LIBYA · ECONOMY
Key Facts
- What is happening Libya’s two rival political bodies agreed a first unified budget in more than 13 years in April 2026, and Fouzi Abokhzam was serving as Central Bank governor by 27 October 2026.
- Why it matters Hydrocarbons made up 65% of Libya’s GDP, 93% of exports and 72% of government revenue in 2024, so whoever controls oil output and the revenue account controls the economy.
- The numbers GDP was US$48.1 billion in 2025 for 7.46 million people, and oil output averaged about 1.3 million barrels a day in 2025, with 1.35 million projected for 2026.
- Who is who The National Oil Corporation runs oil and gas, the Central Bank of Libya holds the revenue and sets the dinar rate, and the Libyan Investment Authority holds assets above 80 billion, currency unstated.
- What to watch Watch whether the central bank board’s call for a prompt unified general budget is met, and whether United Nations rules let the investment fund put frozen money back to work.
- What it means for you The State Department says Do Not Travel to Libya, the US embassy in Tripoli has been suspended since July 2014, and US sanctions rules still apply, so business needs legal advice first.
Libya’s economy is oil. A national oil company, a central bank and a frozen sovereign fund hold the levers.
The Libya economy depends on oil, and this guide names who controls it in November 2026. It uses only official pages and leaves out what it could not confirm.
It covers the oil company, the central bank, the sovereign fund and the banks, plus what each means for Americans. Every figure carries its date.
Libya Economy: One Resource, a Few Hands
The Libya economy runs on oil, and a handful of state bodies control it. The World Bank, a development lender, says hydrocarbons were 65% of GDP, 93% of exports and 72% of state revenue in 2024.
In 2025 the World Bank counts about US$48.1 billion of GDP and 7.46 million people, or US$6,449 a head. Growth was 1.9% in 2024, held down by a governance crisis at the central bank that disrupted oil output.
In 2025 growth jumped to about 13%, with oil GDP up 17.4% and non-oil GDP up about 6.9%. Oil revenues rose 30% and government revenues reached 53.6% of GDP.
Forecasts differ on what comes next. The World Bank projects 4.5% growth for 2026, while the International Monetary Fund, a global lender, projects 6.7% and inflation of 10.5%.
More coverage sits on the Rio Times Libya page and in the Libya oil economy explainer. No facts in this guide come from those pages.
The World Bank also lists the Libya Development Trust Fund, launched in December 2023 with the German and British governments. It followed a 2023 Rapid Disaster and Needs Assessment run with the European Union and the United Nations.
Related reading includes the Rio Times explainer on the Trans-Saharan gas pipeline and its report on US sanctions warnings. No facts here come from them.
The National Oil Corporation and Its Subsidiaries
The National Oil Corporation, or NOC, is the state company that runs Libya’s oil and gas. Its website says it oversees several subsidiaries in exploration, renewable energy and sustainability, and it names Waha Oil among them.
The website puts current production at 1.4 million barrels a day and sets a target of 2 to 3 million. The World Bank gives a 2025 average of about 1.3 million and a goal of 2 million by 2030.
The NOC lists nine strategic programmes, including maximising oil, accelerating gas, renewables and financing the company itself. Its site shows no named foreign partners, so this guide does not name any.
The site’s latest dated news item is from 17 July 2023, and it does not give a chairman with a date. For that reason no NOC chairman is named here.
The Central Bank of Libya and the Money
The Central Bank of Libya describes itself as wholly owned by the state, with headquarters in Tripoli. Its page of 27 October 2026 names Fouzi Musbah Abokhzam as governor, meeting Mohamed Takala of the High Council of State.
Its page of 11 April 2026 named Naji Mohammed Issa as governor, announcing the first unified budget in over 13 years. The bank said the House of Representatives and the High Council of State, two rival political bodies, had agreed it.
At its fifth meeting of 2026, on 28 October, the board created a risk committee and a panel of outside monetary experts. It urged coordination on spending, a stable exchange rate, protected reserves and a prompt unified budget.
The World Bank says the central bank’s governance crisis in 2024 disrupted oil output and cut growth to 1.9%. That link, from the bank’s board to the oilfields, is why its leadership matters to every other player.
The bank’s official rate on 3 November 2026 was 6.4013 dinars to buy and 6.4334 to sell US$1. The World Bank says the bank devalued the dinar in April 2025 to narrow the gap with the parallel market.
The World Bank projects inflation of about 2% for 2025 and flags a risk for 2026 from dinar weakness. The IMF’s 2026 projection is 10.5%, so the two lenders disagree on how much prices will rise.
