Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, gypsum
Land use:
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 8%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 91% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 4,700 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms
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
People
Population: 4,992,838 (July 1999 est.)
note: includes 161,251 non-nationals (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 36% (male 930,661; female 891,046)
15-64 years: 60% (male 1,545,958; female 1,437,120)
65 years and over: 4% (male 93,726; female 94,327) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.4% (1999 est.)