Part of the country series of articles.
TRAVEL ADVISORY: EXERCISE HEIGHTENED CAUTIONPARSTATE advises travellers to exercise heightened caution in Libya. The political situation is opaque to outside observers and the treatment of foreign nationals has been inconsistent. Commonwealth consular services have limited capacity in Tripoli and travellers should register prior to arrival.
| Great Socialist People's Libyan Jamahiriya | |
|---|---|
| Jamahiriya | |
 |
|
| Capital | Tripoli |
| Languages | Arabic, Tamazight, Italian |
| Population | 6,800,000 |
The Great Socialist People’s Libyan Jamahiriya is a Jamahiriya state in North Africa and one of the largest oil producers on the continent. It is a former Italian colony and famously fractious, with a long and difficult relationship with the Maghreb Federation, from which it separated approximately half a century ago. Perhaps because of its non-aligned position, the Tripoli government also maintains relations with Vekllei, the Balkan Federation and India, though its broader international engagement is limited. It has benefitted from new roads, hospitals and schools paid for by oil revenue, most of which have been built since independence, and it has also sponsored liberation movements across Africa and the Arab world.
Libya has no conventional government, and is run instead by people’s congresses and committees at every administrative level. In practice, the leadership that devised the system acts as its primary interpreter and holds most of the authority. Political dissent is not expressed openly. Its population is mostly Arab, with Tamazight speakers in the western highlands and an Italian-speaking minority in Tripoli.
The country exports crude oil, natural gas and olive oil (the bulk of which goes to the Balkan Federation and India). It is also famous for its sponsorship of liberation movements, which is largely funded by oil revenue and has made it unpopular in the West.