Lebanon
Lebanese RepublicAl Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah
republic
Lebanon as the 2002 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 113 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions since 1991 and the end of the devastating 16-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 say 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, the radical Shi'a party, retains its weapons. Syria maintains about 20,000 troops in Lebanon based mainly in Beirut, North Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's troop deployment was legitimized by the Arab League during Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if Accord. Damascus justifies 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 its security zone in southern Lebanon in May of 2000, however, has emboldened some Lebanese Christians and Druze to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well.
Geography
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria
18 fieldsLand useshare of 10,400 sq km
Climate
- Mediterranean;
- mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers;
- Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows
Natural resources
limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land
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, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
- signed, but not ratified:
- Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note
- Nahr el 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
People
18 fieldsPer 1,000 population(2002 est.)
Male · female
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 27.3% (male 511,902; female 491,804)
- 15-64 years:
- 65.9% (male 1,157,688; female 1,267,106)
- 65 years and over:
- 6.8% (male 113,341; female 135,939) (2002 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.04 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 0.91 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.83 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Religions
Muslim 70% (including Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 30% (including Orthodox Christian, Catholic, Protestant), Jewish NEGL%
Government
Republic; President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998); Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 23 October 2000)
18 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Legislature, 128 seats, elected 27 August and 3 September 2000one dot, one seat
Percent of vote
Country name
- conventional long form:
- Lebanese Republic
- conventional short form:
- Lebanon
- local short form:
- Lubnan
- local long form:
- Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah
Administrative divisions
6 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Beqaa, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye
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:
- President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998)
- head of government:
- Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 23 October 2000); Deputy Prime Minister Issam FARES (since 23 October 2000)
- 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;
- election last held 15 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2004);
- prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly;
- 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
- election results:
- 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 27 August and 3 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004)
- election results:
- percent of vote by party - Muslim 57% (of which Sunni 25%, Sh'ite 25%, Druze 6%, Alawite less than 1%), Christian 43% (of which Maronite 23%);
- seats by party - Muslim 64 (of which Sunni 27, Sh'ite 27, Druze 8, Alawite 2), Christian 64 (of which Maronite 34)
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
- 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
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, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Dr. Farid ABBOUD
- consulate(s) general:
- Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 939-6324
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 939-6320
- chancery:
- 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Vincent Martin BATTLE
- embassy:
- Awkar, Lebanon
- mailing address:
- P. O. Box 70840, Awkar, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002
- telephone:
- 011-961-4-543-600/542-600
- FAX:
- 011-961-4-544-136
Flag description
three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green cedar tree centered in the white band
Economy
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.
32 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2000)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
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. Peace enabled the central government to restore control in Beirut, begin collecting taxes, and regain access to key port and government facilities.
Economic recovery was helped by a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers. Family remittances, banking services, manufactured and farm exports, and international aid provided the main sources of foreign exchange. Lebanon's economy made impressive gains since the launch in 1993 of "Horizon 2000," the government's $20 billion reconstruction program.
Real GDP grew 8% in 1994, 7% in 1995, 4% in 1996 and in 1997 but slowed to 2% in 1998, -1% in 1999, and -0.5% in 2000. Growth recovered slightly in 2001 to 1%. During the 1990s annual inflation fell to almost 0% from more than 100%. Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure.
The government nonetheless faces serious challenges in the economic arena. It has funded reconstruction by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In order to reduce the ballooning national debt, the re-installed HARIRI government began an economic austerity program to reign in government expenditures, increase revenue collection, and privatize state enterprises.
The Hariri government met with international donors at the Paris II conference in November 2002 to seek bilateral assistance in order to restructure its higher interest rate bearing domestic debt obligations at lower rates. While privatization of state-owned enterprises had not occurred by the end of 2002, the government had successfullly avoided a currency devaluation and debt default in 2002.
Labor force
1.5 million note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (1999 est.) (2001 est.)
Industries
- banking;
- food processing;
- jewelry;
- cement;
- textiles;
- mineral and chemical products;
- wood and furniture products;
- oil refining;
- metal fabricating
Agriculture - products
citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats
Exports - commodities
foodstuffs and tobacco, textiles, chemicals, precious stones, metal and metal products, electrical equipment and products, jewelry, paper and paper products
Imports - commodities
foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, textiles, metals, fuels, agricultural foods
Exchange rates
Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (January 2002), 1,507.5 (2001), 1,507.5 (2000), 1,507.8 (1999), 1,516.1 (1998), 1,539.5 (1997)
Communications
10 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding well underway
- domestic:
- primarily microwave radio relay and cable
- international:
- satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) (erratic operations);
- coaxial cable to Syria;
- microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan;
- 3 submarine coaxial cables
Transportation
9 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
Railways
- total:
- 399 km
- standard gauge:
- 317 km 1.435-m
note: entire system is unusable because of damage in civil war (2001)
- narrow gauge:
- 82 km 1.050-m
Ports and harbors
Antilyas, Batroun, Beirut, Chekka, El Mina, Ez Zahrani, Jbail, Jounie, Naqoura, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre
Merchant marine
- total:
- 67 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 320,770 GRT/468,293 DWT
- ships by type:
- bulk 8, cargo 38, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 7, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3, vehicle carrier 3
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: France 1, Greece 10, Netherlands 4, Panama 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2, Spain 1, Syria 2 (2002 est.)
Military
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force)
5 fieldsTransnational Issues
2 fieldsDisputes - international
Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Lebanese Government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights
Illicit drugs
- 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 US and European markets
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Lebanon.” The World Factbook 2002. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/lebanon/2002.