Sirte District

Sirte (سرت)
District
Country	Libya
Capital	Sirte
Area	77,660 km2 (29,985 sq mi)
Population	141,378 (2006)
Density	2/km2 (5/sq mi)
Map of Libya with Sirte district highlighted

Sirte District (or Sirt or Surt District; Arabic: سرت‎‎ Surt,  pronunciation ), is one of the districts of Libya. It lies in the north of the country and borders the Gulf of Sidra. Its capital is the city of Sirte. Al-Tahadi University is located in Sirte. To the north, Sirte District has a shoreline on the Mediterranean Sea and bordered Al Wahat in the east, Jufra in the south, Jabal al Gharbi in the west and Misrata in the northwest.

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.

The boundaries of Sirte district have changed several times, most recently in the 2007 administrative reorganization of Libyan districts (see maps). From 1983 to 1987 the Bin Jawad District covered parts of what is now part of Sirte District. To the north, Sirte District has a shoreline on the Mediterranean Sea. As of 2007, on land, it bordered the following districts, namely, Al Wahat in the east, Jufra in the south, Jabal al Gharbi in the west and Misrata in the northwest. Sirte is an interim destination of a coastal railway from Tunisia to Benghazi that began construction in 2007. Sirte is a part of Triplotania geographical region of Libya that runs from north to south and has set of coastal oases, plains and limestone plateaus having an elevation of 2,000 ft (610 m) to 3,000 ft (910 m). The region receives an annual rainfall of 16 in (410 mm). There are no perennial rivers in the region, but the region is abundant with groundwater aquifers. 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. Along the coastal regions, the climate is Mediterranean, 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.