Statistical information Lebanon 1989Lebanon

Map of Lebanon | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year:  | More stats

Lebanon in the World
Lebanon in the World

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Lebanon - Introduction 1989
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Background: Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions and regaining its national sovereignty since the end of the devastating civil war which began in 1975.


Lebanon - Geography 1989
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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area

Land boundaries:
454 km total
Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km


Coastline: 225 km

Maritime claims: Territorial sea:12 nm

Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers

Terrain: narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains

Elevation

Natural resources: limestone, iron ore, salt; water-surplus state in a water-deficit region
Land use

Land use: 21% arable land; 9% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures; 8% forest and woodland; 61% other; includes 7% irrigated

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: Between early 1975 and late 1976 Lebanon was torn by civil war between its Christians - then aided by Syrian troops - and its Muslims and their Palestinian allies. The cease-fire established in October 1976 between the domestic political groups generally held for about six years, despite occasional fighting. Syrian troops constituted as the Arab Deterrent Force by the Arab League have remained in Lebanon. Syria's move toward supporting the Lebanese Muslims and the Palestinians and Israel's growing support for Lebanese Christians brought the two sides into rough equilibrium, but no progress was made toward national reconciliation or political reforms - the original cause of the war. Continuing Israeli concern about the Palestinian presence in Lebanon led to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in June 1982. Israeli forces occupied all of the southern portion of the country and mounted a summer-long siege of Beirut, which resulted in the evacuation of the PLO from Beirut in September under the supervision of a multinational force (MNF) made up of US, French, and Italian troops. Within days of the departure of the MNF, Lebanon's newly elected president, Bashir Gemayel, was assassinated. In the wake of his death, Christian militiamen massacred hundreds of Palestinian refugees in two Beirut camps. This prompted the return of the MNF to ease the security burden on Lebanon's weak Army and security forces. In late March 1984 the last MNF units withdrew. Lebanon continues to be partially occupied by Syrian troops. Israel withdrew the bulk of its forces from the south in 1985, it still retains a 10-km-deep security zone just north of the 1949 Armistice Line. Israel continues to arm and train the Army of South Lebanon (ASL), which occupies the security zone and opposes the return of Palestinian fighters to South Lebanon. The ASL has also been involved in confronting Shia and leftist militias sponsored by Syria. Sporadic fighting between Shia and Palestinian forces based in the refugee camps of Beirut, Sidon, and Tyre escalated between October 1986 and January 1987, finally breaking into major combat in February. At its height, fighting in West Beirut pitted the Shia against the Druze, leftist militias, Sunnis, and Palestinians. At the request of then Prime Minister Rashid Karami and other Muslim members of the government, Syria dispatched troops and Special Forces units to West Beirut to restore order in February. Syria also maintains troops in the Riyaq area of the Bekaa Valley and the Al Matn, while Special Forces units are stationed along the Syrian-Lebanese border and in the Tripoli area. In late 1985 the Syrian regime negotiated a tripartite agreement among the three major rival Christian, Druze, and Shia militias, but implementation failed. The Christian and Muslim communities remain deeply split. Israel and Lebanon signed a withdrawal agreement on 17 May 1983. The agreement was never implemented and was subsequently voided. A partial Israeli withdrawal and government attempts to extend authority have led to renewed factional fighting. The following description is based on the present constitutional and customary practices of the Lebanese system.


Lebanon - People 1989
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Population: 3,300,802 (July 1989), growth rate 1.1% (1989)

Nationality: noun - Lebanese (sing., pl.; adjective - Lebanese

Ethnic groups: 93% Arab, 6% Armenian, 1% other

Languages: Arabic and French (both official; Armenian, English

Religions: 75% Islam, 25% Christian, NEGL% Judaism; 17 legally recognized sects - 4 Orthodox Christian (Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Nestorean, Syriac Orthodox), 7 Uniate Christian (Armenian Catholic, Caldean, Greek Catholic, Maronite, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Syrian Catholic), 5 Islam (Alawite or Nusayri, Druze, Ismailite, Shia, Sunni), and 1 Jewish

Demographic profile
Age structure

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 28 births/1000 population (1989)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1000 population (1989)

Net migration rate: - 10 migrants/1000 population (1989)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, ethnicity; deforestation; soil erosion; air and water pollution; desertification

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 50 deaths/1000 live births (July 1989)

