Districts of Libya

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In Libya there are currently 106 districts, second level administrative subdivisions known in Arabic as baladiyat (singular baladiyah). The number has varied since 2013 between 99 and 108. The first level administrative divisions in Libya are currently the governorates (muhafazat), which have yet to be formally delineated, but which were originally tripartite as: Tripolitania in the northwest, Cyrenaica in the east, and Fezzan in the southwest; and later divided into ten governorates.

Prior to 2013 there were twenty-two first level administrative subdivisions known by the term shabiyah (Arabic singular šaʿbiyya, plural šaʿbiyyāt) which constituted the districts of Libya. In the 1990s the shabiyat had replaced an older baladiyat system.

Historically the area of Libya was considered three provinces (or states), Tripolitania in the northwest, Cyrenaica in the east, and Fezzan in the southwest. It was the conquest by Italy in the Italo-Turkish War that united them in a single political unit. Under the Italians Libya was eventually divided into four provinces and one territory: Tripoli, Misrata, Benghazi, Derna, (in the north) and the Territory of the Libyan Sahara (in the south). After the French and British occupied Libya in 1943, it was again split into three provinces: Tripolitania in the northwest, Cyrenaica in the east, and Fezzan-Ghadames in the southwest.

Article 176 of the 1951 constitution of Libya stated "The Kingdom of Libya shall be divided into administrative units in conformity with the law to be promulgated in this connection. Local and regional councils may be formed in the Kingdom. The extent of these units shall be determined by law which shall likewise organize these Councils." in exact quote.

After independence (1951), Libya was divided into three governorates (muhafazat), matching the three provinces of before, but in 1963 it was divided into ten governorates. In 1983 a new system was introduced dividing the country into forty-six districts (baladiyat). In 1987 this was reduced to twenty-five districts.

On 2 August 1995, Libya reorganized into thirteen districts (shabiyat). In 1998 this was increased to 26 shabiyat districts. In 2001 it was increased to thirty-two districts plus three administrative regions. Finally in 2007 it was reduced to twenty-two districts.

For historical evolution see also: Subdivisions of Libya.

Libyan districts were further subdivided into Basic People's Congresses which act as townships or boroughs until 2011.

Etymology

The term in Arabic can mean both "popularity" or "That that is of the people" or more simply "pertaining to the people". The second meaning was used by the Libyan government to refer to the districts of Libya, in tandem with the general ideology of the state. Sha'biyat in Libya are the highest administrative level. A lower level, equivalent to a county, exists and divides each Shabiyah into smaller entities.

The term was new and exclusive to Libya, in line with exclusive terms for republic (jamahiriya), ministry (amanah) and embassy (people's-bureau)—all of which are different from what is used throughout Arabic-speaking countries, including even Libya itself before its adoption of the neology.

Districts (Shabiya)

Shabiyah ( šaʿbiyyah English: popularity, plural: šaʿbiyyāt English: popularities) is a neologism exclusive to Libya under Gaddafi, in line with exclusive terms for republic (jamahiriya), ministry (secretariat) and embassy (people's-bureau).

The term basically means a district, that is, a top level administrative division. Etymologically, it is an adjective meaning "of or pertaining to the people, popular".

22 districts (2007)

In 2007 the twenty-two districts (shabiya) replaced the older thirty-two district system.

The list is as following:

thumb|right|234x234px|The current twenty-two district system in Libya (since 2007)

{| class="wikitable sortable defaultright col1center col2center col3center"

|-

! Map no.

! Name

! English <br>transliteration

! Area (km²)

! Population <br> (2006)

! Population <br> (2020)

!Density

(2020 in km²)

|-

!colspan="7"|Cyrenaica

|-

|1|| البطنان || Al Butnan || 84,996 || 159,536 || 195,088

|2.3

|-

|2|| درنة || Darnah || 31,511 || 163,351 || 201,639

|6.4

|-

|3|| الجبل الاخضر || Al Jabal al Akhdar || 11,429 || 203,156 || 250,020

|21.9

|-

|4|| المرج || Al Marj || 13,515 || 185,848 || 286,045

|21.2

|-

|5|| بنغازي || Benghazi || 11,372 || 670,797 || 807,255

|71.0

|-

|6|| الواحات || Al Wahat || 103,143 || 177,047 || 213,728

|20.3

|-

|7|| الكفرة || Al Kufrah || 453,161 || 50,104 || 55,495

|0.1

|-

!colspan="7"|Tripolitania

|-

|8|| سرت || Surt || 77,660 || 193,720 || 170,869

|2.2

|-

|9|| مصراتة || Misrata || 29,172 || 550,938 || 663,853

|22.8

|-

|10|| المرقب || Marqab || 6,796 || 432,202 || 532,227

|78.3

|-

|11|| طرابلس || Tarabulus || 2,666 || 1,065,405 || 1,293,016

|485.0

|-

|12|| الجفارة || Al Jafarah || 835 || 453,198 || 548,855

|657.3

|-

|13|| الزاوية || Az Zawiyah || 2,753 || 290,993 || 351,306

|127.6

|-

|14|| النقاط الخمس || An Nuqat al Khams || 6,089 || 287,662 || 349,755

|57.4

|-

|15|| الجبل الغربي || Al Jabal al Gharbi || 76,717 || 304,159 || 374,911

|4.9

|-

|16|| نالوت || Nalut || 67,191 || 93,224 || 113,886

|1.7

|-

!colspan="7"|Fezzan

|-

|17|| الجفرة || Al Jufrah || 117,410 || 52,342 || 60,853

|0.5

|-

|18|| وادي الشاطئ || Wadi ash Shati' || 97,160 || 78,532 || 95,294

|1.0

|-

|19|| سبها || Sabha || 15,330 || 134,162 || 153,454

|1.4

|-

|20|| وادي الحياة || Wadi al Hayat || 31,485 || 76,858 || 91,749

|2.9

|-

|21|| غات || Ghat || 68,482 || 23,518 || 27,675

|0.4

|-

|22|| مرزق || Murzuq || 356,308 || 78,621 || 94,088

|0.3

|}

32 districts (2001)

