🇱🇾 Libya

Libya has Africa's largest proven oil reserves (48 billion barrels) but has been in chaos since the 2011 NATO-backed overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. The country of 7 million has been split between rival governments — one in Tripoli (west) and one in Benghazi (east) — with various militias controlling territory. GDP is about $45 billion but swings wildly depending on oil production disruptions. Under Gaddafi, Libya had the highest HDI in Africa. Now it's a major transit point for migrants trying to reach Europe, with horrific conditions in detention centers. The country is 90% desert, with almost the entire population living along the Mediterranean coast.

Oil is everything — it accounts for about 95% of government revenue and 98% of exports. Production fluctuates between 700,000 and 1.2 million barrels per day depending on which faction controls the fields and export terminals. Italy, Germany, and China are the main oil buyers. The Central Bank holds about $80 billion in reserves, a massive buffer. The non-oil economy is negligible. The Libyan dinar has a huge gap between official and black market rates.

Libya's Great Man-Made River is the world's largest irrigation project — a network of pipes bringing fossil water from beneath the Sahara to coastal cities, called the "Eighth Wonder of the World" by Gaddafi. The country's Leptis Magna is one of the best-preserved Roman cities in the world, rivaling Pompeii. Libya has the longest coastline of any African country on the Mediterranean at 1,770 km.

Libya's oil wealth should make it one of Africa's richest countries, but the political fragmentation ensures the wealth is fought over rather than invested. Reunification under a legitimate government remains the prerequisite for everything else.