Libya - Population

The population of Libya in 2003 was estimated by the United Nations at 5,551,000, which placed it as number 103 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In that year approximately 4% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 36% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 107 males for every 100 females in the country in 2003. According to the UN, the annual population growth rate for 2000–2005 is 1.93%, with the projected population for the year 2015 at 6,886,000. The population density in 2002 averaged 3 per sq km (8 per sq mi), but 90% of Libya's inhabitants live in the narrow coastal regions of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania.

Urbanization has increased rapidly in recent years; it was estimated by the Population Reference Bureau that 88% of the population lived in urban areas in 2001. The capital city, Tripoli, had a population of 1,773,000 in that year. Banghazi, another chief city, had an estimated population of 1,154,000. According to the United Nations, the urban population growth rate for 2000–2005 was 2.6%.