million km² (700,000 sq mi), Libya is the fourth-largest country in Africa and the Arab world, and the 16th-largest in the world. The country claims 32,000 square kilometres of southeastern Algeria, south of the Libyan town of Ghat. The capital and largest city is Tripoli, located in the northwest and containing over a million of Libya's seven million people.

Libya has been inhabited by Berbers since the late Bronze Age as descendants from Iberomaurusian and Capsian cultures. In classical antiquity, the Phoenicians established city-states and trading posts in western Libya, while several Greek cities were established in the East. Parts of Libya were variously ruled by Carthaginians, Numidians, Persians, and Greeks before the entire region became a part of the Roman Empire. Libya was an early centre of Christianity. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the area of Libya was mostly occupied by the Vandals until the 7th century when invasions brought Islam to the region. From then on, centuries of Arab migration to the Maghreb shifted the demographic scope of Libya in favour of Arabs. In the 16th century, the Spanish Empire and the Knights Hospitaller occupied Tripoli until Ottoman rule began in 1551. Libya was involved in the Barbary Wars of the 18th and 19th centuries. Ottoman rule continued until the Italo-Turkish War in 1911, which resulted in Italy occupying Libya and establishing two colonies: Italian Tripolitania and Italian Cyrenaica, later unified in the Italian Libya colony from 1934 to 1943.

During World War II, Libya was an area of warfare in the North African Campaign. The Italian population then went into decline and Libya became independent as a kingdom in 1951. A bloodless military coup in 1969, initiated by a coalition led by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, overthrew King Idris I and created a republic. Gaddafi was often described by critics as a dictator, and was one of the world's longest serving non-royal leaders. He ruled for 42 years until being overthrown and killed in the 2011 civil war, which was part of the wider Arab Spring, with authority transferred to the National Transitional Council then to the elected General National Congress.

Since 2011, Libya has been involved in a political and humanitarian crisis, and by 2014, two rival authorities claimed to govern Libya, which led to a second civil war, with parts of Libya split between separate governments, based in Tripoli and Tobruk, as well as various tribal and Islamist militias. The two main warring sides signed a permanent ceasefire in 2020, and a unity government took authority to plan for democratic elections, though political rivalries continue to delay this. In March 2022, the House of Representatives ceased recognising the Government of National Unity and proclaimed an alternative government, the Government of National Stability (GNS). Both governments have been functioning simultaneously since then, which has led to dual power in Libya. The international community continues to recognise the unity government as the legitimate government of the country.

Libya is a developing country ranking 115th by HDI, and has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves in the world. Libya has the highest level of greenhouse gas emissions per person in Africa, but has made little progress toward developing climate commitments. Libya is a member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union, the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and OPEC. The country's official religion is Islam, with 96.6% of the Libyan population being Sunni Muslims. The official language of Libya is Arabic, with vernacular Libyan Arabic being spoken most widely. The majority of Libya's population is Arab.

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Libyan Air Force emblem

The Libyan Air Force (Arabic: القوات الجوية الليبية) is the branch of the Libyan Armed Forces responsible for aerial warfare. In 2010, before the Libyan Civil War, the Libyan Air Force personnel strength was estimated at 18,000, with an inventory of 374 combat-capable aircraft operating from 13 military airbases in Libya. Since the 2011 civil war and the ongoing conflict, multiple factions fighting in Libya are in possession of military aircraft. As of 2026 the Libyan Air Force is nominally under the control of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord in Tripoli, though the rival Libyan National Army of Marshal Khalifa Haftar also has a significant air force. In 2021, the air force is under command of the new President of Libya, Mohamed al-Menfi that replaced Fayez al-Sarraj.

