Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Algeria is 35% bigger than Libya
Algeria: 2,381,740 km² (2024) · Libya: 1,759,540 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Libya’s coastline is 77% longer than Algeria’s
Algeria: 998 km (2026 edition) · Libya: 1,770 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Algeria’s highest peak towers 641 m above Libya’s
Algeria: 2,908 m (2026 edition) · Libya: 2,267 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 17% of Algeria, versus 8.7% of Libya
Algeria: 17.3% (2024) · Libya: 8.7% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Algeria has 6.4 times as many people as Libya
Algeria: 47.4 million (2025) · Libya: 7.46 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Algeria is 4.7 times as densely populated as Libya
Algeria: 20 per km² (2025) · Libya: 4 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Libya are 1.3 cm taller than in Algeria
Algeria: 175 cm (2019) · Libya: 176.4 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Libya and Algeria are practically level
Algeria: 162.4 cm (2019) · Libya: 162.6 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Algeria is 0.99 year older than in Libya
Algeria: 28.2 years (2023) · Libya: 27.2 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Algeria have 0.4 more children on average than in Libya
Algeria: 2.72 children per woman (2024) · Libya: 2.3 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
6.8% of people in Algeria are 65 or older, versus 5.2% in Libya
Algeria: 6.8% (2025) · Libya: 5.2% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Libya hosts 19 times as many refugees per resident as Algeria
Algeria: 3.8 per 1,000 (2025) · Libya: 74.1 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Algeria has produced 0.4 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Libya none
Algeria: 0.4 (2026) · Libya: 0 (2026)
How many official languages?
Algeria and Libya are practically level
Algeria: 1 (2026) · Libya: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Algeria’s economy is 6 times the size of Libya’s
Algeria: $287 billion (2025) · Libya: $48.1 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Algeria produces 12% more per person than Libya
Algeria: Int$18,586 (2025) · Libya: Int$16,521 (2025)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 19% in Libya, versus 12% in Algeria
Algeria: 11.6% (2025) · Libya: 18.8% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Algeria spends 8.8% of its GDP on the military, Libya 3.6%
Algeria: 8.8% (2025) · Libya: 3.6% (2023)
How expensive is it?
Libya’s price level (US = 100) is 1.2× Algeria’s
Algeria: 33% (2025) · Libya: 39% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Libya spends 2 times as much on health per person as Algeria
Algeria: $233 (2023) · Libya: $470 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Algeria live 5.4 years longer than in Libya
Algeria: 76.5 years (2024) · Libya: 71.1 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Algeria is 2.5 times as likely to die before turning one as in Libya
Algeria: 19.5 per 1,000 (2024) · Libya: 7.9 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Libya has 23% more doctors per person than Algeria
Algeria: 1.7 per 1,000 (2022) · Libya: 2 per 1,000 (2017)
How many hospital beds are there?
Libya has 2.2 times as many hospital beds per person as Algeria
Algeria: 1.6 per 1,000 (2017) · Libya: 3.5 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Libya is 38% higher than in Algeria
Algeria: 3.2 per 100k (2023) · Libya: 4.4 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
34% of adults in Libya are obese, versus 24% in Algeria
Algeria: 24.3% (2024) · Libya: 33.5% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
24% of adults in Libya smoke, versus 22% in Algeria
Algeria: 22.4% (2024) · Libya: 24.2% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
Libya and Algeria are practically level
Algeria: 5.71 (2025) · Libya: 5.73 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Algeria drink 184 times as much alcohol as in Libya
Algeria: 0.4 litres (2023) · Libya: 0.0023 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Libya has 2 times as much meat per person as Algeria
Algeria: 22.3 kg (2023) · Libya: 43.7 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Algeria has 529 kcal more food per person per day than Libya
Algeria: 3,396 kcal (2023) · Libya: 2,867 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Algeria: 2,232 hours (2023) · Libya: no data
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Libya went to school 0.36 years longer than in Algeria
Algeria: 7.4 years (2023) · Libya: 7.8 years (2023)
How many World Heritage sites?
Algeria has 2 more World Heritage sites than Libya (7 against 5)
Algeria: 7 (2026) · Libya: 5 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Algeria has won 20 Olympic medals, Libya none
Algeria: 20 (2026 edition) · Libya: 0 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
82% of people in Libya are online, versus 77% in Algeria
Algeria: 77% (2024) · Libya: 82% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in Algeria is 7 times as fast as in Libya
Algeria: 165 Mbps (2026) · Libya: 23 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Algeria have electricity, versus 77% in Libya
Algeria: 100% (2024) · Libya: 77.4% (2024)
How many live in cities?
88% of people in Libya live in cities, versus 76% in Algeria
Algeria: 76% (2025) · Libya: 88% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Libya has 193 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Algeria 115
Algeria: 115 (2024) · Libya: 193 (2022)
How much railway is there?
Algeria: 4,001 km (2021) · Libya: no data
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Algeria fly 3% more passengers per resident than those from Libya
Algeria: 0.15 (2023) · Libya: 0.15 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 0.7% of Algeria, but only 0.1% of Libya
Algeria: 0.7% (2024) · Libya: 0.1% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Libya emits 2.1 times as much CO₂ as someone in Algeria
Algeria: 4.2 t (2024) · Libya: 8.8 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
1.1% of Algeria’s electricity is renewable, versus 0.0% in Libya
Algeria: 1.1% (2024) · Libya: 0% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in Libya carries 19% more fine dust than in Algeria
Algeria: 14.4 µg/m³ (2024) · Libya: 17.1 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
Algeria: 1.2 per 100k (2023) · Libya: no data
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Libya are 2.3 times as deadly as in Algeria
Algeria: 22.3 per 100k (2023) · Libya: 51.4 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Algeria is on average 1.7 °C warmer than Libya
Algeria: 24.7°C (2016–2025 avg) · Libya: 23°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Algeria gets 3 times as much rain as Libya
Algeria: 58 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Libya: 19 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is Algeria bigger than Libya?
Algeria is larger. Algeria is 35% bigger than Libya.
Which has more people, Algeria or Libya?
Algeria has 6.4 times as many people as Libya (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Algeria or Libya?
People in Algeria live 5.4 years longer than in Libya. Life expectancy at birth is 76.5 years in Algeria and 71.1 in Libya.
Are people taller in Algeria or Libya?
Men in Libya are 1.3 cm taller than in Algeria (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
