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Photo: Maher A. A. Abdussalam · CC0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 13 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Libya: Food & Agriculture
What does a country grow, and what does it take to grow it?
Libya is placed 158th of 175 countries on food & agriculture in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Cereal Yield 672.2 (2023); Dietary Energy Supply 2,800 (2024).
Food & Agriculture
158th
of 175 countries placed
Placed from 2 of 4 key statistics
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Libya on food & agriculture — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 4
Cereal Yield
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: How much food a hectare of land produces: the clearest single measure of how productively a country farms.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 4.0
672.2
Cereal yield (kg per hectare)
Higher is better
Libya: 672.2. Across the 179 countries in this edition, values run from 23 (Cabo Verde) to 29,147 (Oman); the world median is 3,072.
- World median
- 3,072
- Best in Northern Africa
- 7,402 Egypt
- Land neighbours
- Algeria 1,352 · Egypt 7,402 · Niger 488.8 · Sudan 454.9 · Chad 819.3 · Tunisia 1,301
Each grey tick is one of 179 countries in the 2023 edition.
Key 2 of 4
Organic Agricultural Area
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: Farmland managed without synthetic fertiliser or pesticide — how a country farms, set beside how much it grows.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
No reading
Organic share of agricultural land (%)
Higher is better
FAO publishes no 2024 figure for Libya, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 156 countries in this edition, values run from 0 (Afghanistan) to 86.38 (Samoa); the world median is 0.725.
- World median
- 0.725
- Best in Northern Africa
- 2.74 Egypt
- Land neighbours
- Algeria 0.01 · Egypt 2.74 · Niger 0 · Sudan 0.03 · Tunisia 2.03
Each grey tick is one of 156 countries in the 2024 edition.
Key 3 of 4
Dietary Energy Supply
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: Whether the food a country produces and imports covers what its population needs to eat, measured before anyone has eaten it.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
2,800
Dietary energy supply (kcal per person per day)
Higher is better
Libya: 2,800. Across the 155 countries in this edition, values run from 1,757 (Somalia) to 3,962 (United States); the world median is 2,982.
- World median
- 2,982
- Best in Northern Africa
- 3,435 Tunisia
- Land neighbours
- Algeria 3,396 · Egypt 3,174 · Niger 2,683 · Chad 2,121 · Tunisia 3,435
Each grey tick is one of 155 countries in the 2024 edition.
Key 4 of 4
Agriculture Orientation Index
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: How much public spending agriculture attracts set against the share of the economy it produces — whether a state invests in its farms or lives off them.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
No reading
Agriculture orientation index (1.0 = spending matches sector size)
Higher is better
FAO publishes no 2024 figure for Libya, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 132 countries in this edition, values run from 0.03 (Ghana) to 5.38 (Singapore); the world median is 0.305.
- World median
- 0.305
- Best in Northern Africa
- 0.4 Tunisia
- Land neighbours
- Algeria 0.36 · Egypt 0.17 · Niger 0.09 · Chad 0.09 · Tunisia 0.4
Each grey tick is one of 132 countries in the 2024 edition.
02Over time
Which way Libya is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Cereal Yield
Cereal yield (kg per hectare) · higher is better
LibyaWorld median
Libya rose from 637.7 in 2000 to 672.2 in 2023; the world median went from 2,170 to 3,072.
Every year’s figures
Year Libya World median 2023 672.2 3,072 2022 671.9 3,217 2021 673.4 3,003 2020 672.4 3,260 2019 679.7 3,106 2018 680.5 2,883 2017 676.0 2,984 2016 669.9 3,043 2015 665.3 3,000 2014 666.8 3,001 2013 663.8 2,970 2012 681.4 2,782 2011 664.5 2,754 2010 669.9 2,647 2009 634.1 2,653 2008 621.7 2,664 2007 623.0 2,553 2006 622.6 2,514 2005 622.8 2,512 2004 620.0 2,428 2003 620.0 2,331 2002 632.3 2,378 2001 619.4 2,199 2000 637.7 2,170 Dietary Energy Supply
Dietary energy supply (kcal per person per day) · higher is better
LibyaWorld median
Libya fell from 3,114 in 2001 to 2,800 in 2024; the world median went from 2,628 to 2,982.
Every year’s figures
Year Libya World median 2024 2,800 2,982.0 2023 2,854 2,969.0 2022 2,939 2,962.5 2021 2,975 2,967.0 2020 3,002 2,934.0 2019 2,997 2,912.5 2018 2,998 2,893.0 2017 2,986 2,886.0 2016 2,987 2,863.0 2015 2,984 2,835.0 2014 2,984 2,844.0 2013 2,974 2,856.0 2012 2,984 2,838.0 2011 3,017 2,827.5 2010 3,059 2,808.0 2009 3,091 2,818.0 2008 3,094 2,811.0 2007 3,097 2,810.5 2006 3,100 2,772.0 2005 3,102 2,740.5 2004 3,105 2,712.5 2003 3,108 2,685.0 2002 3,111 2,667.0 2001 3,114 2,628.0
03In context
Libya beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 175 countries on food & agriculture, never a place within the region.
