Libya is situated in Maghreb in North Africa. On its north lies the Mediterranean Sea. Egypt lies to Libya’s east, while Sudan is its southeastern neighbor. Besides, Chad is Libya’s southern neighbor, while Algeria and Tunisia lie to its west. According to its size, Libya is the 17th largest country in the world.

History has it that tens of thousands of years ago, the Sahara desert land (which comprises 90% of present day Libya) was filled with lush green forests. It had varied flora and fauna and various rivers. In 8000 BC, Neolithic people lived in Ancient Libya. Those inhabitants reared cattle and cultivated crops. The Phoenicians founded the first trading posts in Libya. Punic inhabitants in Libyan included Oea, Libdah and Sabratha. The combined area of the 3 cities was later termed as Tripolis, meaning "3 Cities". This is where Libya’s current capital Tripoli derives its name.

In 630 BC, the Ancient Greeks made East Libya as its colony and established Cyrene city. In 74 BC Rome annexed the Cyrenaica region from Greeks. This was followed by the Byzantine rule. Thereafter the Arab Islamic rule began in 642 AD and continued till 1551. In 1551 The Ottoman Turks overpowered Tripoli. The Ottoman regency lasted till 1911. For four decades Libya fell under the Italian control. On 24 December 1951, following the UN General Assembly’s resolution, Libya declared its independence. Consequently Libya was ruled by Muammar Gaddafi from 1969 till 2011.

In Libya the climate is by and large dry. Nevertheless, northern Libya has serene Mediterranean climate. Warm and ‘sand loaded winds’ blow from 1 to 4 days all the through Libya. There are several oases dispersed all through Libya, Kufra being one of the famous oases. The temperatures are acute. Besides, the rainfall hardly ever occurs.

Eastern Uweinat is the uppermost point in Libya. In 1950s when oil was found in this area, it also led to the discovery of enormous aquifer below most parts of the country.

According to the World Bank’s World Development Indicators, the population of Libya is 6.355 million. The most widely followed religion in Libya is Islam comprising almost 97% of its population. A large number of Muslims here are Sunnis. Libya has various public art galleries, museums and archaeological sites. Most people frequently visit these sites and the beach.

Various types of Libyan foods comprise couscous, bazeen (a form of unsweetened cake), and shurba (soup).