The last official estimate of population was conducted in 2007 which places the figure at approximately 6.037 million inhabitants. This included at least 500,000 foreigners. The annual growth rate is about 1.9% (Source: World Development Indicators Database, April 2007).

Population & Social Patterns
Working under government contracts to meet labour shortages, expatriates are largely citizens of other Muslim countries. Many of them work in technical industries, 27% in services sectors, 23% in government entities, and 18% in agriculture. Altogether, representatives of more than 100 nationalities live in Libya.

In the early 1980s, estimates of total literacy were between 50% and 60%, about 70% for men and 35% for women, but the gap has narrowed significantly due to increased female school attendance. The overall level of literacy averaged approximately 84% in 2006.