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).Pan, Chia-Lin (1949) "The Population of Libya" Population Studies, 3(1): pp. 100–125, p. 104 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."Map of Libya 1943–1951" Zentrale für Unterrichtsmedien
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.شعبيات الجماهيرية العظمىSha'biyat of Great Jamahiriya , accessed 10 May 2009, in Arabic:
The list is as following:
Map no. Name English transliteration Area (km2) Population (2006)Libyan General Information Authority accessed 22 July 2009 Population (2020)Bureau of Statistics and Census Libya (website).Density (2020 in km2)Cyrenaica1 البطنان Al Butnan 84,996 159,536 195,0882.32 درنة Darnah 31,511 163,351 201,6396.43 الجبل الاخضر Al Jabal al Akhdar 11,429 203,156 250,02021.94 المرج Al Marj 13,515 185,848 286,04521.25 بنغازي Benghazi 11,372 670,797 807,25571.06 الواحات Al Wahat 103,143 177,047 213,72820.37 الكفرة Al Kufrah 453,161 50,104 55,4950.1Tripolitania8 سرت Surt 77,660 193,720 170,8692.29 مصراتة Misrata 29,172 550,938 663,85322.810 المرقب Marqab 6,796 432,202 532,22778.311 طرابلس Tarabulus 2,666 1,065,405 1,293,016485.012 الجفارة Al Jafarah 835 453,198 548,855657.313 الزاوية Az Zawiyah 2,753 290,993 351,306127.614 النقاط الخمس An Nuqat al Khams 6,089 287,662 349,75557.415 الجبل الغربي Al Jabal al Gharbi 76,717 304,159 374,9114.916 نالوت Nalut 67,191 93,224 113,8861.7Fezzan17 الجفرة Al Jufrah 117,410 52,342 60,8530.518 وادي الشاطئ Wadi ash Shati' 97,160 78,532 95,2941.019 سبها Sabha 15,330 134,162 153,4541.420 وادي الحياة Wadi al Hayat 31,485 76,858 91,7492.921 غات Ghat 68,482 23,518 27,6750.422 مرزق Murzuq 356,308 78,621 94,0880.3
32 districts (2001) The 2001 reorganization of Libya into districts (shabiya)"الشعبيات بالجماهيرية" ("Districts of Libya") Website of the General People's Committee of Libya, from WebArchive dated 30 August 2006 resulted in thirty-two districts and three administrative regions (المنطقة الإدارية):
بلدية Sha'biyah Population Area Number إجدابيا Ajdabiya 165,839 91,620 1 البطنان Butnan 144,527 83,860 2 الحزام الاخضر Hizam al Akhdar 108,860 12,800 3 الجبل الاخضر Jabal al Akhdar 194,185 7,800 4 الجفارة Jafara 289,340 1,940 5 الجفرة Jufra 45,117 117,410 6 الكفرة Kufra 51,433 483,510 7 المرج Marj 116,318 10,000 8 المرقب Murqub 328,292 3,000 9 زوارة Nuqat al Khams 208,954 5,250 10 القبة Quba 93,895 14,722 11 الواحات Al Wahat 29,257 108,670 12 الزاوية Zawiya 197,177 1,520 13 بنغازي Benghazi 636,992 800 14 بنى وليد Bani Walid 77,424 19,710 15 درنة Derna 81,174 4,908 16 غات Ghat 22,770 72,700 17 غدامس Ghadames 19,000 51,750 18 غريان Gharyan 161,408 4,660 19 مرزق Murzuq 68,718 349,790 20 مزدة Mizda 41,476 72,180 21 مصراتة Misrata 360,521 2,770 22 نالوت Nalut 86,801 13,300 23 تاجوراء والنواحي الأربع Tajura wa Arba‘ 267,031 1,430 24 ترهونة و مسلاته Tarhuna wa Msalata 296,092 5,840 25 طرابلس Tripoli 882,926 400 26 سبها Sabha 126,610 15,330 27 سرت Sirte 156,389 77,660 28 صبراته و صرمان Sabratha wa Sorman 152,521 1,370 29 وادي الحياة Wadi al Hayaa 72,587 31,890 30 وادي الشاطئ Wadi al Shatii 77,203 97,160 31 يفرن Yafran 117,647 9,310 32 The three administrative regions are missing from the above map, Qatrun,"Districts of Libya:Alqtron Tjrhi" Website of the General People's Committee of Libya, in Arabic, from Web Archive dated 30 August 2006 Marada,"Districts of Libya:Mradq" Website of the General People's Committee of Libya, in Arabic, from Web Archive dated 30 August 2006 and Jaghbub"Districts of Libya:Aljgbob" Website of the General People's Committee of Libya, in Arabic, from Web Archive dated 30 August 2006
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"Libya" 2006 Statesman's Yearbook
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.