1st175thNot placed · 49 countries with too few key statisticsNo data
Libya and the countries it borders
The standing is each country’s place among all 175 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Cereal YieldCereal yield (kg per hectare) | Organic Agricultural AreaOrganic share of agricultural land (%) | Dietary Energy SupplyDietary energy supply (kcal per person per day) | Agriculture Orientation IndexAgriculture orientation index (1.0 = spending matches sector size) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Egypt | 54th | 7,402 | 2.74 | 3,174 | 0.17 |
 Tunisia | =65th | 1,301 | 2.03 | 3,435 | 0.4 |
 Algeria | 114th | 1,352 | 0.01 | 3,396 | 0.36 |
| Libya | 158th | 672.2 | — | 2,800 | — |
 Niger | 167th | 488.8 | 0 | 2,683 | 0.09 |
 Sudan | =172nd | 454.9 | 0.03 | — | — |
 Chad | 174th | 819.3 | — | 2,121 | 0.09 |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across Northern Africa
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 175.
Placed either side on food & agriculture
The countries immediately above and below Libya in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Libya is ahead of the world, and behind
16 more statistics filed under food & agriculture, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median1
Statistics on which Libya does better than the middle country measured.
Livestock Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 107.06120.54107.06▼ Worsened since 2012
Libya: 120.54 · world median 107.06 · Livestock production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 35.52 to 190.08; higher is better.
Position 48th of 194 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median4
Statistics on which Libya does worse than the middle country measured.
Food Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 106.08105.75106.08▼ Worsened since 2012
Libya: 105.75 · world median 106.08 · Food production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 71.08 to 177.49; higher is better.
Position 103rd of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Crop Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 106.2398.35106.23▼ Worsened since 2012
Libya: 98.35 · world median 106.23 · Crop production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 53.79 to 189.93; higher is better.
Position 139th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Prevalence of UndernourishmentFAO · 2023 · world median 5.216.55.2▼ Worsened since 2013
Libya: 16.5 · world median 5.2 · Population undernourished (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 2.5 to 54.2; lower is better.
Position 34th of 104 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Prevalence of Severe Food InsecurityFAO · 2023 · world median 4.717.24.7▼ Worsened since 2015
Libya: 17.2 · world median 4.7 · Population in severe food insecurity (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 63.1; lower is better.
Position 26th of 127 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No better end11
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Cereal Import Dependency RatioFAO · 2022 · world median 42.810042.8Moved since 2012
Libya: 100 · world median 42.8 · Share of the cereal supply that is imported (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from -1,894 to 100.
Arable Land per PersonFAO · 2023 · world median 0.1090.2350.109Moved since 2013
Libya: 0.235 · world median 0.109 · Arable land (hectares per person). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1.459.
Position 47th of 206 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Water Withdrawal by SectorFAO · 2022 · world median 62.1483.1962.14No real change since 2012
Libya: 83.19 · world median 62.14 · Freshwater withdrawn for agriculture (% of total). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 99.48.
Position 43rd of 171 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Employment in AgricultureILO · 2025 · world median 14.389.99714.38No real change since 2015
Libya: 9.997 · world median 14.38 · Employment in agriculture (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.095 to 85.34.
Position 106th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Agricultural EmissionsFAO · 2023 · world median 8,6354,4138,635No real change since 2013
Libya: 4,413 · world median 8,635 · Farm-gate emissions (kt CO₂eq). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1,044,508.
Position 125th of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Land Under Cereal ProductionFAO · 2023 · world median 689,278309,380689,278Moved since 2013
Libya: 309,380 · world median 689,278 · Land under cereal production (hectares). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 103,715,108.
Position 114th of 179 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Pesticide Use per HectareFAO · 2024 · world median 1.730.831.73No real change since 2014
Libya: 0.83 · world median 1.73 · Pesticide use (kg per hectare of cropland). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 37.72.
Position 128th of 178 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Fertilizer Consumption per HectareFAO · 2023 · world median 87.3622.0487.36Moved since 2013
Libya: 22.04 · world median 87.36 · Fertilizer consumption (kg per hectare of arable land). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 2,926.
Position 143rd of 188 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 2025 · world median 6.5721.5016.572Moved since 2015
Libya: 1.501 · world median 6.572 · Agriculture, forestry and fishing value added (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.025 to 47.59.
