Administrative Divisions and Cities
Main articles: Subdivisions of Libya and Districts of Libya See also: List of cities in LibyaHistorically the area of Libya was considered three provinces (or states), Tripolitania in the northwest, Barka (Cyrenaica) in the east, and Fezzan in the southwest. It was the conquest by Italy in the Italo-Turkish War that united them in a single political unit. Under the Italians Libya, in 1934, was divided into four provinces and one territory (in the south): Tripoli, Misrata, Benghazi, Bayda, and the Territory of the Libyan Sahara.
After independence, Libya was divided into three governorates (muhafazat) and then in 1963 into ten governorates. The governorates were legally abolished in February 1975, and nine "control bureaus" were set up to deal directly with the nine areas, respectively: education, health, housing, social services, labor, agricultural services, communications, financial services, and economy, each under their own ministry. However, the courts and some other agencies continued to operate as if the governorate structure were still in place. In 1983 Libya was split into forty-six districts (baladiyat), then in 1987 into twenty-five. In 1995, Libya was divided into thirteen districts (shabiyah), in 1998 into twenty-six districts, and in 2001 into thirty-two districts. These were then further rearranged into twenty-two districts in 2007:
Arabic | Transliteration | Pop (2006) | Land area (km2) | Number (on map) |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
البطنان | Butnan | 159,536 | 83,860 | 1 | |
درنة | Derna | 163,351 | 19,630 | 2 | |
الجبل الاخضر | Jabal al Akhdar | 206,180 | 7,800 | 3 | |
المرج | Marj | 185,848 | 10,000 | 4 | |
بنغازي | Benghazi | 670,797 | 43,535 | 5 | |
الواحات | Al Wahat | 177,047 | 6 | ||
الكفرة | Kufra | 50,104 | 483,510 | 7 | |
سرت | Sirte | 141,378 | 77,660 | 8 | |
مرزق | Murzuq | 78,621 | 349,790 | 22 | |
سبها | Sabha | 134,162 | 15,330 | 19 | |
وادي الحياة | Wadi al Hayaa | 76,858 | 31,890 | 20 | |
مصراتة | Misrata | 550,938 | 9 | ||
المرقب | Murqub | 432,202 | 10 | ||
طرابلس | Tripoli | 1,065,405 | 11 | ||
الجفارة | Jafara | 453,198 | 1,940 | 12 | |
الزاوية | Zawiya | 290,993 | 2,890 | 13 | |
النقاط الخمس | Nuqat al Khams | 287,662 | 5,250 | 14 | |
الجبل الغربي | Jabal al Gharbi | 304,159 | 15 | ||
نالوت | Nalut | 93,224 | 16 | ||
غات | Ghat | 23,518 | 72,700 | 21 | |
الجفرة | Jufra | 52,342 | 117,410 | 17 | |
وادي الشاطئ | Wadi al Shatii | 78,532 | 97,160 | 18 |
Libyan districts are further subdivided into Basic People's Congresses which act as townships or boroughs. The following table shows the largest cities, in this case with population size being identical with the surrounding district (see above).
No. | City | Population (2010) |
---|---|---|
1 | Tripoli | 1,800,000 |
2 | Benghazi | 650,000 |
3 | Misrata | 350,000 |
4 | Bayda | 250,000 |
5 | Zawiya | 200,000 |
Source: |
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