Life expectancy at birth: 65 years male, 70 years female (July 1989)

Total fertility rate: 3.8 children born/woman (1989)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 75%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


Lebanon - Government 1989
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Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Lebanon; note - may be changed to Lebanese Republic

Government type: republic

Capital: Beirut

Administrative divisions: 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah; Al Biqa, Al Janub, Ash Shamal, Bayrut, Jabal Lubnan

Dependent areas

Independence: 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)

National holiday: Independence Day, 22 November (1943)

Constitution: 26 May 1926 (amended)

Legal system: mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: compulsory for all males over 21; authorized for women over 21 with elementary education

Executive branch: Chief of State - (vacant) Parliament failed to select a new president before President Amine Pierre GEMAYEL's term expired on 23 September 1988; Head of Government - Acting Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Michel AWN (since 23 September 1988); Acting Prime Minister Salim al-HUSS (since 1 June 1987)
Note: Gemayel's last act as president was to appoint Gen. Michel Awn as prime minister. However, the acting prime minister, Salim al-Huss refuses to step down, resulting in two contending governments - one led by the Maronite Christian Awn and the other by the Sunni Muslim Huss

Legislative branch: Army, Navy, Air Force

Judicial branch

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: Arab League, CCC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB - Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, IWC - International Wheat Council, NAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WSG, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Ambassador Dr. Abdallah BOUHABIB; Chancery at 2,560 28th Street NW, Washington DC 20,008; telephone (202) 939-6,300; there are Lebanese Consulates General in Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles; US - Ambassador John T. MCCARTHY; Embassy at Avenue de Paris, Beirut (mailing address is P. O. Box 70-840, Beirut; telephone Õ961å 417,774 or 415,802, 415,803, 402,200, 403,300

Flag descriptionflag of Lebanon: three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


Lebanon - Economy 1989
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Economy overview: Severe factional infighting in 1989 has been destroying physical property, interrupting the established pattern of economic affairs, and practically ending chances of restoring Lebanon's position as a Mideast entrepot and banking hub. The ordinary Lebanese struggles to keep afloat in an environment of physical danger, high unemployment, and growing shortages. The central government's ability to collect taxes has suffered greatly from militia control and taxation of local areas. As the civil strife persists, the US dollar has become more and more the medium of exchange. Transportation, communications, and other parts of the infrastructure continue to deteriorate. Family remittances, foreign political money going to the factions, and a surprising volume of manufactured exports help prop up the battered economy.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving
Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: fruits, wheat, corn, barley, potatoes, tobacco, olives, onions; not self-sufficient in food; an illegal producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade

Industries: banking, food processing, textiles, cement, oil refining, chemicals, jewelry, some metal fabricating

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force:
650,000; 79%
industry, commerce, and services, 11% agriculture, 10% goverment (1985)

Labor force

Unemployment rate: 33% (1987 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $50 million; expenditures $650 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1987 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $1.0 billion (f.o.b., 1987)
Commodities: agricultural products, chemicals, textiles, precious and semiprecious metals and jewelry, metals and metal products
Partners: Saudi Arabia 16%, Switzerland 8%, Jordan 6%, Kuwait 6%, US 5%

Imports: $1.5 billion (c.i.f., 1987)
Commodities: NA
Partners: Italy 14%, France 12%, US 6%, Turkey 5%, Saudi Arabia 3%

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $935 million (December 1988)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Lebanese pounds (LL) per US$1 - 530.47 (January 1989), 409.23 (1988), 224.60 (1987), 38.37 (1986), 16.42 (1985)


Lebanon - Energy 1989
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Electricity
Capacity: 1,381,000 kW capacity; 4,839 million kWh produced, 1,480 kWh per capita (1988)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


Lebanon - Communication 1989
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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


Lebanon - Military 1989
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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: NA

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


Lebanon - Transportation 1989
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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 10 total, 9 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m; none under the direct control of the Lebanese Government

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil, 72 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine: 76 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 358,310 GRT/543,094 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 47 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 2 vehicle carrier, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 container, 8 livestock carrier, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 1 specialized tanker, 8 bulk, 1 combination bulk; note - a flag of convenience registry

Ports and terminals


Lebanon - Transnational issues 1989
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Disputes international: separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice Line; Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982; Syrian troops in northern Lebanon since October 1976

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs


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