Libya, once shunned by much of the international community over the 1988 bombing of a PanAm plane above the Scottish town of Lockerbie, underwent a dramatic rehabilitation after taking formal responsibility for the bombing in 2003.
The UN lifted sanctions, and Libya's subsequent renunciation of weapons of mass destruction further improved relations with the West.
However, the world once again turned against the Libyan government in early 2011 over its violent response to a popular uprising inspired by anti-authoritarian protests that swept Arab countries. Several leaders urged Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to step down, and the UN Security Council passed a resolution authorising a no-fly zone over Libya and air strikes to protect civilians.
A former Roman colony, Libya is a mostly desert country which 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 wealthy. Ten years later, King Idris was overthrown in a coup led by the 27-year-old Muammar Gaddafi, and Libya embarked on a radically new chapter in its history.
Colonel Gaddafi's revolution has been based largely on distinguishing his country from the world around it. Ideas put forward in his Green Book aim at an alternative to both communism and capitalism, while Islam is adhered to but with a unique slant - Libya has its own calendar based on the Prophet Muhammad's death, for example.
Colonel Gaddafi called the new system a jamahiriya, loosely translated as a "state of the masses". Power is held by various people's committees, while in practice Gaddafi rules unopposed.
Libya was blamed for the Lockerbie plane bombing, and two Libyans suspected of organising the incident were handed over in 1999 for trial in The Hague under Scottish law. In 2001 one of the suspects was found guilty of killing 270 people in the bombing.
After Britain and Libya signed a prisoner-exchange agreement in 2009, Libya requested the transfer of the convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, who was freed from gaol on compassionate grounds and returned home in August.
Tripoli paid compensation to the US victims of the bombing in 2008, opening up the possibility of full diplomatic relations with the United States.
Libya possesses considerable reserves of oil and gas, but the sector remains relatively undeveloped.
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: +218Leader: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi
Once regarded as a pariah by the West, Colonel Gaddafi began his return to the international fold after Libya settled the Lockerbie bombing claims and agreed to stop developing weapons of mass destruction.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi seized power in 1969Western politicians, including the British, Italian, French and German leaders, have since visited Tripoli.
Muammar Gaddafi is the Arab world's longest-serving leader. A shrewd operator, he survived several attempts on his life and reinvented Libya's system of government.
The colonel came to power in a bloodless coup in 1969 against the ailing King Idris. He was inspired by the Egyptian nationalist leader Gamal Abdul Nasser, who dominated Arab politics in the 1950s and 1960s.
Though Col Gaddafi has always presented himself as an Arab nationalist, his attempts to forge unity with other Arab states have met with little success. In the 1990s he turned to Africa and proposed a "United States of Africa". The concept later formed the basis of the African Union.
Over the years Col Gaddafi has supported a broad range of armed groups, including the Irish Republican Army and the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Libya's alleged involvement in attacks in Europe in the 1980s triggered US military strikes in 1986. Dozens of people were killed, including the Libyan leader's adopted daughter.
One of Col Gaddafi's sons, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, is seen as having played a large part in the rehabilitation of the Libyan regime in the eyes of the international community. However, his credibility as the "acceptable" face of the Libyan leadership was somewhat tarnished after unrest broke out in February 2011 and he became an apologist for his father.
Muammar Gaddafi was born in the desert near Sirte in 1942. He married twice and has eight children.
The state strictly controls the media. The Libyan Jamahiriyah Broadcasting Corporation is the state broadcaster. Pan-Arab satellite TVs are widely watched. Most Libyan newspapers are either directly or indirectly owned by the government.
The uprising that began in February 2011 saw the emergence of media outlets affiliated with opponents of Colonel Gaddafi. They include radio stations in areas wrested from the regime's control, and Libya TV - a Qatar-based satellite station. The rebels run a number of newspapers and websites.
There were nearly 354,000 internet users by June 2010 (Internetworldstats). Web filtering is selective, focusing on political opposition websites. Social media have served as a battleground for supporters and foes of the regime.
The press
Television
Great Jamahiriyah TV - state-run, available terrestrially and via satellite Al-Libiyah - via satellite Libya TV - Qatar-based opposition satellite stationRadio
News agency
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