Map of Lebanon | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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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 16-year civil war which began in 1975. Under the Ta'if accord_the blueprint for national reconciliation_the Lebanese have established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political process. Since December 1990, the Lebanese have formed four cabinets and conducted the first legislative election in 20 years. Most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has seized vast quantities of weapons used by the militias during the war and extended central government authority over about one-half of the country. Hizballah, the radical Shi'a party, retains most of its weapons. Foreign forces still occupy areas of Lebanon. Israel maintains troops in southern Lebanon and continues to support a proxy militia, The Army of South Lebanon (ASL), along a narrow stretch of territory contiguous to its border. The ASL's enclave encompasses this self-declared security zone and about 20 kilometers north to the strategic town of Jazzin. Syria maintains about 30,000 troops in Lebanon. These troops are based mainly in Beirut, North Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's deployment was legitimized by the Arab League early in Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if accord. Citing the continued weakness of the LAF, Beirut's requests, and failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if accord, Damascus has so far refused to withdraw its troops from Beirut.


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Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria

Geographic coordinates

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total area total: 10,400 km²
Land: 10,230 km²
Comparative: about 0.8 times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries: total 454 km, 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; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows

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
Arable land: 21%
Permanent crops: 9%
Meadows and pastures: 1%
Forest and woodland: 8%
Other: 61%

Irrigated land: 860 km² (1989 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: Nahr al Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity


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Population: 3,695,921 (July 1995 est.)
Growth rate: 2.15% (1995 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
Adjective: Lebanese

Ethnic groups: Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%

Languages: Arabic (official), French (official), Armenian, English

Religions: Islam 70% (5 legally recognized Islamic groups - Alawite or Nusayri, Druze, Isma'ilite, Shi'a, Sunni), Christian 30% (11 legally recognized Christian groups - 4 Orthodox Christian, 6 Catholic, 1 Protestant), Judaism NEGL%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 36% (female 657,403; male 682,757)
15-64 years: 58% (female 1,131,450; male 1,016,859)
65 years and over: 6% (female 111,585; male 95,867) (July 1995 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 2.15% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 27.9 births/1000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 6.44 deaths/1000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (1995 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills
Current issues natural hazards: duststorms, sandstorms
Current issues international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 38 deaths/1000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 69.69 years
Male: 67.22 years
Female: 72.28 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.31 children born/woman (1995 est.)

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: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Total population: 80%
Male: 88%
Female: 73%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Lebanon
Conventional short form: Lebanon
Local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah
Local short form: none

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: 23 May 1926, amended a number of times

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: 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Ilyas HARAWI (since 24 November 1989); note - by custom, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shi'a Muslim
Head of government: Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 22 October 1992)
Cabinet: Cabinet; chosen by the president in consultation with the members of the National Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
National Assembly: (Arabic - Majlis Alnuwab, French - Assemblee Nationale) Lebanon's first legislative election in 20 years was held in the summer of 1992; the National Assembly is composed of 128 deputies, one-half Christian and one-half Muslim; its mandate expires in 1996

Judicial branch: four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases)

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Riyad TABBARAH
In the us chancery: 2,560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 939-6,300
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 939-6,324
In the us consulates general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles
From the us chief of mission: (vacant)
From the us embassy: Antelias, Beirut
From the us address: P. O. Box 70-840, Beirut; PSC 815, Box 2, Beirut; FPO AE 9,836-0002
From the us telephone: [961] (1) 402,200, 403,300, 416,502, 426,183, 417,774
From the us FAX: [961] (1) 407,112

Flag description: 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


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Economy overview: The 1975-1991 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. A tentative peace has enabled the central government to begin restoring control in Beirut, collect taxes, and regain access to key port and government facilities. The battered economy has also been propped up by a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers. Family remittances, banking transactions, manufactured and farm exports, the narcotics trade, and international emergency aid are the main sources of foreign exchange. In the relatively settled year of 1991, industrial production, agricultural output, and exports showed substantial gains. The further rebuilding of the war-ravaged country was delayed in 1992 because of an upturn in political wrangling. In October 1992, Rafiq HARIRI was appointed Prime Minister. HARIRI, a wealthy entrepreneur, announced ambitious plans for Lebanon's reconstruction which involve a substantial influx of foreign aid and investment. Progress on restoring basic services is limited. Since Prime Minister HARIRI's appointment, the most significant improvement lies in the stabilization of the Lebanese pound, which had gained over 30% in value by yearend 1993. The years 1993 and 1994 were marked by efforts of the new administration to encourage domestic and foreign investment and to obtain additional international assistance. The construction sector led the 8.5% advance in real GDP in 1994.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 8.5% (1994 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $4,360 (1994 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: principal products - citrus fruits, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco, hemp (hashish), sheep, goats; not self-sufficient in grain

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

Industrial production growth rate: 25% (1993 est.)

Labor force: 650,000
By occupation industry commerce and services: 79%
By occupation agriculture: 11%
By occupation government: 10% (1985)

Unemployment rate: 35% (1993 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $1.4 billion
Expenditures: $3.2 billion (1994 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: $925 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
Commodoties: agricultural products, chemicals, textiles, precious and semiprecious metals and jewelry, metals and metal products
Partners: Saudi Arabia 21%, Switzerland 9.5%, Jordan 6%, Kuwait 12%, US 5%

Imports: $4.1 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
Commodoties: consumer goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products
Partners: Italy 14%, France 12%, US 6%, Turkey 5%, Saudi Arabia 3%

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $765 million (1994 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Lebanese pounds (#L) per US$1 - 1,644.6 (January 1995), 1,680.1 (1994), 1,741.4 (1993), 1,712.8 (1992), 928.23 (1991), 695.09 (1990)


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Electricity
Capacity: 1,220,000 kW
Production: 2.5 billion kWh
Production consumption per capita: 676 kWh (1993)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system: 325,000 telephones; 95 telephones/1000 persons; telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding still underway
Local: NA
Intercity: primarily microwave radio relay and cable
International: 2 INTELSAT (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) earth stations (erratic operations); coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan; 3 submarine coaxial cables

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $278 million, 5.5% of GDP (1994)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 9
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil 72 km (none in operation)

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 64 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 260,383 GRT/381,937 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 41, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, combination ore/oil 1, container 2, livestock carrier 6, refrigerated cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 2

Ports and terminals


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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, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of hashish and heroin for the international drug trade; hashish production is shipped to Western Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America; increasingly a key locus of cocaine processing and trafficking; a Lebanese/Syrian 1994 eradication campaign eliminated the opium crop and caused a 50% decrease in the cannabis crop