by FlagPictures.org

Located on the northern African coast and east of Egypt, the State of Libya shipped US$30 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2025.

That calculated dollar amount results from a -9.4% deceleration from $33.1 billion five years earlier in 2021.

Year over year, overall revenues from Libyan export sales in 2025 fell by -8.5% compared to $32.8 billion starting from 2024.

Libya’s top 3 most valuable exported goods are crude oil, processed petroleum oils, and petroleum gases. Combined, that trio of lucrative products generated 95.8% of total Libyan export sales on global markets.

The latest available country-specific data from 2019 shows that 91.6% of products exported from Libya were bought by importers in: Italy (33.2% of Libya’s global total), mainland China (22.5%), Spain (11.6%), France (5%), United Arab Emirates (4.1%), United States of America (2.7%), Denmark (2.5%), Greece (2.4%), Netherlands (2.3%), Australia (1.9%), Thailand (1.7%) and Turkey (1.6%).

Applying a continental perspective, 61.5% of Libya’s exports by value was delivered to European countries while 32.5% were sold to importers in Asia. Libya shipped another 3% worth of goods to North America.

Smaller percentages went to Oceania’s Australia only (1.9%), Africa (0.6%), then Latin America (0.5%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.

Given Libya’s population of 7 million people, its total US$30 billion in 2025 exports translates to roughly $4,300 for every resident in the North African country. That dollar metric lags the average $4,600 per capita one year earlier in 2024.

Libya’s top 10 exports accounted for 99.4% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Fertilizers represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 5,779% from 2024 to 2025.

In second place for improving export sales were milling products, malt and starches via a 228.2% advance.

Libya’s shipments of inorganic chemicals posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 61%.

The leading decliner among Libya’s top 10 export categories were organic chemicals thanks to a -75.1% year-over-year drop.

At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, crude oil represents Libya’s most valuable exported product at 91.8% of the country’s total. In second place were processed petroleum oils (2.5%) trailed by petroleum gases (1.6%), ammonia (0.7%), iron ore reduced products (also 0.7%), copper scrap (0.5%), wheat or meslin flour (0.3%), aluminum scrap (also 0.3%), iron or steel scrap (0.2%) then acyclic hydrocarbons (also 0.2%).

Overall Libya posted an estimated US$8.4 billion surplus for 2025, expanding by 15.9% from $7.3 billion in black ink in 2024.

The following types of Libyan product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

Not one Libyan corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.

Wikipedia lists exports-related companies from Libya. Selected examples are shown below.

 
In macroeconomic terms, Libya’s total exported goods represent 24.2% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2025 ($124 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 24.2% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2025 compares to 30.9% for 2024. Those metrics suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Libya’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Libya’s unemployment rate averaged 18.8% for 2025, up from an average 18.6% in 2024 according to Trading Economics metrics.

Libya’s capital city is Tripoli, nicknamed by local residents as “Bride of the Sea” or “Mermaid”.

See also Crude Oil Exports by Country, Top 10 Exports from Cyprus, Malta’s Top 10 Exports

Research Sources:
Al Jazeera, Libyan fighting reaches streets of Tripoli (August 21, 2011). Accessed on October 19, 2026

Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles. Accessed on October 19, 2026

Forbes 2016 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 19, 2026

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on October 19, 2026

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 19, 2026

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 19, 2026

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on October 19, 2026

Wikipedia, Libya. Accessed on October 19, 2026

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Libya. Accessed on October 19, 2026

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on October 19, 2026