The air force was established as the Royal Libyan Air Force (Al Quwwat al Jawwiya al Malakiya al Libiyya) in September 1962 by a decision of the minister of defense Abd al-Nabi Yunis. Lt. Col. al-Hadi Salem al-Husomi was assigned to lead the new force. It was originally equipped with a small number of transports and trainers: Douglas C-47s and Lockheed T-33s. However, F-5 Freedom Fighters were delivered from 1969. In 1970 it changed its name to the Libyan Arab Republic Air Force. After US forces left Libya in 1970, Wheelus Air Base, a former US facility about 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from Tripoli, became a LARAF installation and was renamed Okba Ben Nafi Air Base. The base housed the LARAF's headquarters and a large share of its major training facilities. Starting in 1970, a significant expansion of the air force took place, with a large number of French and later Soviet combat aircraft being purchased. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Libya-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Libya map of Köppen climate classification (from Libya)
Image 2Territorial growth of Italian Libya: Territory ceded by Ottoman Empire 1912 (dark-green) but effectively Italy controlled only five ports (black), territories ceded by France and Britain 1919 and 1926 (light-green), territories ceded by France and Britain 1934/35 (red) (from History of Libya)
Image 3An effigy of Muammar Gaddafi hangs from a scaffold in Tripoli's Martyrs' Square, 29 August 2011 (from History of Libya)
Image 4The siege of Tripoli in 1551 allowed the Ottomans to capture the city from the Knights of St. John. (from Libya)
Image 5Prehistoric Libyan rock paintings in Tadrart Acacus reveal a Sahara once lush in vegetation and wildlife. (from History of Libya)
Image 6Areas of control in the Civil War, updated 11 June 2020:
Tobruk-led Government
Government of National Accord
Petroleum Facilities Guard
Tuareg tribes
Local forces (from Libya)
Image 7Demonstrations in Bayda, on 22 July 2011 (from History of Libya)
Image 8Gaddafi was the leader of Libya until 2011 Civil War. (from Libya)
Image 9USS Enterprise of the Mediterranean Squadron capturing Tripolitan Corsair during the First Barbary War, 1801 (from History of Libya)
Image 10Libyan soldier of the Achaemenid army, c. 480 BCE. Xerxes I tomb relief. (from History of Libya)
Image 11Royal Palace of Tripoli; built during the Italian rule for the colonial governors, it later became the headquarters of King Idris before becoming a museum (from Libya)
Image 12Mosque in Ghadames, close to the Tunisian and Algerian border (from Libya)
Image 13Pivot irrigation in Kufra, southeast Libya, 2008 (from Libya)
Image 14Change in per capita GDP of Libya, 1950–2018. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2011 International dollars. (from Libya)
Image 15Leptis Magna (from Libya)
Image 16An elevation of the city of Ottoman Tripoli in 1675 (from History of Libya)
Image 17Ancient Roman mosaic in Sabratha (from Libya)
Image 18Temple of Zeus in Cyrene (from Libya)
Image 19Omar Mukhtar was a prominent leader of Libyan resistance in Cyrenaica against Italian colonisation. (from Libya)
Image 20Libya was the fourth-most water-stressed country in the world in 2022. (from Libya)
Image 21Libya is a predominantly desert country. Over 95% of the land area is covered in desert. (from Libya)
Image 22U.S. naval officer Stephen Decatur boarding a Tripolitan gunboat during the First Barbary War, 1804 (from Libya)
Image 23U.S. Ambassador Cretz Stands by Fist Crushing a US Fighter Plane Sculpture which was captured after the fall of Tripoli (from Libya)
Image 24Ethnic composition of the Libyan population in 1974 (CIA map):
  Arab and Arab-Berber

