Despite the political tensions in the country, Libya scores relatively well for many components of a sustainable healthcare system. Part of this is attributable to the exceptional control the Libyan health services seem to have over deaths from communicable diseases and its on-the-ground outreach and delivery of health services evident in its low neonatal, infant and maternal mortality indicators along with low proportion of low-birth-weight babies. It also has above average access to health personnel and access to medicines and essentials as compared to others in the region, although there is still a gap between Libya and Middle Eastern countries’ performance in this area. Libya experiences low rates of death from water-borne illnesses and diarrhoeal disease, and low incidence of both viral hepatitis and HIV. However, this success is not mirrored in the country’s experience of non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. The high prevalence of obesity in the country suggests that lifestyle-related determinants of health need closer attention to improve health outcomes. The lack of political stability and comparatively low trust in government, which leads to a lack of health registries in the country, is a key area that could be a reason for uneven growth. Additionally, its innovation landscape is comparatively weak; it is let down by a lack of incentives, both in terms of patents for pharmaceuticals and intellectual property protection.