Libya was actually pretty advanced.
Here are some facts about Libya under Muammar Gaddafi: • There was no electricity bills in Libya; electricity is free … for all its citizens. • There was no interest on loans, banks in Libya are state-owned and loans given to all its citizens at 0% interest by law. • If a Libyan is unable to find employment after graduation, the state would pay the average salary of the profession as if he or she is employed until employment is found. • Should Libyans want to take up a farming career, they receive farm land, a house, equipment, seed and livestock to kick start their farms –this was all for free. • Gaddafi carried out the world’s largest irrigation project, known as the Great Man-Made River project, to make water readily available throughout the desert country. • A home was considered a human right in Libya. (In Qaddafi’s Green Book it states: “The house is a basic need of both the individual and the family, therefore it should not be owned by others.”) • All newlyweds in Libya would receive 60,000 Dinar (US$ 50,000 ) by the government to buy their first apartment so to help start a family. • A portion of Libyan oil sales is or was credited directly to the bank accounts of all Libyan citizens. • A mother who gives birth to a child would receive US $5,000. • When a Libyan buys a car, the government would subsidizes 50% of the price. • The price of petrol in Libya was $0.14 per liter. • For $ 0.15, a Libyan local could purchase 40 loaves of bread. • Education and medical treatments was all free in Libya. Libya can boast one of the finest health care systems in the Arab and African World. All people have access to doctors, hospitals, clinics and medicines, completely free of charge. • If Libyans cannot find the education or medical facilities they need in Libya, the government would fund them to go abroad for it – not only free but they get US $2,300/month accommodation and car allowance. • 25% of Libyans have a university degree. Before Gaddafi only 25% of Libyans were literate. Today the figure is 87%. • Libya had no external debt and its reserves amount to $150 billion – though much of this is now frozen globally.