People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Libyan(s).
Population (July 2007 est.): 6,036,914 (includes non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are sub-Saharan Africans living in Libya).
Annual growth rate (2007 est.): 2.262%. Birth rate (2007 est.)--26.09 births/1,000 population. Death rate (2007 est.)--3.47 deaths/1,000 population.
Ethnic groups: Berber and Arab 97%; Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, and Tunisians.
Religion: Sunni Muslim 97%.
Languages: Arabic is the primary language. English, French, and Italian are understood in major cities.
Education: Years compulsory--9. Attendance--90%. Literacy (age 15 and over who can read and write)--total population 82.6%; female 72% (2003 est.).
Health (2007 est.): Infant mortality rate--22.82 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy--total population 76.88 yrs.; male 74.1 yrs.; female 78.58 yrs.
Work force (2006 est.): 1.787 million, an estimated 500,000 of whom are sub-Saharan African foreign workers.

LIBYA PEOPLE
Libya has a small population in a large land area. Population density is about 50 persons per sq. km. (80/sq. mi.) in the two northern regions of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, but falls to less than one person per sq. km. (1.6/sq. mi.) elsewhere. Ninety percent of the people live in less than 10% of the area, primarily along the coast. More than half the population is urban, mostly concentrated in the two largest cities, Tripoli and Benghazi. Thirty-three percent of the population is estimated to be under age 15.

Native Libyans are primarily a mixture of Arabs and Berbers. Small Tebou and Touareg tribal groups in southern Libya are nomadic or semi-nomadic. Among foreign residents, the largest groups are citizens of other African nations, including North Africans (primarily Egyptians and Tunisians), West Africans and Sub-Saharan Africans.