Map of Lebanon | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Following the capture of Syria from the Ottoman Empire by Anglo-French forces in 1918 France received a mandate over this territory and separated out the region of Lebanon in 1920. France granted this area independence in 1943. A lengthy civil war (1975-1990) devastated the country but Lebanon has since made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese established a more equitable political system particularly by giving Muslims a greater voice in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war Lebanon has conducted several successful elections. Most militias have been disbanded and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah a radical Shia organization listed by the US State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization retains its weapons. During Lebanon's civil war the Arab League legitimized in the Ta'if Accord Syria's troop deployment numbering about 16,000 based mainly east of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000 and the passage in October 2004 of UNSCR 1559 - a resolution calling for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and end its interference in Lebanese affairs - encouraged some Lebanese groups to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. The assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI and 20 others in February 2005 led to massive demonstrations in Beirut against the Syrian presence ('the Cedar Revolution') and Syria withdrew the remainder of its military forces in April 2005. In May-June 2005 Lebanon held its first legislative elections since the end of the civil war free of foreign interference handing a majority to the bloc led by Saad HARIRI the slain prime minister's son. Lebanon continues to be plagued by violence - Hizballah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in July 2006 leading to a 34-day conflict with Israel. The LAF in May-September 2007 battled Sunni extremist group Fatah al-Islam in the Nahr al-Barid Palestinian refugee camp; and the country has witnessed a string of politically motivated assassinations since the death of Rafiq HARIRI. Lebanese politicians in November 2007 were unable to agree on a successor to Emile LAHUD when he stepped down as president creating a political vacuum until the election of Army Commander Michel SULAYMAN in May 2008 and the formation of a new cabinet in July 2008.


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

Geographic coordinates: 33 50 N 35 50 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 10,400 km²
Land: 10,230 km²
Water: 170 km²
Comparative: about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries
Total: 454 km
Border countries: (2) 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; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m

Natural resources: limestone iron ore salt water-surplus state in a water-deficit region arable land

Land use
Arable land: 16.35%
Permanent crops: 13.75%
Other: 69.9% (2005)

Irrigated land: 1040 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 4.8 km³ (1997)

Natural hazards: dust storms sandstorms

Geography
Note: Nahr el Litani is the 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: 3,971,941 (July 2008 est.)
Growth rate: 1.154% (2008 est.)

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

Ethnic groups
Note: many Christian Lebanese do not identify themselves as Arab but rather as descendents of the ancient Canaanites and prefer to be called Phoenicians

Languages: Arabic (official) French English Armenian

Religions
Note: 17 religious sects recognized

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 26% (male 526,994/female 505,894)
15-64 years: 66.8% (male 1,275,021/female 1,380,131)
65 years and over: 7.1% (male 128,002/female 155,899) (2008 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 28.8 years
Male: 27.6 years
Female: 30 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.154% (2008 est.)

Birth rate: 17.61 births/1000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 6.06 deaths/1000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate: NA (2008 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
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male/female
Total population: 0.94 male/female (2008 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 22.59 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 25.08 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 19.97 deaths/1000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.41 years
Male: 70.91 years
Female: 76.04 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.87 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 2,800 (2003 est.)
Deaths: fewer than 200 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 2.7% of GDP (2006)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 87.4%
Male: 93.1%
Female: 82.2% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 13 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 13 years (2006)

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Lebanese Republic
Conventional short form: Lebanon
Local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah
Local short form: Lubnan
Former: Greater Lebanon

Government type: republic

Capital
Name: Beirut
Geographic coordinates: 33 52 N, 35 30 E
Time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions: 8 governorates (mohafazat singular - mohafazah); Aakar Baalbek-Hermel Beqaa Beyrouth Liban-Nord Liban-Sud Mont-Liban Nabatiye

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 most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989

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 Michel SULAYMAN (as of 25 May 2008)
Head of government: Prime Minister Fuad SINIORA (since 30 June 2005); Deputy Prime Minister Elias MURR (since April 2005)
Cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly
Elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 25 May 2008 (next to be held in 2014); the prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly
Election results: Michel SULAYMAN elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 for, 6 abstentions, 3 invalidated

Legislative branch
Elections: last held in four rounds on 29 May, 5, 12, 19 June 2005 (next to be held in spring 2009)
Election results: percent of vote by group - NA; seats by group - Future Movement Bloc 36; Democratic Gathering 15; Development and Resistance Bloc 15; Free Patriotic Movement 15; Loyalty to the Resistance 14; Qornet Shehwan 6; Lebanese Forces 5; Popular Bloc 4; Tripoli Independent Bloc 3; Kataeb Reform Movement 2; Syrian National Socialist Party 2; Tashnaq 2; Syrian Ba'th Party 1; Democratic Left 1; Democratic Renewal Movement 1; Kataeb Party 1; Nasserite Popular Movement 1; independent 4

Judicial branch: four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed)

Political parties and leaders
14 march coalition: Democratic Gathering Bloc [Walid JUNBLATT, leader of Progressive Socialist Party]; Democratic Left [Ilyas ATALLAH]; Democratic Renewal Movement [Nassib LAHUD]; Future Movement Bloc [Sa'ad HARIRI]; Kataeb Party [Amine GEMAYEL]; Lebanese Forces [Samir JA'JA]; Tripoli Independent Bloc
8 march coalition: Development and Resistance Bloc [Nabih BERRI, leader of Amal Movement]; Free Patriotic Movement [Michel AWN]; Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc [Mohammad RA'AD] (includes Hizballah Party [Hassan NASRALLAH]); Nasserite Popular Movement [Ussama SAAD]; Popular Bloc [Elias SKAFF]; Syrian Ba'th Party [Sayez SHUKR]; Syrian Social Nationalist Party [Ali QANSO]
Independent: Metn Bloc [Michel MURR]; Tashnaq

