Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Capital city: Tripoli, largest city (main international airport and sea port)
Area: 1759540 square km
National day: 1 September (anniversary of the 1969 revolution).
Independence: 24 December 1951. Italian colony until 1942. British and French control until 1951.
Population: 6.4 million as of 2000
Leader: Col Muammar Gaddafi, born 1942. Head of State since 1969 and Revolutionary Leader since 1977. Gaddafi was killed on the 20th October 2011.
Language: Arab official.
Currency: Libyan dinars (LD)