We did not do a country update on Libya in the 2004 Survey (and will not do one in the 2005 Survey either). Accordingly, searches for country information on Libya should lead the reader to the report in the 2003 Survey (and it should be clearly indicated that it is from the 2003 Survey).
World Refugee Survey 2003 Country Report
Libya hosted about 12,000 refugees at the end of 2002, including approximately 9,000 Palestinians and nearly 3,000 refugees from Somalia.
About 1,000 Libyans were asylum seekers in various European countries.
Refugees in Libya Approximately 9,000 Palestinians lived in Libya as refugees registered by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The Libyan government estimated that the actual number of Palestinian refugees was about 30,000.
During 2002, some 1,000 Palestinians deemed vulnerable by UNHCR received a monthly living stipend, medical assistance, and skills training.
Most of the nearly 3,000 Somali refugees in Libya resided in the capital, Tripoli. About 1,000 lived in a dilapidated government-donated building in central Tripoli before UNHCR and the Libyan government relocated them to a new facility about six miles (10 km) outside of the capital. Refugee residents at the new facility had access to education, a health center, and recreational facilities.
