There are twenty-two districts of Libya, known by the term shabiyah (Arabic singular شعبية šaʿbiyya, plural šaʿbiyyāt). In the 1990s these replaced the older baladiyat system.
Historically the area of Libya was considered three provinces (or states), Tripolitania in the northwest, Cyrenaica in the east, and Fezzan in the southwest. It was the conquest by Italy in the Italo-Turkish War that united them in a single political unit. Under the Italians Libya was eventually divided into four provinces and one territory: Tripoli, Misrata, Benghazi, Derna, (in the north) and the Territory of the Libyan Sahara (in the south).[1] After the French and British occupied Libya in 1943, it was again split into three provinces: Tripolitania in the northwest, Cyrenaica in the east, and Fezzan-Ghadames in the southwest.[2]
Article 176 of the constitution of Libya stated "The Kingdom of Libya shall be divided into administrative units in conformity with the law to be promulgated in this connection. Local and regional councils may be formed in the Kingdom. The extend of these units shall be determined by law which shall likewise organize these Councils." in exact quote.[citation needed]
After independence (1951), Libya was divided into three governorates (muhafazat), matching the three provinces of before, but in 1963 it was divided into ten governorates. In 1983 a new system was introduced dividing the country into forty-six districts (baladiyat). In 1987 this was reduced to twenty-five districts.
On 2 August 1995, Libya reorganized into thirteen districts (shabiyat). In 1998 this was increased to 26 shabiyat districts. In 2001 it was increased to thirty-two districts plus three administrative regions. Finally in 2007 to was reduced to twenty-two districts.
Shabiyah (Arabic: شعبية šaʿbiyya, plural: شعبياتšaʿbiyyāt) is a neologism exclusive to Libya under Gaddafi, in line with exclusive terms for republic (jamahiriya), ministry (amanah) and embassy (people's-bureau).
The term basically means a district, that is, a top level administrative division. Etymologically, it is an adjective meaning "of or pertaining to the people, popular".
22 shabiyat (2007)
In 2007 the current twenty-two shabiyah replaced the older thirty-two shabiyah.[3][4][5]
The current list is as following:
The current twenty-two shabiyat system in Libya (since 2007)
In 1998 Libya was reorganized into twenty-six districts which were: Al-Batan, Al-Jafarah, Al-Jofra, Al-Kofra, Al-Marj, Al-Morqib, Al-Qoba, Al-Wahad, Ben Walid, Benghazi, Derna, Gharyan, Jabal Al-Akhdar, Murzaq, Musrata, Nalout, Nikat Al-Khams, Sabah, Sabrata/Sorman, Sirte, Tarhouna/Msallata, Tripoli, Wadi Al-Hait, Wadi Al-Shaati, Yefrin, and Zawiyah[11]
13 shabiyat (1995)
On 2 August 1995 Libya dropped the baladiyat system and reorganized into thirteen districts (shabiyat). Among them were Al Butnan (formerly Tobruk), Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jabal al Gharbi, Az Zawiyah, Benghazi, and Tarabulus. However there is not agreement about the other seven names.[5]
Former 46 baladiyat in 1983 and 25 in 1988
Baladiyah (singular) or baladiyat (plural), are Arabic words used in many Arab countries to denote administrative divisions of the country. In Libya, the baladiyat system of districts was introduced in 1983 to replace the governorate system. Originally there were forty-six baladiyat districts,[5] but in 1988 that number was reduced to twenty-five baladiyat. The table hereunder lists the old twenty-five baladiyat in alphabetical order with a link to each one and numbered to be located on the map. Note that each district linked may be both a baladiyah and a shabiyah. The many changes may not always be reflected in the article.
For 1995 data, [4] and [5] are the two different sources mentioned in the bibliography[5]: "The Europa World Year Book 2001" and "Ershiyi (21) Shiji Shijie Diming Lu", Beijing, 2001.
For 1988, name is provided if different from nowadays. As said above, AR stands for the three "Administrative Region" of 2001.
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