International organization participation: ABEDA ACCT AFESD AMF FAO G-24 G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IPU ISO ITSO ITU LAS MIGA NAM OAS (observer) OIC OIF PCA UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNRWA UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Antoine CHEDID
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, Los Angeles
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Michele J. SISON
From the us embassy: Awkar, Lebanon; (Awkar facing the Municipality)
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Lebanon; from US: US Embassy Beirut, 6,070 Beirut Place, Washington, DC 20,521-6,070
From the us telephone: [961] (4) 542,600, 543,600
From the us fax: [961] (4) 544,136

Flag description: three horizontal bands consisting of red (top) white (middle double width) and red (bottom) with a green cedar tree centered in the white band

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: The 1975-90 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. In the years since Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In an attempt to reduce the ballooning national debt the Rafiq HARIRI government in the 1990s began an austerity program reining in government expenditures increasing revenue collection and privatizing state enterprises but economic and financial reform initiatives stalled and public debt continued to grow despite receipt of more than $2 billion in bilateral assistance at the 2002 Paris II Donors Conference. The Israeli-Hizballah conflict in July-August 2006 caused an estimated $3.6 billion in infrastructure damage and prompted international donors to pledge nearly $1 billion in recovery and reconstruction assistance. Donors met again in January 2007 at the Paris III Donor Conference and pledged more than $7.5 billion to Lebanon for development projects and budget support conditioned on progress on Beirut's fiscal reform and privatization program. An 18-month political stalemate and sporadic sectarian and political violence hampered economic activity particularly tourism retail sales and investment until a new government was formed in July 2008.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $40.44 billion (2007 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 3.6% (2007 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $10,300 (2007 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 5.2%
Industry: 19.5%
Services: 75.4% (2007 est.)

Agriculture products: citrus grapes tomatoes apples vegetables potatoes olives tobacco; sheep goats

Industries: banking tourism food processing wine jewelry cement textiles mineral and chemical products wood and furniture products oil refining metal fabricating

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force
Note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (2005 est.)
By occupation agriculture: NA%
By occupation industry: NA%
By occupation services: NA%

Unemployment rate: 20% (2006 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $6.178 billion
Expenditures: $8.35 billion (2007 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 186.6% of GDP (2007 est.)

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 4.2% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate: 12% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 10.26% (31 December 2007)

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit: $45.51 billion (31 December 2007)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $8.279 billion (2006)

Current account balance: -$2.046 billion (2007 est.)

Exports: $4.077 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Commodities: authentic jewelry inorganic chemicals miscellaneous consumer goods fruit and vegetables tobacco construction minerals electric power machinery and switchgear textile fibers paper
Partners: Syria 25.2% UAE 11.8% Switzerland 8.2% Saudi Arabia 5.6% (2007)

Imports: $11.93 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Commodities: petroleum products cars medicinal products clothing meat and live animals consumer goods paper textile fabrics tobacco electrical machinery
Partners: Syria 12.1% Italy 8.5% France 8.3% US 7% China 5.9% Germany 5.3% Saudi Arabia 4.8% (2007)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $20.55 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt external: $31.6 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $NA

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $NA

Exchange rates: Lebanese pounds (LBP) per US dollar - 1507.5 (2007) 1507.5 (2006) 1507.5 (2005) 1507.5 (2004) 1507.5 (2003)


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Electricity
Production: 8.764 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Consumption: 8.161 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)
Imports: 929 million kWh (2006 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Consumption: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2006 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 681,400 (2006)
Mobile cellular: 1.26 million (2007)

Telephone system
General assessment: repair of the telecommunications system, severely damaged during the civil war, now complete
Domestic: two wireless networks provide good service; political instability hampers privatization and deployment of new technologies; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership 50 per 100 persons
International: country code - 961; submarine cable link to Cyprus; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean); coaxial cable to Syria (2007)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .lb
Hosts: 36,681 (2008)
Users: 950,000 (2006)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 3.1% of GDP (2005 est.)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18-30 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2007)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 7 (2007)
With paved runways total: 5
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2007)
With unpaved runways total: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2 (2007)

Heliports

Pipelines: gas 43 km (2007)

Railways
Total: 401 km
Standard gauge: 319 km 1.435 m
Narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050 m
Note: rail system became unusable because of damage done during fighting in the 1980s and in 2006 (2006)

Roadways
Total: 6,970 km (includes 170 km of expressways) (2005)

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 33
By type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 13, carrier 11, passenger/cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 2
Foreign owned: 4 (Greece 2, Syria 2)
Registered in other countries: 55 (Barbados 1, Cambodia 8, Comoros 4, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Georgia 4, Honduras 1, Italy 1, North Korea 1, Liberia 2, Malta 11, Mongolia 2, Panama 5, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 6, Sierra Leone 1, Syria 3, Togo 1, unknown 2) (2008)

Ports and terminals: Beirut Tripoli


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Disputes international: lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000 Lebanon has claimed Shab'a Farms area in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; the roughly 2000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been in place since 1978

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 405,425 (Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)); 50,000-60,000 (Iraq)
Idps: 17,000 (1975-90 civil war, Israeli invasions); 200,000 (July-August 2006 war) (2007)

Illicit drugs: cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in 2002 despite continued significant cannabis consumption; opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin transit country on way to European markets and for Middle Eastern consumption; money laundering of drug proceeds fuels concern that extremists are benefiting from drug trafficking