Official figures: 11 percent of Libya’s population is mostly African immigrants

The number of migrants in Libya stands at 679,386 immigrants from 42 nationalities, most of them from African countries, according to figures released by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya.

Given that Libya has a population of 6 million, migrants make up about 11 percent of the total population of the North African country.

Within this 11 percent, immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa make up 66 percent, followed by North Africa at 28 percent and Asia and the Middle East at 6 percent.

The Mission relied on the reports of the International Organization for Migration – the most recent of which was issued last June – showing that the first five nationalities of migrants in Libya are Niger, Egypt, Chad, Sudan and Ghana.

Migrants from Niger make up 16 percent of total number, followed by Egyptians at 16 percent, 12 percent from Chad, 10 percent from Sudan and 9 percent from Ghana.

Libyan coastguard picks up 1,000 migrants in one day, recovers several bodies