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Ghat fortress

Ten interesting facts about Libya

1. Over 90% of Libya is desert. Only 2% of the country receives enough rainfall to feed a forest.

2. Before oil was discovered in Libya in 1959, it was one of the world’s poorest countries.

3. In recent times, it has been the practice that when Libyan citizens marry, they get LYD60,000 (about $50,000) financial assistance from the government.

4. State loans in Libya are interest-free and un-dated.

5. Because of government subsidy, every family in Libya can have their own car.

6. Deserving Libyan scholars are sent to study abroad, with all expenses paid for by the government.

7. The $33-billion Great Manmade River in Libya, which brings water to the desert, is one of the largest irrigation projects in the history of the world.

8. Septimius Severus, one of Libya’s sons, ruled the Roman empire from AD 193 to AD 211.

9. In 2008, Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi received the honorific title of “King of Kings of Africa.”

10. One of Gaddafi’s crusades had been to form “the United States of Africa.”