  Berber

  Tuareg

  Toubou

  Uninhabited
(from Libya)
Image 25Libya has emerged as a major transit point for people trying to reach Europe. (from Libya)
Image 26Italian propaganda postcard depicting the Italian invasion of Libya in 1911 (from Libya)
Image 27Bazeen, a communal bread dish (from Libya)
Image 28The Atiq Mosque in Awjila is the oldest mosque in the Sahara. (from Libya)
Image 29The Atiq Mosque in Awjila is the oldest mosque in the Sahara. (from History of Libya)
Image 30An oil platform off the Libyan coast (from Libya)
Image 31Oil is the major natural resource of Libya, with estimated reserves of 43.6 billion barrels. (from Libya)
Image 32Al Manar Royal Palace in central Benghazi – the location of the University of Libya's first campus, founded by royal decree in 1955 (from Libya)
Image 33Omar Mukhtar was the leader of Libyan resistance in Cyrenaica against the Italian colonization. (from History of Libya)
Image 34King Idris I announced Libya's independence on 24 December 1951, and was King until the 1969 coup that overthrew his government. (from History of Libya)
Image 35Septimius Severus, the first Roman emperor native to Roman Africa, was born in Leptis Magna. (from Libya)
Image 36Muammar Gaddafi, former leader of Libya, in 2009. (from History of Libya)
Image 37Districts of Libya since 2007 (from Libya)
Image 38The temple of Zeus in the ancient Greek city of Cyrene. Libya has a number of World Heritage Sites from the ancient Greek era. (from History of Libya)
Image 39A view of Tripoli, c. 1766 (from Libya)
Image 40Muammar Gaddafi, leader of Libya (r. 1969–2011) (from Libya)
Image 41Flag of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (lasting from 1977 to 2011), the national anthem of which was "الله أكبر" (lit. 'God is Great') (from History of Libya)
Image 42F-4J of VF-74 with Libyan MiG-23 over Gulf of Sidra in 1981 (from Libya)
Image 43King Idris of Libya (from Libya)
Image 44The Arch of Septimius Severus at Leptis Magna. The patronage of Roman emperor Septimus Severus allowed the city to become one of the most prominent in Roman Africa. (from History of Libya)
Image 45Al-Fatah Revolution day decorations in Tripoli 2008 (from Libya)
Image 46Khalifa Haftar, the head of the Libyan National Army, one of the main factions in the 2014 civil war (from Libya)
Image 47The Siege of Tripoli in 1551 allowed the Ottomans to capture the city from the Knights of St. John. (from History of Libya)
Image 48A protest against the anti-Gaddafi supporters in Tripoli (from Libya)
Image 49Australian infantry at Tobruk during World War II. Beginning on 10 April 1941, the Siege of Tobruk lasted for 240 days. (from History of Libya)
Image 50King Roger II of Sicily was the first Norman King to rule Tripoli when he captured it in 1146. (from History of Libya)
Image 51Archaeological site of Sabratha, Libya (from Libya)

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Gaddafi in 1970

Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (c. 1942 – 20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician, and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until his overthrow by Libyan rebel forces in 2011 during the First Libyan Civil War. He came to power through a bloodless military coup, first becoming Revolutionary Chairman of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977, Secretary General of the General People's Congress from 1977 to 1979, and then the Brotherly Leader of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1979 to 2011. Initially ideologically committed to Arab nationalism and Arab socialism, Gaddafi later ruled according to his own Third International Theory.

Gaddafi became an Arab nationalist while at school in Sabha, later enrolling in the Royal Military Academy, Benghazi. He founded a revolutionary group known as the Free Officers movement which deposed the Western-backed Senussi monarchy of Idris in a 1969 coup. Gaddafi converted Libya into a republic governed by his Revolutionary Command Council. Ruling by decree, he deported Libya's Italian population and ejected its Western military bases. He strengthened ties to Arab nationalist governments and unsuccessfully advocated pan-Arab political union. An Islamic modernist, he introduced sharia law and promoted Islamic socialism. He nationalized the oil industry and used the increasing state revenues to bolster the military, fund foreign revolutionaries, and implement social programs emphasizing housebuilding, healthcare and education projects. In 1973, he initiated a "Popular Revolution" with the formation of Basic People's Congresses, presented as a system of direct democracy, but retained personal control over major decisions. He outlined his Third International Theory that year in The Green Book. (Full article...)

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... that Mohamed Asswai Khalifa was the first Libyan to compete at the Olympics?
... that after being freed from Buq Buq labor camp in Italian-occupied Egypt, Libyan Jewish prisoners had to walk home across the desert?
... that Libyan Jews and Arabs traded and bartered with each other at the fence of the Giado concentration camp?
... that an inscribed stone from the abandoned village of Tarmisa, Libya, bears a Christian Chi Rho monogram within a wreath that may have originated in a Roman-era church?
... that cave art, indigenous dance and an ancient flute inspired the work of Libyan artist Shefa Salem?
... that an Ibadi mosque in Temezda, Libya, was originally a Byzantine church?