The former Fezzan province contains the districts (sha'biyat) of Wadi al Shatii, Wadi al Hayaa, Jufra, Ghadames, Murzuq, Sabha and Ghat (some maps allocate Ghadames to the neighbouring region of Tripolitania).

The region's inhabitants include the Berber, the Dawada, the nomadic Tuareg in the southwest, and the Toubou in the southeast.

These pastoralist populations often cross the borders of Algeria, Chad and Niger freely.

While making up some 30% of the land area of Libya, the Fezzan supports only a small percentage of its population.

Large towns like Sabha survive on near-surface water in the wadis of the north and west.