Compte-rendu: Un atlas de Libye

Summary

This review examines the National Atlas of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, published in 1978. Prepared in Sweden with Libyan academic collaboration, it draws on statistical and cartographic data from 1976–1977. The atlas features mostly small-scale analytical maps of physical geography, climate, agriculture, industry, and population, supplemented by larger-scale plans of regions such as Sebha. It effectively displays disputed border claims, major relief features, transport networks, and agricultural settlement projects enabled by oil revenues. Several maps derive directly from hydrocarbon exploration, situating the atlas within Libya's oil-boom era. The reviewer concludes that such high-quality national atlases are rare, making this an indispensable reference for understanding contemporary Libya.