(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/55473000/jpg/_55473954_libya_ntc.jpg)
Libya, a mostly desert and oil-rich country on the southern shores of the Mediterranean Sea with an ancient history, has more recently been renowned for the 42-year rule of the mercurial Col Muammar Gaddafi.
• Full name: The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
• Population: 6.5 million (UN, 2010)
• Capital: Tripoli
• Area: 1.77 million sq km (685,524 sq miles)
• Major language: Arabic
• Major religion: Islam
• Life expectancy: 73 years (men), 78 years (women) (UN)
• Monetary unit: 1 Libyan dinar (LD) = 1,000 dirhams
• Main exports: Crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas
• GNI per capita: US $12,020 (World Bank, 2009)
• Internet domain: .ly
• International dialling code: +218
In 2011, the colonel's autocratic government appears to have been brought to an end by a six-month uprising and ensuing civil war.
A former Roman colony, Libya saw invasions by Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks and more recently Italians before gaining independence in 1951.
Oil was discovered in 1959 and made the state - then a kingdom ruled by the head of the Senussi sufi order - wealthy.
Col Gaddafi came to power by overthrowing King Idris in a coup in 1969, ten years after independence, and Libya embarked on a radically new chapter in its history.
BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13754897)
Provides an overview of Libya, including key events and facts about this major oil producer which was ruled by Colonel Gaddafi for 42 years.
Attribution: CNN, BBC and IOL Africa.