What is the highest surface area recorded in Libya?

The highest recorded value was 1.76 million sq. km in 1961.

What is the lowest surface area recorded in Libya?

The lowest recorded value was 1.76 million sq. km in 1961.

How does Libya rank for surface area?

Libya ranks 16th out of 216 countries with data for 2023.

Is surface area rising or falling in Libya?

Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.

Surface area in Libya

Name: Surface area in Libya
Creator: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

Libya: Surface area was 1.76 million sq. km in 2023. ▬ Flat

Latest (2023)

1.76 million sq. km

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

16th

of 216 countries

All-time high

1.76 million sq. km

in 1961

All-time low

1.76 million sq. km

in 1961

Years of data

1961–2023

Surface area in Libya, 1961–2023

Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.

Analysis

Libya recorded 1.76 million sq. km for surface area in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.

The figure is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, surface area in Libya peaked at 1.76 million sq. km in 1961 and was at its lowest, 1.76 million sq. km, in 1961.

Libya ranks 16th of 216 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

Surface area in Libya, year by year

Annual values for Surface area (sq. km) in Libya, 1961 to 2023.
Year	sq. km	Change
1961	1.76 million sq. km	—
1962	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1963	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1964	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1965	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1966	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1967	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1968	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1969	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1970	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1971	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1972	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1973	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1974	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1975	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1976	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1977	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1978	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1979	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1980	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1981	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1982	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1983	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1984	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1985	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1986	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1987	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1988	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1989	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1990	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1991	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1992	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1993	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1994	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1995	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1996	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1997	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1998	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
1999	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2000	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2001	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2002	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2003	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2004	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2005	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2006	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2007	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2008	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2009	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2010	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2011	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2012	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2013	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2014	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2015	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2016	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2017	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2018	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2019	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2020	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2021	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2022	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%
2023	1.76 million sq. km	+0.0%

Libya compared with similar countries

Libya's 1.76 million sq. km is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 109,385 sq. km, 16.1× the median. (58 countries reporting)
Libya's 1.76 million sq. km is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 185,180 sq. km, 9.5× the median. (23 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	1.76 million sq. km	1.76 million sq. km	1.76 million sq. km	9
1970s	1.76 million sq. km	1.76 million sq. km	1.76 million sq. km	10
1980s	1.76 million sq. km	1.76 million sq. km	1.76 million sq. km	10
1990s	1.76 million sq. km	1.76 million sq. km	1.76 million sq. km	10
2000s	1.76 million sq. km	1.76 million sq. km	1.76 million sq. km	10
2010s	1.76 million sq. km	1.76 million sq. km	1.76 million sq. km	10
2020s	1.76 million sq. km	1.76 million sq. km	1.76 million sq. km	4

Countries ranked near Libya

13 Mexico 1.96 million sq. km compare
14 Indonesia 1.92 million sq. km compare
15 Sudan 1.88 million sq. km compare
17 Iran 1.75 million sq. km compare
18 Mongolia 1.56 million sq. km compare
19 Peru 1.29 million sq. km compare

See the full ranking of 264 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Libya

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -37.76 % change on previous year (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.015 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 96.79 current US$ per person (2025)
Rural population, annual growth rate 0.835 % change on previous year (2025)
Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Rural population, per capita 0.1209 units per person (2025)
Share of GDP from agriculture 1.5% (2025)
Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.5% (2025)
Agricultural raw materials exports 0.0% (2019)
Agricultural raw materials imports 0.4% (2019)

All data for Libya →

Frequently asked questions

What is surface area in Libya?: Surface area in Libya was 1.76 million sq. km in 2023, according to FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
What is the highest surface area recorded in Libya?: The highest recorded value was 1.76 million sq. km in 1961.
What is the lowest surface area recorded in Libya?: The lowest recorded value was 1.76 million sq. km in 1961.
How does Libya rank for surface area?: Libya ranks 16th out of 216 countries with data for 2023.
Is surface area rising or falling in Libya?: Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Libya data come from?: The figures come from FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Surface area (sq. km). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Surface area in Libya. Statizoid, drawing on FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/surface-area-sq-km/libya/

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About this data

Indicator: Surface area (sq. km)
Unit: sq. km
Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 264 places, 16,456 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed: 17 September 2026

Surface area is a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways.