Poverty Strikes Libya: One-Third of the Population Deprived of the Country’s Wealth – World Bank Reveals the Details

The London-based newspaper The Arab Weekly reported on Thursday that while official figures indicate that Libya has doubled its oil revenues, shocking statistics reveal a sharp rise in poverty rates and the number of impoverished citizens. This raises questions about the fate of oil revenues and how they are being spent amid competition between two rival governments.

According to the newspaper, Abdulhamid Al-Fadheel, an economics professor at Misrata University, revealed that poverty in Libya now affects 32.5% of the population.

A study published in the Journal of Economics and Business Studies from the Faculty of Economics at Misrata University found that 32.5% of Libyan households live below the poverty line, with 1.9% classified as extremely poor.

Al-Fadheel noted that Tripoli recorded the highest percentage of households below the poverty line at 11.3%, while households headed by individuals aged 45-55 were the most affected, with 12.6% living in poverty compared to other age groups.

This comes just days after Tripoli’s Security Directorate announced the arrest of 878 beggars in the capital last year, including 461 women and 221 children. Of those arrested, 329 were Libyans, including 61 children, while the majority were foreign nationals, including 283 women and 106 children.

The newspaper pointed out that observers believe the increasing number of Libyan beggars reflects the dire economic reality of the country, with significant social consequences, particularly for children.

For years, many Libyans denied the existence of local beggars, assuming that anyone seen begging in Tripoli or Benghazi came from neighboring countries. However, the situation has changed, as poverty has now forced locals into begging or taking on physically demanding jobs that were previously disregarded.

Observers also argue that one-third of Libyans are deprived of their country’s wealth, while oil and gas revenues are funneled into corrupt networks linked to political power centers, armed groups, smuggling operations, monopolies, and high-level financial deals.

The World Bank stated that although Libya is classified as an upper-middle-income country, its development indicators and institutional capacity do not match its income level. Despite growth in oil production, years of conflict and political divisions have led to insufficient public investment, poor infrastructure maintenance, and weak state involvement in the modern economy, while the private sector remains constrained.

A field study conducted by the World Bank found that Tazirbu is the poorest area in Libya, with an 80% poverty rate, followed by Derna and Jalu at 70%. Additionally, 7% of residents in the surveyed municipalities live below the poverty line, 29% survive on less than $3 per day, and 13% cannot meet their basic daily needs.

The report also revealed that 13% of households are selling their assets to cover financial needs, while 35% have fallen into debt primarily to buy food and essentials.