Country Analysis (Libya) for International Business Class - Essay Example

The Encyclopedia of Nations (2010) delves deeper to reveal the details; the maximum hours of work per week are 48, the minimum age for employment is 18, the average monthly wage is 270 dinars (converting to US$100). Foreign workers do not enjoy all the rights as Libyans and there exists restrictions on income repatriation. Other considerations to make about employment in Libya include the fact that Gaddafi regime made a great deal of effort in preventing the growth of a viable private sector.

On a socio-cultural aspect, language is of particular importance to business planners in Libya. Economy Watch (2011) indicates that the major languages spoken in Libya are Arabic, Italian and English, all of which are widely used in the major cities in Libya. Arabic is however the official language in Libya (CIA World Factbook, 2011). This indicates that diversity of languages in Libya is not huge and business planners can therefore undertake activities focused on the three major languages. The fact that the three are largely understood makes it even easier to interact with Libyans while doing business.

The ethnic population in Libya is predominantly Berber and Arab who make up 97% of the Libyan population. The remaining 3% consists of Italians, Greeks, Indians, Pakistani, Egyptians, Turks, Tunisians and Maltese among other nationalities in no particular order (Economy Watch, 2010; CIA World Factbook, 2011). According to the US State Department (2011) there are small Tebou and Tuareg ethnic communities in Southern Libya that are mainly nomadic or semi-nomadic. Besides North Africans, West Africa and sub-Saharan nationalities contribute the major portion of the non-Libyan population in the country.

Whereas news of ethnic tensions is not common in Libya, the recent uprising was initially observed to follow ethnic patterns unlike the wave of uprisings that characterized the North African and Muslim World in general (Bancroft-Hinchey, 2011). The implications of this to the business planners involves planning to win over the majority and targeting the smaller ethnic populations besides the fact that absence of ethnic tensions means that under a stable regime Libya is an attractive place for business.

Gender considerations especially in the labor market in Libya are an extension of the position of the woman in the rest of the society. Encyclopedia of Nations (2010) observes that although Libyan labor law provides for equal opportunities for men and women in the labor market, traditional societal restrictions of women in terms of out-of-home activities ensure that this law is not practical. SIGI (2007) indicates that efforts to address such issues of inequality have been hampered by the fact that it is illegal to form rights groups independent of the Libyan state.

Therefore, business planners need to ensure they strike the perfect balance that will adhere to Libyan labor law while at the same time not upsetting the Libyan society in terms of gender issues. The next issue of consideration with regard to socio-cultural factors in Libya is religion in terms of diversity and the extent to which it is influential to culture. A general view of the religious outlook of Libya is provided by Economy Watch (2010), which gives the figures as 97% Muslim and 3% for the rest.

Nation Master (2011) provides more comprehensive information indicating that the 97% of Muslims are actually