Libya is a country of 6 million people. 1.1 million people live in the capital city, Tripoli. Most Libyans are descendants from Bedouin Arab tribes. Today about 60% of the population is under 20 years old. Most of Libya's GDP comes from oil production. Oil was discovered in 1959, and Libya has become one of the world's largest oil producers - this wealth has not been widely distributed, and most of the oil production is run by the state and the National Oil Company, which are both in contracts with other European oil companies. Libya also has large untapped natural gas reserves. Most of the country is unfit for agriculture, as the country is mostly barren plains of rock and sand. Water remains a big problem in Libya; the government made a 20$ billion-dollar human-made river scheme, planning to pump water at great expense. It is far from completion. For 42 years, the Libyan's government was run by Muammar Qaddafi, who overthrew the country's monarch in a military coup in 1969. Qaddafi claimed to run a socialist government for the people; in reality, he held all the power, assisted by 'revolutionary committees,' which enforced many human rights abuses ranging from arbitrary arrests to torture and disappearances. Qaddafi used Libyan oil wealth to incite a series of terrorist incidents culminating in bombing the 1988 Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people. His overthrow began in February 2011 following Arab Spring protests in Egypt and Tunisia. Many population protests against his regime in Benghazi grew into an armed insurrection that benefited from UN approved NATO protection. In August of 2011, Qaddafi was killed - under disputed circumstances. The rebels formed a National Transitional Council, and in July 2012, a 200 seat elected congress was established.

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