When the Fascist regime gained power in Italy, the colonization of Libya was increased; thousands of Italian settlers poured into the country with promises of free land and financial aid. By 1939, Italians in Libya numbered 108,419 (12.37 percent of the total population) according to census figures; plans envisioned 500,000 Italian settlers by the 1960s. The Italian population was concentrated in the coast around the cities of Tripoli (37 percent of its population) and Bengasi (31 percent).