Former baladiya Baladiyah (singular) or baladiyat (plural), are Arabic words used in many Arab countries to denote administrative divisions of the country. In Libya, the baladiyat system of districts was introduced in 1983 to replace the governorate system. Originally there were forty-six baladiyat districts, but in 1988 that number was reduced to twenty-five baladiyat. The table hereunder lists the old twenty-five baladiyat in alphabetical order with a link to each one and numbered to be located on the map. Note that each district linked may be both a baladiyah and a shabiyah. The many changes may not always be reflected in the article.
1 Ajdabiya 2 ‘Aziziya 3 Butnan 4 Fati 5 Jabal al Akhdar 6 Jufra 7 Khoms 8 Kufra 9 Nuqat al Khams 10 Wadi al Shatii 11 Ubari 12 Zawiya 13 Benghazi
14 Derna 15 Ghadames 16 Gharyan 17 Misrata 18 Murzuq 19 Sabha 20 Sawfajjin 21 Sirte 22 Tripoli 23 Tarhuna 24 Yafran 25 Zlitan
Evolution شعبية / بلدية Name 2007 (22) 2001 (32) Name in 1998 (26) 1995 (13) 1988 (25) Capital إجدابيا Ajdabiya District x x Ajdabiya البطنان Butnan District (Tobruk in 1995, from 1988 Tobruk District) x x Batan x Tobruk Tobruk الحزام الاخضر Hizam al Akhdar District x Aybar الجبل الاخضر Jabal al Akhdar x x Jabal al Akhdar x x Bayda الجبل الغربي Jabal al Gharbi District x x Gharyan الجغبوب Jaghbub Administrative Region AR Administrative Region الجفارة Jafara (from 1988 'Aziziya District) x x Jafara 'Aziziya 'Aziziya الجفرة Jufra District x x Jufra 4 x Hun الكفرة Kufra District x x Kufra 5 x Al Jawf المرج Marj District (1983–1988 Fati District) x x Marj Fati Marj, Barca in antiquity المرقب Murqub District (Morqib) (from 1995 & 1988 Khoms District) x x Murqub 5 Khoms Khoms القطرون Qatrun Administrative Region AR Administrative Region القبة Quba District x Quba Quba, or Giovanni Berta الواحات Al Wahat District (Waha in 1995) x x Wahad 4 Ajdabiya (cf. Ajdabiya District) الوسطى Wusta 4 النقاط الخمس Nuqat al Khams (Nikat al Khums in 1995) x x Nikat al Khams 5 x Zuwara أوباري Awbari District 5a x Ubari الزاوية Zawiya District x x Zawiya x x Zawiya بني وليد Bani Walid District (from 1988 Sawfajjin District) x Bani Walid Bani Walid بنغازي Benghazi x x Benghazi x x Benghazi درنة Derna District x x Derna x Derna فزان Fezzan (or Fazzan) 4 Sabha غدامس Ghadames District x x Ghadames غريان Gharyan District x Gharyan x Gharyan غات Ghat District (from 1988 Ubari) x x Ghat مرادة Marada Administrative Region AR Administrative Region مصراتة Misrata District (includes 1988 Bani Walid District and Zlitan District) x x Misrata 4 x Misrata مزدة Mizda District x Mizda مرزق Murzuq District (Marzug in 1995) x x Murzaq 5 x Murzuk النقازة Naggaza 4 نالوت Nalut District x x Nalout Nalut سبها Sabha District x x Sabha 5 x Sabha صبراته و صرمان Sabratha wa Sorman District x Sabratha & Sorman سوف الجين Sawfajjin District 4 x Bani Walid سرت Sirte District (Khalij Sirte in 1995) x x Sirte 5 x Sirte تاجوراء والنواحي الأربع Tajura wa Arba‘ District x Tajura طرابلس Tripoli District x x Tripoli x x Tripoli ترهونة و مسلاته Tarhuna wa Msalata District (from 1988 Tarhuna District) x Tarhuna & Msalata Tarhuna Tarhuna وادي الحياة Wadi al Hayaa District (1995 Wadi al Hait?, from 1988 Ubari) x x Wadi al Hait? 5b وادي الشاطئ Wadi al Shatii District (Shati' in 1988) x x Wadi al Shaati Shati' Adiri and German wikipedia or BrakSpanish, Italian, Polish and Portuguese wikipedias يفرن Yafran District (Yifren) x Yefrin x Yafran زليتن Zlitan District x Zliten For 1995 data, and are the two different sources mentioned in the bibliography: "The Europa World Year Book 2001" and "Ershiyi (21) Shiji Shijie Diming Lu", Beijing, 2001.
For 1988, name is provided if different from nowadays. As said above, AR stands for the three "Administrative Region" of 2001.
Fazzan wasn't strictly a district, but a historical muhafazah or wilayah along with Tripolitania (capital Tripoli) and Cyrenaica (capital Cyrene -near nowadays Shahhat- with Diocletian, moved to Ptolemais after the earthquake of 365, and to Barce -nowadays Barca- with Omer Bin Khattab in 643).
See also