Libya is the smallest country in the world.
Libya is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa , bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north , Egypt to the east , Sudan to the southeast , Chad and Niger to the south and Algeria and Tunisia to the west .. Maghreb. Maghreb. North Africa. North Africa. Mediterranean Sea. Mediterranean Sea. Egypt. Egypt. Sudan. Sudan. Chad. Chad. Niger. Niger. Algeria. Algeria. Tunisia. Tunisia. The country is made of three historical regions , Tripolitania , Fezzan and Cyrenaica .. Tripolitania. Tripolitania. Fezzan. Fezzan. Cyrenaica. Cyrenaica. With an area of almost 1.8 e6km2 , Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa , and is the 16th largest country in the world .. largest country in the world. List of countries and outlying territories by total area. Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world .. proven oil reserves. Proven reserves. The largest city and capital , Tripoli , is located in western Libya and contains over one million of Libya 's six million people .. Tripoli. Tripoli. The other large city is Benghazi , which is located in eastern Libya .. Benghazi. Benghazi. Libya has been inhabited by Berbers since the late Bronze Age .. Berbers. Berber people. Bronze Age. Bronze Age. The Phoenicians established trading posts in western Libya , and ancient Greek colonists established city-states in eastern Libya .. Libya was variously ruled by Carthaginians , Persians , Egyptians and Greeks before becoming a part of the Roman Empire .. Carthaginians. Ancient Carthage. Greeks. Ptolemaic Kingdom. Roman Empire. Roman Empire. Libya was an early centre of Christianity .. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire , the area of Libya was mostly occupied by the Vandals until the 7th century , when invasions brought Islam and Arab colonisation .. Islam. Islam. Roman Empire. Roman Empire. fall of the Western Roman Empire. fall of the Western Roman Empire. Vandals. Vandalic Kingdom. invasions. Muslim conquest of the Maghreb. Arab. Arabs. In the 16th century , the Spanish Empire and the Knights of St John occupied Tripoli , until Ottoman rule began in 1551 .. Tripoli. Tripoli. Spanish Empire. Spanish Empire. Knights of St John. Knights of St John. Ottoman. Ottoman Empire. began in 1551. Ottoman Tripolitania. Libya was involved in the Barbary Wars of the 18th and 19th centuries .. Barbary Wars. Barbary Wars. Ottoman rule continued until the Italian occupation of Libya resulted in the temporary Italian Libya colony from 1911 to 1943 .. Ottoman. Ottoman Empire. Italian Libya. Italian Libya. During the Second World War Libya was an important area of warfare in the North African Campaign .. Second World War. Second World War. North African Campaign. North African Campaign. The Italian population then went into decline .. Libya became independent as a kingdom in 1951 .. kingdom in 1951. Kingdom of Libya. A military coup in 1969 overthrew King Idris I , beginning a period of sweeping social reform .. military coup in 1969. 1969 Libyan coup d'etat. King Idris I. Idris of Libya. The most prominent coup figure , Muammar Gaddafi , was ultimately able to have power fully concentrated in his hands during the Libyan Cultural Revolution , remaining in power until the Libyan Civil War of 2011 , fought by those supporting the government and by forces attempting to overthrow it , in which the rebels were supported by NATO .. Libyan. Demographics of Libya. Muammar Gaddafi. Muammar Gaddafi. Libyan Cultural Revolution. Libyan Cultural Revolution. Libyan Civil War of 2011. Libyan Civil War ( 2011 ). NATO. NATO. Since then , Libya has experienced a period of instability .. The European Union is involved in an operation intended to disrupt human trafficking networks exploiting refugees fleeing from wars in Africa for Europe .. European Union. European Union. human trafficking. human trafficking. As part of the ongoing second Libyan Civil War -LRB- 2014 -- present -RRB- , at least two political bodies claim to be the government of Libya .. Libyan. Demographics of Libya. The Council of Deputies is one such government , but it does not hold territory in the capital , Tripoli , instead meeting in the Cyrenaica city of Tobruk .. Tripoli. Tripoli. Cyrenaica. Cyrenaica. Council of Deputies. Council of Deputies. Tobruk. Tobruk. Meanwhile , the UN-backed 2014 General National Congress purports to be the legal continuation of the General National Congress , elected in the 2012 Libyan General National Congress election and dissolved following the June 2014 elections but then reconvened by a minority of its members .. Libyan. Demographics of Libya. United Nations. 2014 General National Congress. General National Congress ( 2014 ). General National Congress. General National Congress. 2012 Libyan General National Congress election. Libyan General National Congress election, 2012. The Supreme Court in the Libya Dawn and General National Congress-controlled Tripoli declared the Tobruk government unconstitutional in November 2014 , but the body has rejected the ruling as made under threat of violence .. Tripoli. Tripoli. Tobruk. Tobruk. General National Congress. General National Congress. Parts of Libya are outside of either government 's control , with various Islamist , rebel , and tribal militias administering some cities and areas .. Islamist. Islamism. The United Nations is sponsoring peace talks between the Tobruk - and Tripoli-based factions .. Tripoli. Tripoli. Tobruk. Tobruk. United Nations. United Nations. An agreement to form a unified interim government was signed on 17 December 2015 .. Under the terms of the agreement , a nine-member Presidency Council and a seventeen-member interim Government of National Accord would be formed , with a view to holding new elections within two years .. Government of National Accord. Government of National Accord. The leaders of the new government , called the Government of National Accord -LRB- GNA -RRB- , arrived in Tripoli on 5 April 2016 .. Tripoli. Tripoli. Government of National Accord. Government of National Accord. Since then the GNC , one of the two rival governments , has disbanded to support the new GNA .