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Libya vs. Tunisia

Geography

LibyaTunisia
LocationNorthern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt, Tunisia, and AlgeriaNorthern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya
Geographic coordinates25 00 N, 17 00 E34 00 N, 9 00 E
Map referencesAfricaAfrica
Areatotal: 1,759,540 sq km

land: 1,759,540 sq km

water: 0 sq km
total: 163,610 sq km

land: 155,360 sq km

water: 8,250 sq km
Area - comparativeabout 2.5 times the size of Texas; slightly larger than Alaskaslightly larger than Georgia
Land boundariestotal: 4,339 km

border countries (6): Algeria 989 km, Chad 1050 km, Egypt 1115 km, Niger 342 km, Sudan 382 km, Tunisia 461 km
total: 1,495 km

border countries (2): Algeria 1034 km, Libya 461 km
Coastline1,770 km1,148 km
Maritime claimsterritorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive fishing zone: 62 nm

note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north
territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 12 nm
ClimateMediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interiortemperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south
Terrainmostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressionsmountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara
Elevation extremeshighest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m

lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m

mean elevation: 423 m
highest point: Jebel ech Chambi 1,544 m

lowest point: Shatt al Gharsah -17 m

mean elevation: 246 m
Natural resourcespetroleum, natural gas, gypsumpetroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt
Land useagricultural land: 8.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 7.6% (2018 est.)

forest: 0.1% (2018 est.)

other: 91.1% (2018 est.)
agricultural land: 64.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 18.3% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 15.4% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 31.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 6.6% (2018 est.)

other: 28.6% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land4,700 sq km (2012)4,590 sq km (2012)
Natural hazardshot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstormsflooding; earthquakes; droughts
Environment - current issuesdesertification; limited natural freshwater resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, brings water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities; water pollution is a significant problem; the combined impact of sewage, oil byproducts, and industrial waste threatens Libya's coast and the Mediterranean Seatoxic and hazardous waste disposal is ineffective and poses health risks; water pollution from raw sewage; limited natural freshwater resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Environment - international agreementsparty to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Law of the Sea
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Geography - notenote 1: more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert

note 2: the volcano Waw an Namus lies in south central Libya in the middle of the Sahara; the caldera is an oasis - the name means "oasis of mosquitoes" - containing several small lakes surrounded by vegetation and hosting various insects and a large diversity of birds
strategic location in central Mediterranean; Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration
Total renewable water resources700 million cubic meters (2017 est.)4.615 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Population distributionwell over 90% of the population lives along the Mediterranean coast in and between Tripoli to the west and Al Bayda to the east; the interior remains vastly underpopulated due to the Sahara and lack of surface water as shown in this population distribution mapthe overwhelming majority of the population is located in the northern half of the country; the south remains largely underpopulated as shown in this population distribution map

Source: CIA Factbook