Libya has a good infrastructure thanks to its development projects since the 1970s. Its fossil-fuel generators produced electricity at the rate of 16.92 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) in 1998, which was well above consumption (15.736 billion kWh in 1998). There are large-scale plans for their expansion—which will prepare Libya for increasing consumption—valued at about US$6 billion.
Libya's land communication system is confined to an extensive road network estimated at 83,200 kilometers (51,700 miles) in 1996 of which 47,590 kilometers (29,572 miles) are paved. They provide adequate access to most of its major rural and urban areas. There is no train service, but there are plans for building north-south and east-west railway lines.
Communications | |||||||||
Country | Newspapers | Radios | TV Sets a | Cable subscribers a | Mobile Phones a | Fax Machines a | Personal Computers a | Internet Hosts b | Internet Users b |
1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1999 | 1999 | |
Libya | 14 | 233 | 126 | 0.0 | 3 | N/A | N/A | 0.00 | 7 |
United States | 215 | 2,146 | 847 | 244.3 | 256 | 78.4 | 458.6 | 1,508.77 | 74,100 |
Egypt | 40 | 324 | 122 | N/A | 1 | 0.5 | 9.1 | 0.28 | 200 |
Algeria | 38 | 241 | 105 | 0.0 | 1 | 0.2 | 4.2 | 0.01 | 20 |
a Data are from International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunication Development Report 1999 and are per 1,000 people. | |||||||||
b Data are from the Internet Software Consortium ( http://www.isc.org ) and are per 10,000 people. | |||||||||
SOURCE: World Bank. World Development Indicators 2000. |
Sea and air connections are facilitated through several ports and airports. Major ports include Tripoli, Benghazi, Marsa el-Brega, Minsurat and El-Sider (Sidra), and 3 new ports are under construction. There are also 5 major oil terminals at Zuetina, Ras Lanuf, Marsa el-Hariga, Marsa el-Brega, and El-Sider. Libya has 59 airports with paved runways and 83 with unpaved runways. UN sanctions stopped international flights to and from Libya, and lack of spare parts caused by other sanctions grounded about 80 percent of its civilian air fleet in the 1990s. The 1999 suspension of UN sanctions paved the way for the resumption of international flights and for purchasing new aircraft and modernizing the airports.
The state-owned General Post and Telecommunications Company (GPTC) dominates the Libyan telecommunications system. It provides fixed telephone services; a private company (El Mada) in which the GPTC has a 20 percent stake provides cellular telephone services. There are at least 318,000 fixed telephone lines (1995 est.) and 20,000 cellular telephones (2000 est.) in use.
All Libyan radio and television programs are state-run. There were 24 AM, FM and short wave radio programs, and 12 television programs in the late 1990s, but many people in urban areas had access to satellite television programs. There were also 1.35 million radios and 730,000 televisions in use. Internet access is provided by the GPTC.