Libya - Health

In 1991, there were 4,749 doctors and 13,849 nurses. Hospital beds were estimated at 4.2 per 1,000 people in 1990–97. As of 1999, there were an estimated three physicians per 1,000 people. In 2000, 72% of the population had access to safe drinking water and 97% had adequate sanitation.

Widespread diseases include typhoid, venereal diseases, and infectious hepatitis. In 1992, the UN approved trade and air traffic embargoes affecting the economy and health care system. With the assistance of the World Health Organization, Libya has eradicated malaria, once a major problem. In 1990, there were an estimated 220 cases of tuberculosis per 100,000 people.

As of 2002, the crude birth rate and overall mortality rate were estimated at, respectively, 27.6 and 3.5 per 1,000 people. The infant mortality rate was 26 per 1,000 live births in 2000. The fertility rate in 2000 was 3.5 children per woman during her childbearing years. The maternal mortality rate was estimated at 75 per 100,000 live births in 1998. The average life expectancy was 71 years in 2000. In 1997, immunization rates for children up to one year old were: diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, 96%, and measles, 92%. Diarrheal diseases took the lives of 4,683 Libyan children under five years of age in 1995.

Only 17 cases of AIDS were reported in 1995. The HIV-1 prevalence rate was 0.1 per 100 adults in 1999.