Population
Libya has a small population residing in a large land area. Population density is about 50 persons per km² (130/sq. mi.) in the two northern regions of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, but falls to less than one person per km² (2.6/sq. mi.) elsewhere. Ninety percent of the people live in less than 10% of the area, primarily along the coast. About 88% of the population is urban, mostly concentrated in the four largest cities, Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata and Bayda. Thirty percent of the population is estimated to be under the age of 15, but this proportion has decreased considerably during the past decades.
| Total population (x 1000) | Population aged 0–14 (%) | Population aged 15–64 (%) | Population aged 65+ (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 6 029 | 41.9 | 53.4 | 4.7 |
| 1955 | 6 126 | 43.0 | 52.7 | 4.3 |
| 1960 | 6 349 | 43.3 | 52.7 | 4.0 |
| 1965 | 6 623 | 43.4 | 53.0 | 3.6 |
| 1970 | 6 994 | 45.2 | 52.1 | 2.7 |
| 1975 | 7 066 | 46.5 | 51.3 | 2.2 |
| 1980 | 7 193 | 47.0 | 50.7 | 2.2 |
| 1985 | 7 750 | 47.3 | 50.5 | 2.3 |
| 1990 | 7 834 | 43.5 | 53.9 | 2.6 |
| 1995 | 7 975 | 38.3 | 58.8 | 2.9 |
| 2000 | 8 231 | 32.4 | 64.2 | 3.4 |
| 2005 | 8 970 | 30.6 | 65.6 | 3.8 |
| 2010 | 9 655 | 30.4 | 65.3 | 4.3 |
Read more about this topic: Demographics Of Libya
Famous quotes containing the word population:
“This was the Eastham famous of late years for its camp- meetings, held in a grove near by, to which thousands flock from all parts of the Bay. We conjectured that the reason for the perhaps unusual, if not unhealthful development of the religious sentiment here, was the fact that a large portion of the population are women whose husbands and sons are either abroad on the sea, or else drowned, and there is nobody but they and the ministers left behind.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“In our large cities, the population is godless, materialized,—no bond, no fellow-feeling, no enthusiasm. These are not men, but hungers, thirsts, fevers, and appetites walking. How is it people manage to live on,—so aimless as they are? After their peppercorn aims are gained, it seems as if the lime in their bones alone held them together, and not any worthy purpose.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)