A groundbreaking analysis by Misrata University’s College of Economics and Political Science has exposed a dire economic reality: nearly one-third of Libyan families now live below the poverty line. The study, spanning 2012 to 2024, reveals that 32.4% of Libyan households are trapped in financial distress, unable to afford necessities.
While 1.9% of families survive on less than 950 Libyan dinars monthly classified as extreme poverty, a staggering 30.5% grapple with absolute poverty, surviving on under 2,350 dinars per month. These thresholds, calculated using minimum caloric intake and actual expenditure data, underscore the collapse of purchasing power.
Researchers pinpointed the parallel foreign exchange market as a primary driver of the crisis, where the Libyan dinar’s steep depreciation has sent prices of imported goods—from food to medicine—spiraling. Compounding this, a surge in money supply between 2015 and 2020 flooded the economy with liquidity, fueling inflation. Global price shocks from 2021 to 2023 further tightened the vise, as worldwide commodity spikes battered local markets.