Economy

Imports
$18.3 billion (2021). Refined Petroleum ($3.66B), Rolled Tobacco ($636M), Broadcasting Equipment ($590M), Cars ($579M), and Jewellery ($424M), importing mostly from Turkey ($2.77B), Greece ($2.38B), China ($2.13B), United Arab Emirates ($1.71B), and Italy ($1.43B).

Financial inclusion factors (over 15 years of  age)
• 65.7% have an account with a financial institution
• 10.3% have a credit card

Exports
$30.8 billion (2021). Crude Petroleum ($27B), Petroleum Gas ($1.94B), Refined Petroleum ($592M), Scrap Iron ($336M), and Gold ($236M), exporting mostly to Italy ($7.47B), Germany ($3.26B), Spain ($3.05B), China ($2.84B), and France ($1.94B).

Ease of doing business
Ease of conducting business is very low (rated 32.7 out of 100). Ranked 19th out of 20 Middle East and North African countries. Ranked 186th out of 190 countries worldwide (2022, World Bank).

Media

Media language Arabic, English.

Information channels
Libya has had a fluid and fractured media landscape since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The existence between 2014 and 2021 of rival authorities in the west and east created political and media polarisation and enduring rivalry between key players.
As part of a new push for reconciliation under a unified interim government, parallel “state media” run by the two administrations are being merged.
Editorial stances shift, depending on the political and military situation. 
The battle of narratives on social media and TV has fuelled disinformation. Foreign players whose interventions in Libya have increased are also involved in media messaging.
There is a diverse media environment, with a multitude of outlets and a variety of platforms. Satellite TV is a leading news medium. Stations’ social media accounts are key news sources. Some prominent outlets are based outside Libya.
Local and international journalists face threats and attacks. Despite infrastructure limitations, internet use is rising markedly year by year.

The press

Al-Shuruq – Tripoli-based weekly 
Al-Wasat – Cairo-based weekly
Brnieq – Benghazi weekly
The Libyan Address – publishes in English and Arabic

Television

218 TV – private satellite station, based in Jordan. Also runs 218 News
Libya al-Ahrar TV – private satellite channel, now based in Turkey
Al-Salam TV – private, satellite station based in Turkey
Libya al-Hadath – private, linked to Gen Haftar’s family
Al-Rasmeya and Al-Wataniya – Tripoli-based, representing Government of National Unity (GNU)
Al-Wasat – private, via satellite, based in Cairo
Libya’s Channel – private, via satellite, based in Amman

Radio

Wataniya – state-run, based in Tripoli
Tripoli FM – private, Tripoli
Lebda FM – private, Tripoli
Libyana Hits – private, based in Benghazi
Al-Wasat – private, based in Egypt, on FM in Libyan cities

News agency

Libyan Arab News Agency (Lana) – the parallel east and west “state” news agencies, both named the Libyan Arab News Agency (Lana) or Wakalat al-Anba al-Libiyah (WAL), announced in 2021 they would merge
Arraed News Network – Tripoli-based, Islamist-affiliated 
Ean Libya – London-based news site
Libyan Cloud News Agency – Tunis-based, European-backed
Al-Wasat – Cairo-based news site
Fassato News Agency – Rome-based news site
Libya Herald – English-language news
Afrigate News – news website
All Libyan Blogs – blog aggregator

Internet Data

Internet users
45.9% penetration, 3.14 million

Share of web traffic by device
80.70% mobile phones, 18.57% computers (laptops and desktops), 0.71% tablet devices and 0.02% other devices

Median speed of mobile Internet connection
14.48  Mbps

Median speed of fixed Internet connection
8.86 Mbps

Mobile connection as a percentage of total population: 175.9%

Percentage of mobile connections that are broadband (3G-5G): 85.6%

Most popular web search engines
Google (97.1%), Bing (1.84%), Yandex (0.36%), Yahoo! (0.35%), Petal Search (0.19%), other (0.15%).

Most used social media
Facebook (72.14%), Twitter (11.9%), YouTube (7.67%), Instagram (7.15%), Pinterest (1.01%), LinkedIn (0.04%), Reddit (0.04%), other (0.05%).

Social statistics

Life expectancy
72 yrs (2021)

Gender
Although the law confers Libyan women with the same rights as men, some workplaces cannot be run by women, such as those in which the physical strength of men is required. Women in Libya enjoy all the rights to earn promotions and have the same job application opportunities as men. In addition, female workers usually get special considerations from their bosses due to their other responsibilities as mothers and wives.

Class
In the workplace, attributes such as education can count and well-educated people earn other people‘s respect both at work and outside of the workplace. Wealth-status will have no impact in the workplace. The majority of the population in Libya belongs to the middle class.

Corruption perceptions Index
Libya scored 17 out of 100, ranked 171st out 180 countries worldwide.

Religion
Islam is the official religion in Libya. In fact, all Libyans are practicing Muslims. However, in the workplace and elsewhere, other religions are always respected. Foreigners are expected to respect the dominant religion; for example one should not smoke or eat in public places during the month of Ramadan.

Ethnicity
In the workplace, usually a worker‘s ethnic origin is irrelevant – especially for those who work in the capital, Tripoli. However, in other places, ethnic diversity may be discussed. Cities vary in culture and traditions.

World Happiness Index
Libya ranked 86th out of 146 countries, with a score of 5.330.

Current health expenditure
6.05% of GDP

CO2 emissions
6.7 metric tons per capita