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(opens in new window) Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political
institutions since 1991 and the end of the devastating 15-year civil
war. 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 voice in
the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions
in the government. Since the end of the war, the Lebanese have
conducted several successful elections, most of the militias have
been weakened or disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have
extended central government 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. Damascus
justified its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing
Beirut's requests and the failure of the Lebanese Government to
implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord.
Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000, however,
encouraged some Lebanese groups to demand that Syria withdraw its
forces as well. The passage of UNSCR 1559 in early October 2004 - a
resolution calling for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and end its
interference in Lebanese affairs - further emboldened Lebanese
groups opposed to Syria's presence in Lebanon. 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"). Syria finally withdrew the remainder of
its military forces from Lebanon 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 two-thirds
majority to the bloc led by Saad HARIRI, the slain prime minister's
son.
The Lebanon has
recently been extensively bombed by Israel and large areas of the
country are devastated. The airport and ports are still closed. Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and
Syria 33 50 N, 35 50 E
total: 10,400 sq km total: 454 km 225 km territorial sea: 12 nm
Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers;
Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and
Anti-Lebanon Mountains lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit
region, arable land arable land: 16.35% 1,040 sq km (2003)
dust storms, sandstorms
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 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 3,874,050 (July 2006 est.)
0-14 years: 26.5% (male 523,220/female 502,372) total: 27.8 years 1.23% (2006 est.)
18.52 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female total: 23.72 deaths/1,000 live births total population: 72.88 years 1.9 children born/woman (2006 est.)
0.1% (2001 est.)
2,800 (2003 est.)
less than 200 (2003 est.)
noun: Lebanese (singular and plural) Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%
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% Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian
definition: age 15 and over can read and write conventional long form: Lebanese Republic republic Beirut 6 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Beqaa,
Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French
administration) Independence Day, 22 November (1943)
23 May 1926; amended a number of times, most recently Charter of
Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989
mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law;
no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at
age 21 with elementary education 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) 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) The 1975-91 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. In November 2002, the government
met with international donors at the Paris II conference to seek
bilateral assistance in restructuring its massive domestic debt at
lower interest rates. Substantial receipts from donor nations
stabilized government finances in 2003, but did little to reduce the
debt, which stands at nearly 170% of GDP. In 2004 the HARIRI
government issued Eurobonds in an effort to manage maturing debt.
The downturn in economic activity that followed the assassination of
Rafiq al-HARIRI has eased, but has yet to be reversed. Tourism
remains below the level of 2004. The new Prime Minister, Fuad
SINIORA, has pledged to push ahead with economic reform, including
privatization and more efficient government. The Core Group of
nations has announced plans to hold a Donor's Conference in early
2006 to assist the government of Lebanon in restructuring its debt
and increasing foreign investment. $20.42 billion (2005 est.)
$20.1 billion (2005 est.)
0.5% (2005 est.)
$5,300 (2005 est.)
agriculture: 12% 2.6 million 18% (1997 est.)
28% (1999 est.)
2.4% (2005 est.)
25.5% of GDP (2005 est.)
revenues: $4.953 billion 170% of GDP (2005 est.)
citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives,
tobacco; sheep, goats banking, tourism, food processing, jewelry, cement, textiles,
mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil
refining, metal fabricating 10.67 billion kWh (2003)
10.67 billion kWh (2003)
750 million kWh (2003)
102,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
-$4.09 billion (2005 est.)
$1.782 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
authentic jewellery, inorganic chemicals, miscellaneous consumer
goods, fruit, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power
machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper
Syria 24.9%, UAE 10%, Turkey 6.9%, Switzerland 6.7%, Saudi Arabia
5.3% (2004) $8.855 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and
live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco Italy 11.3%, France 10.5%, Syria 9.8%, Germany 8.6%, China 5.8%, US
5.5%, UK 4.6% (2004) $15.34 billion (2005 est.)
$25.92 billion (2005 est.)
$2.2 billion received (2003), out of the $4.2 billion in soft loans
pledged at the November 2002 Paris II Aid Conference Lebanese pound (LBP)
calendar year
630,000 (2004)
888,000 (2004)
general assessment: repair of the telecommunications system,
severely damaged during the civil war, now complete AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998)
15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995)
.lb 3,365 (2005) 600,000 (2005)
7 (2005) total: 5 total: 2 oil 209 km (2004)
total: 401 km total: 7,300 km total: 42 ships (1000 GRT or over) 161,231 GRT/187,140 DWT
Beirut, Chekka, Jounie, Tripoli
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF): Army, Navy, and Air Force
Lebanese Government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied
Golan Heights; the roughly 2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon
(UNIFIL) has been in place since 1978
refugees (country of origin): 404,170 (Palestinian Refugees
(UNRWA)) cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in 2002;
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 |
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