The economy of Libya depends primarily on revenues from the petroleum sector, which represents over 95% of export earnings and 60% of GDP.

[14] The annual unemployment rate is extracted from the World Bank, although the International Monetary Fund find them unreliable.

Reflecting the heritage of the command economy, three-quarters of employment is in the public sector, and private investment remains small at around 2% of GDP.

Libya's GDP grew in 2001 due to high oil prices, the end of a long cyclical drought, and increased foreign direct investment following the suspension of UN sanctions in 1999.

Despite efforts to diversify the economy and encourage private sector participation, extensive controls of prices, credit, trade, and foreign exchange constrain growth.

Although UN sanctions were suspended in 1999, foreign investment in the Libyan gas and oil sectors were severely curtailed due to the U.S. Iran and Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA), which capped the amount foreign companies can invest in Libya yearly at $20 million (lowered from $40 million in 2001).

Energy Information Administration (2007) In November 2005, Repsol YPF discovered a significant oil deposit of light, sweet crude in the Murzuq Basin.

In 2005, ConocoPhillips and co-venturers reached an agreement with NOC to return to its operations in Libya and extend the Waha concession 25 years.

Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit farm output, and domestic food production meets only about 25% of demand.

Domestic conditions limit output, while higher incomes and a growing population have caused food consumption to rise.

Because of low rainfall levels in Libya, agricultural projects such as the Kufra oasis rely on underground water sources.

Libya's primary agricultural water source remains the Great Manmade River (GMMR), but significant resources are being invested in desalinization research to meet growing demand.

Foreign workers mainly come from the Maghreb, Egypt, Turkey, India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Poland, Chad, Sudan, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Census data for 2000 show the share of expatriates earning over LD 300 (US$230) per month was 20%, compared to 12% for Libyan nationals.

A campaign encouraging conversion of qualified civil servants to entrepreneurs, in the face of public sector over employment and declining productivity, does not seem to be producing the desired results thus far.

Recent legislation setting corporate governance standards for financial institutions makes progress towards better management and greater operational independence of public banks.

[28] Two trans-African automobile routes pass through Libya: Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 11%: