Environment - current issues: desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities

Environment - international agreements: party to: Desertification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea

@Libya:People

Population: 5,648,359 (July 1997 est.) note: includes 305,959 non-nationals (July 1997 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years : 48% (male 1,369,984; female 1,323,254) 15-64 years: 49% (male 1,422,043; female 1,358,013) 65 years and over: 3% (male 91,953; female 83,112) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.64% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 43.94 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 7.49 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth : 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (1997 est.)