The 2001 reorganization of Libya into districts (shabiya) resulted in thirty-two districts and three administrative regions (المنطقة الإدارية):

thumb|right|300px|The old thirty-two shabiyat system in Libya (2001–2007)

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"

! بلدية !! Sha'biyah !! Population !! Area<br /> !! Number<br />

|-

| إجدابيا ||align="center"| Ajdabiya || 165,839 || 91,620 || 1

|-

| البطنان ||align="center"| Butnan || 144,527 || 83,860 || 2

|-

| الحزام الاخضر ||align="center"| Hizam al Akhdar || 108,860 || 12,800 || 3

|-

| الجبل الاخضر ||align="center"| Jabal al Akhdar || 194,185 || 7,800 || 4

|-

| الجفارة ||align="center"| Jafara || 289,340 || 1,940 || 5

|-

| الجفرة ||align="center"| Jufra || 45,117 || 117,410 || 6

|-

| الكفرة ||align="center"| Kufra || 51,433 || 483,510 || 7

|-

| المرج ||align="center"| Marj || 116,318 || 10,000 || 8

|-

| المرقب ||align="center"| Murqub || 328,292 || 3,000 || 9

|-

| زوارة ||align="center"| Nuqat al Khams || 208,954 || 5,250 || 10

|-

| القبة ||align="center"| Quba || 93,895 || 14,722 || 11

|-

| الواحات ||align="center"| Al Wahat || 29,257 || 108,670 || 12

|-

| الزاوية ||align="center"| Zawiya

| 197,177 || 1,520 || 13

|-

| بنغازي ||align="center"| Benghazi || 636,992 || 800 || 14

|-

| بنى وليد ||align="center"| Bani Walid || 77,424 || 19,710 || 15

|-

| درنة ||align="center"| Derna || 81,174 || 4,908 || 16

|-

| غات ||align="center"| Ghat || 22,770 || 72,700 || 17

|-

| غدامس ||align="center"| Ghadames || 19,000 || 51,750 || 18

|-

| غريان ||align="center"| Gharyan || 161,408 || 4,660 || 19

|-

| مرزق ||align="center"| Murzuq || 68,718 || 349,790 || 20

|-

| مزدة ||align="center"| Mizda || 41,476 || 72,180 || 21

|-

| مصراتة ||align="center"| Misrata || 360,521 || 2,770 || 22

|-

| نالوت ||align="center"| Nalut || 86,801 || 13,300 || 23

|-

| تاجوراء والنواحي الأربع

|align="center"| Tajura wa Arba‘

| 267,031 || 1,430 || 24

|-

| ترهونة و مسلاته ||align="center"| Tarhuna wa Msalata

| 296,092 || 5,840 || 25

|-

| طرابلس ||align="center"| Tripoli || 882,926 || 400 || 26

|-

| سبها ||align="center"| Sabha || 126,610 || 15,330 || 27

|-

| سرت ||align="center"| Sirte || 156,389 || 77,660 || 28

|-

| صبراته و صرمان ||align="center"| Sabratha wa Sorman || 152,521 || 1,370 || 29

|-

| وادي الحياة ||align="center"| Wadi al Hayaa || 72,587 || 31,890 || 30

|-

| وادي الشاطئ ||align="center"| Wadi al Shatii || 77,203 || 97,160 || 31

|-

| يفرن ||align="center"| Yafran || 117,647 || 9,310 || 32

|}

The three administrative regions are missing from the above map, Qatrun, Marada, and Jaghbub

26 districts (1998)

In 1998 Libya was reorganized into twenty-six districts which were: Butnan, Jafara, Jufra, Kufra, Marj, Murqub, Quba, Al Wahat, Bani Walid, Benghazi, Derna, Gharyan, Jabal al Akhdar, Murzuq, Misrata, Nalut, Nuqat al Khams, Sabha, Sabrata/Sorman, Sirte, Tarhuna/Msalata, Tripoli, Wadi al Hayaa, Wadi al Shatii, Yafran, and Zawiya

13 districts (1995)

On 2 August 1995 Libya dropped the baladiyat system and reorganized into thirteen districts (shabiyat). Among them were Butnan (formerly Tobruk), Jabal al Akhdar, Jabal al Gharbi, Zawiya, Benghazi, and Tripoli. However, there is not agreement about the other seven names. or Brak

|-

| يفرن ||Yafran District (Yifren) || || x || Yefrin || || x || Yafran

|-

| زليتن ||Zlitan District || || || || || x || Zliten

|}

For 1995 data, [4] and [5] are the two different sources mentioned in the bibliography: