Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Libya
_#_Climate: temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south
_#_Terrain: mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara
_#_Natural resources: crude oil, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt
_#_Land use: arable land 20%; permanent crops 10%; meadows and pastures 19%; forest and woodland 4%; other 47%; includes irrigated 1%
_#_Environment: deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
_#_Note: strategic location in central Mediterranean; only 144 km from Italy across the Strait of Sicily; borders Libya on east
_*People #_Population: 8,276,096 (July 1991), growth rate 2.1% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 26 births/1,000 population (1991)