Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Al-Jamahiriyah al-'Arabiyah al-Libiyah ash-Sha'biyah al-Ishtirakiyah

CAPITAL: Tripoli (Tarabulus)

FLAG: The national flag is plain green.

ANTHEM: Almighty God.

MONETARY UNIT: The Libyan dinar (LD) of 1,000 dirhams is a paper currency. There are coins of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 dirhams, and notes of ¹/4, ¹/2, 1, 5, and 10 dinars. LD1 = $0.8333 (or $1 = LD1.2) as of May 2003.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the legal standard, but some local weights and measures are used.

HOLIDAYS: UK Evacuation Day, 28 March; US Evacuation Day, 11 June; Anniversary of the Revolution, 1 September; Constitution Day, 7 October. Muslim religious holidays include 'Id al-Fitr, 'Id al-'Adha', the 1st of Muharram, and Milad an-Nabi.

TIME: 2 PM = noon GMT.

Location, Size, and Extent

Situated on the coast of North Africa, Libya is the fourth-largest country on the continent, with an area of 1,759,540 sq km (679,362 sq mi), extending 1,989 km (1,236 mi) SE–NW and 1,502 km (933 mi) NE–SW. Comparatively, the area occupied by...