|
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 a 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 Shi'a 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. |
|
Location: |
Middle East, bordering the
Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria |
|
Geographic coordinates: |
33 50 N, 35 50 E |
|
Map references: |
Middle East |
|
Area: |
total: 10,400 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km
water: 170 sq km |
|
Area - comparative: |
about 0.7 times the size of
Connecticut |
|
Land boundaries: |
total: 454 km
border countries: 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
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: |
1,040 sq km (2003) |
|
Total renewable water resources: |
4.8 cu km (1997) |
|
Freshwater withdrawal
(domestic/industrial/agricultural): |
Total: 1.38 cu km/yr
(33%/1%/67%)
Per capita: 385 cu m/yr (2000) |
|
Natural hazards: |
dust storms, sandstorms |
|
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 |
|
Environment - international agreements: |
party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine
Life Conservation |
|
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 |
|
Population: |
3,925,502 (July 2007 est.)
|
|
Age structure: |
0-14 years: 26.2% (male
525,199/female 504,240)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male
1,255,624/female 1,361,265)
65 years and over: 7.1% (male
125,904/female 153,270) (2007 est.) |
|
Median age: |
total: 28.3 years
male: 27.2 years
female: 29.5 years (2007 est.)
|
|
Population growth rate: |
1.198% (2007 est.) |
|
Birth rate: |
18.08 births/1,000 population
(2007 est.) |
|
Death rate: |
6.1 deaths/1,000 population
(2007 est.) |
|
Net migration rate: |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2007 est.) |
|
Sex ratio: |
at birth: 1.05
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.042 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.922 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.821 male(s)/female
total population: 0.944 male(s)/female
(2007 est.) |
|
Infant mortality rate: |
total: 23.39
deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.94 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 20.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
|
Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 73.15
years
male: 70.67 years
female: 75.77 years (2007
est.) |
|
Total fertility rate: |
1.88 children born/woman (2007
est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
0.1% (2001 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
2,800 (2003 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
less than 200 (2003 est.)
|
|
Nationality: |
noun: Lebanese (singular
and plural)
adjective: Lebanese |
|
Ethnic groups: |
Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%
note: many Christian Lebanese do not identify themselves as
Arab but rather as descendents of the ancient Canaanites and prefer to be
called Phoenicians |
|
Religions: |
Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni,
Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic,
Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic,
Armenian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian,
Copt, Protestant), other 1.3%
note: 17 religious sects
recognized |
|
Languages: |
Arabic (official), French,
English, Armenian |
|
Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and
over can read and write
total population: 87.4%
male: 93.1%
female: 82.2% (2003 est.)
|
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
Suffrage: |
21 years of age; compulsory for
all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education |
|
Executive branch: |
chief of state: vacant
(as of 14 December 2007); note - former President Emile LAHUD's term
expired on 23 November 2007, and the Cabinet temporarily assumed
presidential powers
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 15
October 1998 (next election orginally scheduled for fall 2007 but was
postponed beyond the constitutionally mandated 24 November deadline); the
prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in
consultation with the National Assembly; by agreement, the president is a
Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker
of the National Assembly is a Shi'a Muslim
election results:
for 15 October 1998 election: Emile LAHUD elected president; National
Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions |
|
Legislative branch: |
unicameral National Assembly or
Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats;
members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional
representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held
in four rounds on 29 May, 5, 12, 19 June 2005 (next to be held 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 Shewan 6; Lebanese Forces 5; Popular Bloc 4; Tripoli
Independent Bloc 3; Kataeb Reform Movement 2; Syrian National Socialist
Party 2; Tashnaq 2; 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 [Walid JUNBLATT, leader of Progressive Socialist
Party]; Democratic Left [Ilyas ATALLAH]; Democratic Renewal Movement
[Nassib LAHUD]; Future Movement Bloc [Sa'ad HARIRI]; Kataeb Reform
Movement [Amine GEMAYEL]; Lebanese Forces [Samir JA'JA]; Nasserite Popular
Movement [Ussama SAAD]; Qornet Shewan Gathering (a grouping composed of
political parties and independent members of the National Assembly [no
individual leader]); Tripoli Independent Bloc
Change and Reform
Alliance: Free Patriotic Movement [Michel AWN]; Metn Bloc [Michel
MURR]; Popular Bloc [Elias SKAFF]; Tashnaq
Hizballah and Amal
Alliance: Ba'th Party [Muhammad MUHAMMADIYAH]; Development and
Resistance Bloc [Nabih BERRI, leader of Amal Movement]; Kataeb Party
[Karim PAKRADONI]; Loyalty to the Resistance [Mohammad RA'AD]; Syrian
Social Nationalist Party [Dr. Issam al-MAYHAYRI, secretary general] |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders: |
none |
|
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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Antoine CHEDID
chancery:
2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202)
939-6300
FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324
consulate(s)
general: Detroit, New York, Los Angeles |
|
Diplomatic representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Jeffrey D. FELTMAN
embassy: Awkar, Lebanon; (Awkar
facing the Municipality)
mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840,
Antelias, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002; from US: US Embassy
Beirut, 6070 Beirut Place, Washington, DC 20521-6070
telephone:
[961] (4) 542600, 543600
FAX: [961] (4) 544136 |
|
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 |
|
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 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 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 and pledged over $7.5 billion to Lebanon for
development projects and budget support, conditioned on progress on
Beirut's fiscal reform and privatization program. Internal Lebanese
political tension continues to hamper economic activity, particularly in
the tourism and retail sectors. |
|
GDP (purchasing power parity): |
$40.65 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
GDP (official exchange rate): |
$21.58 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
GDP - real growth rate: |
0.3% (2007 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita (PPP): |
$10,400 (2007 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 5.2%
industry: 18.4%
services: 76.4% (2007 est.) |
|
Labor force: |
1.5 million
note: in
addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (2005 est.)
