Libya: cities by population
Libya has a population of 7,539,851 (UN estimate, 2026), with Tripoli as its capital. The 50 largest of its 119 recorded towns and cities, ranked.
+42%
since 2000 (5,305,021)
+23%
projected by 2050 (9,260,605)
4
people per km²
Figures are the latest available in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), which draws on national censuses of varying dates — treat them as recent, not same-year. Country totals are UN World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant) where the UN lists the country separately; the handful it reports under a parent state keep a GeoNames figure and are marked as such. Sources & method.
Largest cities in Libya
| # | Place | Region | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tripoli | Tripoli | 1,302,947 |
| 2 | Benghazi | Banghazi | 757,490 |
| 3 | Misratah | Misratah | 355,657 |
| 4 | Zliten | Misratah | 203,790 |
| 5 | Al Khums | Al Marqab | 201,943 |
| 6 | Az Zāwīyah | Az Zawiyah | 200,000 |
| 7 | Zawiya | Az Zawiyah | 186,123 |
| 8 | Janzūr | Al Jafarah | 154,389 |
| 9 | Sabha | Sabha District | 149,329 |
| 10 | Tobruk | Al Butnan | 141,499 |
| 11 | Ajdabiya | Al Wahat | 131,773 |
| 12 | Al Ajaylat | An Nuqat al Khams | 130,546 |
| 13 | Al Bayḑā’ | Al Jabal al Akhdar | 129,439 |
| 14 | Al Jadīd | Sabha District | 126,386 |
| 15 | Sirte | Surt | 106,705 |
| 16 | Darnah | Darnah | 102,581 |
| 17 | Al Jumayl | An Nuqat al Khams | 102,000 |
| 18 | Qaşr Bin Ghashīr | Tripoli | 100,069 |
| 19 | Tājūrā’ | Tripoli | 100,000 |
| 20 | Al Marj | Al Marj | 85,315 |
| 21 | Şabrātah | Az Zawiyah | 83,398 |
| 22 | Al Ḩurshah | Az Zawiyah | 81,119 |
| 23 | Şurmān | Az Zawiyah | 77,114 |
| 24 | Msalātah | Al Marqab | 73,907 |
| 25 | As Sawānī | Al Jafarah | 57,069 |
| 26 | Tarhuna | Al Marqab | 52,420 |
| 27 | Al ‘Azīzīyah | Al Jafarah | 52,404 |
| 28 | Qaşr al Qarabūllī | Tripoli | 49,610 |
| 29 | At Tāj | Al Kufrah | 46,050 |
| 30 | Bani Walid | Misratah | 45,734 |
| 31 | Al Jawf | Al Kufrah | 42,079 |
| 32 | Gharyan | Jabal al Gharbi | 36,110 |
| 33 | Zuwarah | An Nuqat al Khams | 33,887 |
| 34 | Ubari | Wadi al Hayat | 33,569 |
| 35 | Zintan | Jabal al Gharbi | 33,000 |
| 36 | Al Abyār | Al Marj | 32,563 |
| 37 | Sīdī Bin Zīnah | An Nuqat al Khams | 31,607 |
| 38 | Al Burayqah | Al Wahat | 31,300 |
| 39 | Murzuk | Murzuq District | 30,491 |
| 40 | Shahhat | Al Jabal al Akhdar | 29,206 |
| 41 | Nālūt | Nalut | 28,431 |
| 42 | Al Aşābi‘ah | Jabal al Gharbi | 27,713 |
| 43 | Az Zahrā’ | Al Jafarah | 25,684 |
| 44 | Al Qubbah | Darnah | 24,631 |
| 45 | Hūn | Al Jufrah | 24,431 |
| 46 | Al Ghurayfah | Wadi al Hayat | 23,449 |
| 47 | Yafran | Jabal al Gharbi | 22,680 |
| 48 | Az Zuwaytīnah | Al Wahat | 21,015 |
| 49 | An Nāşirīyah | Al Jafarah | 20,687 |
| 50 | Qaryat Sulūq | Banghazi | 19,918 |
Twenty years earlier: Libya in the 2005 World Gazetteer — population then 5,980,693.
Common questions
What is the population of Libya?
Libya has a population of 7,539,851, the UN World Population Prospects estimate for 2026. The UN's medium-variant projection for 2050 is 9,260,605 — a forecast, not a measurement.
What is the capital of Libya?
Tripoli.