المستخلص: |
This article deals with water situation in Libya generally in order to show the effect of population on water resources which included population growth and geographical distribution of population. The study describe the current water situation in Libya including “water resources, water supply and water demand” based on data collected from different resources such as literature, books, reports and journals. The study revealed that the population growth rate is the most important factor affecting water resources. Libya will be facing extreme deficit in water resources, among highly populated cities because of increase in consumption of drinkable water and in domestic purposes. The country’s population has tripled since the 1950s. It was 1,888,730 in the first census in Libya in 1954 and it became 5,657,632 in the last census 2006. As a result of the population growth and the improvement of living standard, the country is facing a severe lack of water resources. Water shortages of about 1154 to 4339 Mm3 have been estimated for the years 1998 and 2025, respectively. In respect to population distribution, the concentration of population in the north has led to increased demand for water, which in turn has led to the low level of water in some areas and vulnerability to pollution in other regions, while because of lack of population in the south part; these areas do not suffer from problems of water shortage or contamination.
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