Lybia
General presentation
Official name: State of Libya
Type of regime: Parliamentary
Area: 1,759,500 km2 (1,000,000 sq mi)
Capital: Tripoli
Main cities: Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata, al-Beida, Zouara, Sebha
Official language(s): Arabic
National holiday: indeterminate (February 17: anniv. 2011
Revolution; October 23: anniv. of the 2011 Liberation
Proclamation).
Population: 6,777,342 (2019, World Bank)
Density: 3.8 inhabitants/km2 (2018, World Bank)
Population growth: 1.5% (2019, World Bank)
Source: Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
Economic situation
Libyan economic growth fell sharply in 2020 as a result of the dual impact of the oil blockade and the Covid-19 crisis. National economic activity is volatile, dependent on the country’s changing security situation and oil revenues. The Libyan economy is almost exclusively dependent on hydrocarbons. Government oil revenues reached USD 22.4bn for an estimated GDP of nearly USD 40bn in 2019 and accounted for nearly 80% of growth in 2019 (World Bank estimates). The double shock of the oil blockade and the health crisis led to a sharp drop in growth in 2020. The World Bank estimates the fall in real GDP to -31.3% in 2020, which would be the most severe recession since 2011. The closure of oil facilities between January and September 2020 by Marshal Haftar’s forces led to a 66.4% drop in oil production, from an average level of 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2019 to 368,167 bpd in 2020 (and even 107,000 bpd between February and September 2020 during the oil blockade). The fall in production, combined with the fall in oil prices in 2020, has caused almost USD 11 billion in financial losses. However, the current production rate has increased to 1.2M b/d and oil prices have now risen above their pre-crisis level of USD 80 per barrel.
Source: DGT
Bilateral Relations
Bilateral investment treaties
Work in process
Double taxation agreements
Work in process
Free trade agreements
Work in process
Leading sector for Swiss companies
agriculture : 5% of the total
industry : 20% of the total
services : 75% of the total
Indicators
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 E | 2019 E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (in billions of USD) | 18.54 e | 30.57 e | 43.24 | 51.33 |
| GDP per capita (USD) | 2.904 e | 4.704 e | 6.639 | 7.803 |
| Growth rate | -2.8 e | 26.7 e | 7.2 | 4 |
| Unemployment rate | ||||
| Inflation rate | 25.9 | 28.5 | 15 | 10 |
| Public debt (% of GDP) | 189.7 | 134.2 | 116 | 125.6 |
| Budget balance (% of GDP) | -81.2 | -34.5 | -25.9 | 22.6 |
| Current account balance (% of GDP) | -18 | 2.2 | -2.9 | -5 |
(Sources FMI, Banque Mondiale)
Main customers
Italy, Germany, China and France
Source: IMF
Main suppliers
Italy, China, Turkey and Egypt
Source: IMF
Swiss exports to
Work in process
Exports of …. to Switzerland
Work in process
Swiss direct investment in
Work in process
The business climate
Work in process