I got by in US city or North African state (5)
I believe the answer is:
libya
'north african state' is the definition.
(country in North Africa)
'i got by in us city' is the wordplay.
'got' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'us city' becomes 'LA' (Los Angeles).
'i'+'by'='iby'
'iby' inserted into 'la' is 'LIBYA'.
'or' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for libya that I've seen before include "Country in N. Africa" , "Where Idris was king" , "N African country" , "Petroleum-rich African desert country" , "North African nation" .)