Libya’s credit to private sector fell to 12.5% of GDP in 2025.

Neither way is good in itself. A higher share can mean banks are funding businesses and homes, and it can also mean households and firms carry heavier debts. A lower share can reflect cautious borrowing or weak lending, so the level has to be read alongside what is happening in the wider economy. The latest figure, for 2025, is 12.5% of GDP, down 0.51 percentage points from 13% of GDP a year earlier. Since 2016 the series has ranged from a low of 10.7% of GDP in 2022 to a high of 21.8% of GDP in 2020. The current reading sits much closer to the bottom of that range than to the top.

Why it matters. At 12.5% of GDP, private borrowers in Libya draw a modest amount of formal credit relative to the size of the economy. Firms that want to expand are likely to rely mainly on their own funds and on informal arrangements. Households have limited access to bank loans for housing or large purchases, and the state is the main source of spending power in the economy. A return towards the 2020 level of 21.8% of GDP would show formal lending playing a larger part in private activity.