|
|
Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA% |
|
Unemployment rate: |
20% (2006 est.) |
|
Population below poverty line: |
28% (1999 est.) |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage
share: |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
5.6% (2007 est.) |
|
Investment (gross fixed): |
19.4% of GDP (2007 est.) |
|
Budget: |
revenues: $6.116 billion
expenditures: $9.421 billion (2007 est.) |
|
Public debt: |
188% of GDP (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% |
|
Electricity - production: |
9.183 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 97.2%
hydro: 2.8%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
|
|
Electricity - consumption: |
10.58 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - exports: |
0 kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - imports: |
455 million kWh (2005) |
|
Oil - production: |
0 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
|
Oil - consumption: |
106,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
|
|
Oil - exports: |
0 bbl/day (2004) |
|
Oil - imports: |
102,300 bbl/day (2004) |
|
Oil - proved reserves: |
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - production: |
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
|
Natural gas - consumption: |
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
|
Natural gas - exports: |
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
|
Natural gas - imports: |
0 cu m (2005) |
|
Natural gas - proved reserves: |
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
|
|
Current account balance: |
$-3.337 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
Exports: |
$3.099 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.) |
|
Exports - commodities: |
authentic jewelry, inorganic
chemicals, miscellaneous consumer goods, fruit and vegetables, tobacco,
construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile
fibers, paper |
|
Exports - partners: |
Syria 26.8%, UAE 12%,
Switzerland 6%, Saudi Arabia 5.7%, Turkey 4.5% (2006) |
|
Imports: |
$10 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
|
|
Imports - commodities: |
petroleum products, cars,
medicinal products, clothing, meat and live animals, consumer goods,
paper, textile fabrics, tobacco, electrical machinery |
|
Imports - partners: |
Syria 11.6%, Italy 9.8%, US
9.3%, France 7.7%, Germany 6%, China 5%, Saudi Arabia 4.7% (2006) |
|
Economic aid - recipient: |
Of the $7.6 billion in grants
and loans pledged to Lebanon at the Paris III conference in January 2007,
Beirut as of mid-December 2007 had signed agreements for $3 billion,
including $1 billion in project financing, $750 million in direct budget
support, $750 million in private sector credit, and $285 million in
in-kind aid. About $500 million of the $1.7 billion pledged for direct
budget support has been disbursed to Lebanon. Donors in August 2006 also
pledged nearly $1.8 billion in aid to help Lebanon recover from the 2006
Israel-Hizballah war. During the conflict, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait
provided $1.5 billion in concessional loans to the Lebanese central bank
to maintain confidence in the Lebanese currency. (2005) |
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |
$19.4 billion (31 December 2007
est.) |
|
Debt - external: |
$34.67 billion (31 December
2007 est.) |
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: |
$NA |
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: |
$NA |
|
Market value of publicly traded shares: |
$8.279 billion (2006) |
|
Currency (code): |
Lebanese pound (LBP) |
|
Currency code: |
LBP |
|
Exchange rates: |
Lebanese pounds per US dollar -
1,507.5 (2007), 1,507.5 (2006), 1,507.5 (2005), 1,507.5 (2004), 1,507.5
(2003) |
|
Fiscal year: |
calendar year |
|
Telephones - main lines in use: |
681,400 (2006) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular: |
1.103 million (2006) |
|
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
approaching 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 |
|
Radio broadcast stations: |
AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4
(1998) |
|
Radios: |
2.85 million (1997) |
|
Television broadcast stations: |
15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995)
|
|
Televisions: |
1.18 million (1997) |
|
Internet country code: |
.lb |
|
Internet hosts: |
5,635 (2007) |
|
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): |
22 (2000) |
|
Internet users: |
950,000 (2006) |
|
Airports: |
7 (2007) |
|
Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 5
over
3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 2
914 to
1,523 m: 2 (2007) |
|
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: 7,300 km
paved: 6,198 km
unpaved: 1,102 km (1999) |
|
Merchant marine: |
total: 35 ships (1000
GRT or over) 132,871 GRT/140,011 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3,
cargo 14, livestock carrier 12, passenger/cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1,
roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 2
foreign-owned: 3 (Greece
2, Syria 1)
registered in other countries: 55 (Antigua and
Barbuda 1, Barbados 1, Cambodia 7, Comoros 5, Cyprus 1, Dominica 1, Egypt
1, Georgia 3, Honduras 2, Hong Kong 1, North Korea 3, Liberia 2, Malta 12,
Mongolia 1, Panama 3, St Vincent and The Grenadines 7, Syria 4, unknown 2)
(2007) |
|
Ports and terminals: |
Beirut, Tripoli |
|
Military branches: |
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF):
Army, Navy, and Air Force (2007) |
|
Military service age and obligation: |
18-30 years of age for
compulsory and voluntary military service; in May 2005, conscript service
obligation reduced from 12 to 6 months over a 2-year period; conscripts
eligible to volunteer for 5 years of military service upon completing 6
months of conscript service; Lebanon is moving toward a predominantly
professional armed forces (2005) |
|
Manpower available for military service: |
males age 18-49: 974,363
females age 18-49: 1,024,273 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower fit for military service: |
males age 18-49: 821,762
females age 18-49: 865,770 (2005 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: |
3.1% (2005 est.)
|
|
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 2,000-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)), 20,000-40,000 (Iraq)
IDPs: 17,000 (1975-90 civil war, Israeli invasions), 200,000
(July-August 2006 war) (2006) |
|
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 |
This page was last updated on 12 February, 2008
|