About 90 percent of Libya is made up of barren, rock-strewn plains and sand sea, with two small areas of hills rising to about 900 m (about 3,000 ft) in the northwest and northeast. In the south the land rises to the Tibesti massif along the Chad border. There are no permanent rivers or streams in Libya.

Climate: Climatic conditions in Libya are characterized by extreme heat and aridity. Desert and subdesert regions have little precipitation. On the coast the annual rainfall rarely exceeds 380 mm (15 in).
Natural Resources: The principal resource of Libya is petroleum. Natural gas, gypsum, limestone, marine salt, potash, and natron are also exploited.
Plants and Animals: Most of Libya is either devoid of vegetation or supports only sparse growth. Date palms and olive and orange trees grow in the scattered oases, and junipers and mastic trees are found in the higher elevations. Wildlife includes desert rodents, hyena, gazelle, and wildcat. Eagles, hawks, and vultures are common.
Environmental Issues: Libya has undertaken a number of major irrigation projects intended to ease the country’s water shortage, including the so-called Great Man-Made River (GMMR), a vast water pipeline estimated to cost more than $30 billion. The first of five planned phases in the construction of the GMMR was completed in 1996.
The project will eventually tap the aquifers of the Sarir, Sabha, and Al Kufrah oases and transport fresh water to Libyan cities and agricultural areas along the Mediterranean coast. Although the project’s planners predict that the GMMR could supply Libya with 5 million cubic meters (177 million cubic feet) of water per day when completed, the pipeline will draw from finite fossil reserves, and it is unclear how long the water supplies can be exploited.
Libya has pursued an extensive reforestation program in recent decades. Since the 1960s, the government has planted more than 200 million seedlings in western Libya in an effort to prevent further soil erosion and desertification.
Libya has ratified the London Dumping Convention and the Mediterranean Action Plan, although untreated sewage and waste from the country’s extensive petroleum industries continue to pollute the Mediterranean Sea and coastal areas. Libya has also ratified international agreements that limit marine dumping and nuclear testing, and the country has signed treaties intended to protect biodiversity and the ozone layer. Libya is party to the World Heritage Convention.
Population
The indigenous population of Libya is mostly Berber and Arab in origin; about 17 percent of the population consists of foreign workers and their families. Some 88 percent of the people live in urban areas, although some Libyans still live in nomadic or seminomadic groups.
Principal Cities: The ports of Tripoli (population, 1996 estimate, greater city, 1.8 million) and Banghāzī (1995 estimate; 804,000) are the two largest urban areas.