Marj District

Marj (المرج)
District
Country	Libya
Capital	Marj
Area	10,000 km2 (3,861 sq mi)
Population	185,848 (2006)
Density	19/km2 (49/sq mi)
Map of Libya with Marj district highlighted

Marj (Arabic: المرج‎‎ Al Marǧ, English: The Meadows) is an administrative division (shabiyah or district) of northeastern Libya, lying on the Mediterranean Sea coast. Its administrative seat is the city of Marj, which was formerly known as Barca. Marj is situated on the Cyrenaica Plateau at the western edge of the Jebel Akhdar. In the 2007 administrative reorganization part of the territory formerly in Al Hizam al Akhdar District was transferred to Al Marj. In the north, Marj has a shoreline on the Mediterranean Sea. On land, it borders Jabal al Akhdar in the east, Al Wahat in south and Benghazi in the west.

Per the census of 2012, the total population in the region was 157,747 with 150,353 Libyans. The average size of the household in the country was 6.9, while the average household size of non-Libyans being 3.7. There were totally 22,713 households in the district, with 20,907 Libyan ones. The population density of the district was 1.86 persons per sq. km. Per 2006 census, there were totally 13,313 economically active people in the district.

Libya has mostly a flat undulating plain and occasional plateau, with an average elevation of around 423 m (1,388 ft). Around 91 per cent of the land is covered by desert, with only 8.8 per cent agricultural land (with only 1 % arable lands) and 0.1 per cent of forests. The major resources are petroleum, gypsum and natural gas. Along the coastal regions, the climate is Mediterranean in coastal areas, while it is desert climate in all other parts. Dust storms lasting four to eight days is pretty common during Spring. Triplotania is the northwest region, while it is Cyrenacia in the east and Fezzen in southwest. Cyrenacia is the largest region in Libya, which is mostly semi arid in nature. The region receives an annual rainfall of 5 in (130 mm). There are no perennial rivers in the region, but the region is abundant with groundwater aquifers.