The Libyan Investment Authority: A Frozen Fund
The Libyan Investment Authority, or LIA, is Libya’s sovereign wealth fund, set up on 28 August 2006 and reorganised in 2010. It reports assets above 80 billion in a 2019 valuation, with no currency named, and about 400 subsidiaries.
By its own split, 37% of assets are in Europe, 33% in the United States and Canada and 23% in Africa. Its subsidiaries include the Libyan Company for Foreign Investments, the Libya Africa Investment Portfolio and the Oil Investment Company.
Assets it owns directly remain frozen under United Nations Security Council resolutions 1970, 1973 and 2009, all from 2011. Resolution 2769 of 2025 lets it hold frozen cash in low-risk time deposits and reinvest the returns with fund managers.
The LIA named Dr Ali Mahmoud Hassan as chairman and chief executive in May 2026 news items. On 2 November 2026 its chairman met French Treasury officials in Paris about carrying out the frozen-asset resolutions.
Banks and Private Business
The central bank’s website lists 25 commercial banks, among them Jumhouria Bank, National Commercial Bank, Wahda Bank and Sahara Bank. The page does not say which are state-owned, so this guide does not.
The World Bank says the private sector employs only about 14% of the workforce as of 2025. It calls unemployment high but gives no rate.
No business families or tycoons are named here, because no official source confirmed who owns what. Much of the money in Libya’s economy passes through the state oil company, the central bank and the fund.
Sectors, Exports and Trade
Oil and gas dominate exports at 93% in 2024, which makes Libya’s foreign income depend on output and prices. The World Bank expects non-oil growth of 4.2% in 2026 and about 3.4% a year over the medium term.
It projects a government surplus of 3.8% of GDP for 2025 and a current account deficit of about 4%. For 2026 it projects a current account surplus of 23.6% of GDP, which would reverse that.
Two-way goods trade with the United States was above US$1.1 billion in 2019, according to the State Department. No newer figure was found on its page.
What It Means for US Readers
The State Department’s travel advisory says Do Not Travel to Libya because of crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping and armed conflict. It says the US government cannot give emergency or routine help to Americans there.
The US embassy in Tripoli suspended operations in July 2014. The Treasury’s sanctions office lists Libya programmes under executive orders 13566 of 2011 and 13726 of 2016.
Its latest listed actions, on 28 May and 30 September 2026, were removals of designations. Anyone planning a deal with a Libyan state body should take legal advice first.
What Is Not Known
This guide could not confirm the NOC chairman, its foreign partners, subsidiaries beyond Waha Oil, or any listed Libyan company. Official pages for those items were closed to automated readers or silent.
It also found no source on business families, bank ownership or the size of the unified budget. Whether that budget has been delivered in practice is not shown on the central bank’s pages.
The World Bank and the IMF disagree on 2026 growth, 4.5% against 6.7%, and the IMF shows no report behind its figure. The LIA’s value is a 2019 figure in an unstated currency.
Frequently Asked Questions
What drives the Libya economy?
Oil and gas. The World Bank says hydrocarbons were 65% of GDP, 93% of exports and 72% of government revenue in 2024.
Who runs Libya’s oil?
The state-owned National Oil Corporation runs oil and gas. Its website puts production at 1.4 million barrels a day, while the World Bank gives a 2025 average of about 1.3 million.
Who is the governor of the Central Bank of Libya?
The bank’s page of 27 October 2026 names Dr Fouzi Musbah Abokhzam as governor. A page of 11 April 2026 had named Naji Mohammed Issa.
What is the Libyan Investment Authority?
It is Libya’s sovereign wealth fund, set up in 2006, with assets above 80 billion, currency unstated, on a 2019 valuation. UN resolutions have frozen the assets it owns directly since 2011.
What is Libya’s exchange rate?
On 3 November 2026 the central bank’s official rate was 6.4013 dinars to buy and 6.4334 to sell US$1. The bank devalued the dinar in April 2025.
Can Americans do business in Libya?
The State Department says Do Not Travel to Libya, and US sanctions rules under executive orders 13566 and 13726 still exist. Anyone planning a deal should seek legal advice first.
Sources: World Bank (Libya overview, modified 21 October 2026); World Bank (Libya open data); International Monetary Fund (Libya country page); Central Bank of Libya (website, 3 November 2026); Central Bank of Libya (governor’s meeting, 27 October 2026); Central Bank of Libya (board statement, 28 October 2026); Central Bank of Libya (unified budget statement, 11 April 2026); National Oil Corporation, Libya; Libyan Investment Authority; Libyan Investment Authority (about us); US State Department (Libya travel advisory); US State Department (US relations with Libya); US Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (Libya sanctions) (all accessed 3 November 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief