Lebanon

Republic of LebanonAl Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah

republic

Lebanon as the 1993 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 77 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalBeirut
Area10,400 km2
LocationMiddle East, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria
1993

Every edition of Lebanon

Populationas each edition published it
3.55 million July 1993 est. · 3.34m in 1990
Population growth% a year
1.81% 1993 est. · -0.77% in 2025
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 26.4 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
69.01 years 1993 est. · 79.2 yrs in 2025
Fertility ratechildren per woman
3.47 children per woman 1993 est. · 3.7 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
41 deaths per 1,000 live births 1993 est. · 49 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$1,400 1991 est. · $11,300 in 2025
GDP real growth% a year
Not in this edition 4.2% in 1994

Geography

Middle East, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria

14 fields
Area
10,400km2
land area: 10,230 km2comparative area: about 0.8 times the size of Connecticut
Coastline
225km
territorial sea: 12 nm
Land boundaries
454km
total · Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km
Irrigated land
860km2
(1989 est.)

Location

Middle East, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria

Map references

Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World

International disputes

  • 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

Climate

  • Mediterranean;
  • mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers;
  • Lebanon mountians experience heavy winter snows

Terrain

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

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%

Environment

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

Note

Nahr al Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary

People

14 fields
Population
3,552,369
(July 1993 est.)growth rate: 1.81% (1993 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1993 est.)

Birth
27.86Death
6.66Net migration
-3.1

Male · female(1993 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years69.01
66.63 · 71.52
TotalMale · femaleLiteracy80%
88% · 73%
MaleFemaleLiteracy age 15 and over can read and write (1990)

Ethnic divisions

Arab 95%Armenian 4%other 1%
Labor force
650,000
by occupation: industry, commerce, and services 79%, agriculture 11%, government 10% (1985)

Infant mortality rate

41 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.47 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Nationality

noun:
Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective:
Lebanese

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%

Languages

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

Government

Republic

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Names

conventional long form:
Republic of Lebanon
conventional short form:
Lebanon
local long form:
Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah
local short form:
none

Type

republic

Capital

Beirut

Administrative divisions

5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Biqa, 'Al Janub, Ash Shamal, Bayrut, Jabal Lubnan

Independence

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

Constitution

26 May 1926 (amended)

National holiday

Independence Day, 22 November (1943)

Political parties and leaders

  • political party activity is organized along largely sectarian lines;
  • numerous political groupings exist, consisting of individual political figures and followers motivated by religious, clan, and economic considerations

Suffrage

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

Elections

National Assembly:
  • 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

Executive branch

president, prime minister, Cabinet; 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

Legislative branch

unicameral National Assembly (Arabic - Majlis Alnuwab, French - Assemblee Nationale)

Judicial branch

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

Leaders

Chief of State:
President Ilyas HARAWI (since 24 November 1989)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 22 October 1992)

Member of

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

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission:
Ambassador Simon KARAM
chancery:
2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 939-6300
consulates general:
Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission:
Ambassador Ryan C. CROCKER
mailing embassy:
Antelias, Beirut
address:
P. O. Box 70-840, Beirut, or Box B, FPO AE 09836
telephone:
[961] 417774 or 415802, 415803, 402200, 403300

Flag

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

Economy

Since 1975 civil war has 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.

19 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$1,400
(1991 est.)
Unemployment rate
35%
(1991 est.)
External debt
$400million
(1992 est.)

Budget

Revenues
$533 millionExpenditures
$1.3 billion
expenditures, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.)

Overview

Since 1975 civil war has 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. Following October 1990, however, 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 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. Hope for restoring economic momentum in 1993 rests with the new, business-oriented Prime Minister HARIRI.

National product

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $4.8 billion (1991 est.)

Exports

$490 million (f.o.b., 1991)

commodities:
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

$3.7 billion (c.i.f., 1991)

commodities:
Consumer goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products
partners:
Italy 14%, France 12%, US 6%, Turkey 5%, Saudi Arabia 3%

Electricity

1,300,000 kW capacity; 3,413 million kWh produced, 990 kWh per capita (1992)

Industries

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

Agriculture

  • accounts for about one-third of GDP;
  • principal products - citrus fruits, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco, hemp (hashish), sheep, goats;
  • not self-sufficient in grain

Illicit drugs

  • illicit producer of opium, hashish, and heroin for the international drug trade;
  • opium poppy production in Al Biqa almost completely eradicated this year;
  • hashish production is shipped to Western Europe, Israel, US, the Middle East, and South America

Economic aid

  • US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $356 million;
  • Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $664 million;
  • OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $962 million;
  • Communist countries (1970-89), $9 million

Currency

1 Lebanese pound (#L) = 100 piasters

Exchange rates

Lebanese pounds (#L) per US$1 - 1,742.00 (April 1993), 1,712.80 (1992), 928.23 (1991), 695.09 (1990), 496.69 (1989), 409.23 (1988)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

7 fields

Merchant marine, 63 ships by typeone square, one ship

cargo 39refrigerated cargo 1vehicle carrier 2roll-on/roll-off 3container 1livestock carrier 9chemical tanker 2specialized tanker 1bulk 4combination bulk 163 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 270,505 GRT/403,328 DWT

Railroads

system in disrepair, considered inoperable

Highways

7,300 km total; 6,200 km paved, 450 km gravel and crushed stone, 650 km improved earth

Pipelines

crude oil 72 km (none in operation)

Ports

Beirut, Tripoli, Ra'Sil'ata, Juniyah, Sidon, Az Zahrani, Tyre, Jubayl, Shikka Jadidah

Airports

total:
9
usable:
8
with permanent-surface runways:
6
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
3
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
2

Telecommunications

  • telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war;
  • rebuilding still underway;
  • 325,000 telephones (95 telephones per 1,000 persons);
  • domestic traffic carried primarily by microwave radio relay and a small amount of cable;
  • international traffic by satellite - 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station and 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station (erratic operations), coaxial cable to Syria;
  • microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan, 3 submarine coaxial cables;
  • broadcast stations - 5 AM, 3 FM, 13 TV (numerous AM and FM stations are operated sporadically by various factions)

Defense Forces

Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; including Army, Navy, and Air Force)

3 fields

Branches

Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; including Army, Navy, and Air Force)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 798,299; fit for military service 495,763 (1993 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $271 million, 8.2% of GDP (1992 budget)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Lebanon.” The World Factbook 1993. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/lebanon/1993.

How to cite ← 1992 edition 1994 edition →