Libya Census

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Libya

Census

Resources

Online Resources

• 1936 Censimento Generale Della Populazione. Volume V: Libia. Isole italiane dell'Egeo. Tientsin (General Population Census. Volume 5: Libya. Italian Aegean islands. Tianjin), by Istat. Roma: Failli, 1939. (Pages 69-191) Online at: Istituto Nazionale di Statistica

Offices to Contact

Libyan Center for Archives and Historical Studies
P.O. Box 5070
Tripoli, Libya
Telephone: 00218 21 3333996
Email: info@libsc.org.ly
Website

Presidency of the Republic of Turkey State Archives Directorate
T.C. Cumhurbaşkanlığı Devlet Arşivleri Başkanlığı
Gayret Mahallesi 95. Sokak No:3 06170
Yenimahalle/ANKARA
Telephone: (0312) 307 90 00 - (0312) 307 86 40
Email: dab@devletarsivleri.gov.tr
Website - Information for Researchers

Background

During the rule of the Ottoman Empire from 1551 to 1912, Libya consisted of three main provinces: Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fezzan. Censuses conducted by the Ottomans are likely held by the President's Archive in Turkey (Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivleri) and the Libyan Center for Archives and Historical Studies (post 1881). The Italians also conducted a census in 1936 to gather information about the native populations, demographics, classes, economic activity and can be accessed through the link under Online Resources above. Later census have been conducted since Libya gained its independence in 1951.

Types of Censuses

Libyan Census

Censuses were conducted in 1954, 1964, 1973, 1984, 1995, and 2006. Contact the Libyan Center for Archives and Historical Studies for more information about these censuses (contact information above).

Italian Census

A census was conducted by the Italians on the 21 April, 1936 to gather information about the native populations, demographics, classes, economic activity, etc. Resources were invested by Italy to improve towns, roads, and agricultural communities to facilitate Italian colonization. The number of Italian colonists was approximately 150,000 (one-fifth of Libya's population) by the beginning of WWII.

Ottoman Census

The Ottoman records for Libya may either be in the Libyan National Archives (contact Libyan Center for Archives and Historical Studies above), or they may also be at the Nüfus ve Vatandaşlık İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü (General Directorate of Citizenship and Population Affairs) archives in Turkey.

Information Recorded in the Records

• Libyan Censuses: The Libyan censuses conducted in 1954 and 1964 likely contain names, household relationships, nature of household (settled vs. nomadic), age, education, marital status, health, sex, and birth place. It is uncertain whether later censuses contain vital information or are more statistical in nature.
• Censimento Generale Della Populazione. Volume V: Libia. Isole italiane dell'Egeo. Tientsin: This Italian censuses includes family names, sex, religion, populations, and demographics of Libyan natives in 1936.

• Ottoman Nüfus registers: Population (Nüfus) registers were recorded by the Ottoman Empire and can be used to establish family groups and individual identity. These registers were compiled in an initial census survey; thereafter vital information was added as births, marriages, and deaths occurred from approximately 1876 to 1915. Supplemental registration of births, marriages, divorces, and deaths were sometimes added to the register itself or sometimes compiled in separate registers.