Position 137th of 158 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Agricultural LandFAO · 2023 · world median 37.968.72437.96No real change since 2013
Libya: 8.724 · world median 37.96 · Agricultural land (% of land area). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.445 to 86.48.
Position 182nd of 209 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Livestock DensityFAO · 2023 · world median 0.5350.110.535No real change since 2013
Libya: 0.11 · world median 0.535 · Livestock units per hectare of agricultural land. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.02 to 43.97.
Position 173rd of 188 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No current reading for Libya
Agricultural Irrigated Land, Agriculture Orientation Index, Global Report on Food Crises (last 2022) and Organic Agricultural Area. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Food & Agriculture among Libya’s 14 topics
Food & Agriculture is Libya’s 8th best-placed topic of 14. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Development & Human Capital101st of 1963/3 keys
- Health & Wellbeing111th of 2004/4 keys
- Digital & Technology160th of 1982/3 keys
- Mobility & Trade121st of 1472/3 keys
- Economy & Innovationjoint 151st of 1763/4 keys
- Work & Labourjoint 158th of 1824/4 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties175th of 1983/3 keys
- Food & Agriculture158th of 1752/4 keys
- Risk & Resilience174th of 1923/3 keys
- Governance & Institutions183rd of 1944/4 keys
- Gender & Equality173rd of 1832/4 keys
- Environment & Sustainability176th of 1812/3 keys
- Peace & Security176th of 1773/4 keys
- Energy192nd of 1932/3 keys
No standing on Education & Knowledge, Poverty & Inequality: too few of those topics’ key statistics are published for this country.
06The top of the list
Who leads on food & agriculture
The three countries placed highest of 175, and the leaders Libya can most readily be measured against.
1
AustriaWestern Europe
1st of 175 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0, greyscale
2
IrelandNorthern Europe
2nd of 175 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 2.0, greyscale
3
CzechiaEastern Europe
3rd of 175 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: john mcsporran from Trossachs, Scotland · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Africa
Egypt54th4/4 keysThis page
Libya158th2/4 keys
Positions out of 175 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Questions
Libya on food & agriculture: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Libya rank on food & agriculture?
Libya is placed 158th of 175 countries on Food & Agriculture in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 4 key statistics (Cereal Yield and Dietary Energy Supply). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Cereal Yield figure for Libya?
672.2 in 2023 (cereal yield (kg per hectare)), according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The world median in the same edition was 3,072.
What is the latest Dietary Energy Supply figure for Libya?
2,800 in 2024 (dietary energy supply (kcal per person per day)), according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The world median in the same edition was 2,982.
How does Libya compare with Egypt on food & agriculture?
Egypt is placed 54th of 175, and Libya 158th. Cereal Yield: Egypt 7,402, Libya 672.2; Dietary Energy Supply: Egypt 3,174, Libya 2,800.
How have Libya’s food & agriculture figures changed?
Cereal Yield rose from 637.7 in 2000 to 672.2 in 2023; Dietary Energy Supply fell from 3,114 in 2001 to 2,800 in 2024.
Which food & agriculture statistics are missing for Libya?
No current reading is published for Libya on Agricultural Irrigated Land, Agriculture Orientation Index, Global Report on Food Crises and Organic Agricultural Area. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
08Keep reading
Explore further
Libya, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions183rd of 194
- Economy & Innovation=151st of 176
- Work & Labour=158th of 182
- Health & Wellbeing111th of 200
- Development & Human Capital101st of 196
- Environment & Sustainability176th of 181
- Gender & Equality173rd of 183
- Democracy & Civil Liberties175th of 198
- Peace & Security176th of 177
- Risk & Resilience174th of 192
- Mobility & Trade121st of 147
- Energy192nd of 193
- Digital & Technology160th of 198
- The full Libya profile
Nearby, on food & agriculture
The key statistics, for every country
09Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
This subject is about production and land use, not about whether people are fed. Hunger, undernourishment and what a population actually eats are measured under Health & Wellbeing, and the two regularly disagree — a country can grow a great deal and still leave many people short, and one that grows little can be well fed by trade. The wider environmental cost of farming — emissions, water withdrawal, forest cover — is filed under Environment & Sustainability.
How the Food & Agriculture standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 4 indicators on this topic are keys and 18 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2023 to 2024, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 4 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 175 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 4.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- Cereal Yield — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
- Organic Agricultural Area — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
- Dietary Energy Supply — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
- Agriculture Orientation Index — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
The other 16 statistics on this page come from 3 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Libya’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Libya (banner) — Maher A. A. Abdussalam, CC0
- Austria — chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Ireland — derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Czechia — john mcsporran from Trossachs, Scotland, CC BY 2.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Libya: Food & Agriculture — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/libya/food