Lebanon

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

• 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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation

• 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

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.92 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.83 male(s)/female

total population:

0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

noun:

Lebanese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Lebanese

conventional long form:

Lebanese Republic

conventional short form:

Lebanon

local long form:

Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah

local short form:

Lubnan

• 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

chief of state:

President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998)

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;
• election last held 15 October 1998 (next election date NA);
• note - on 3 September 2004 the National Assembly voted 96 to 29 to extend Emile LAHUD's six-year term by three years;
• 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 legislature is a Shia Muslim

election results:

for 15 October 1998 election: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions

• 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)

• Ba'th Party [leader NA];
• Democratic Gathering [Walid JUNBLATT];
• Democratic Left [leader NA];
• Development and Resistance Bloc [Nabih BARRI, Amal leader/speaker];
• Free Patriotic Movement [Michel AWN];
• Future Movement Bloc [Sa'ad HARIRI];
• Kataeb Party [leader NA];
• Kataeb Reform Movement [leader NA];
• Lebanese Forces [leader NA];
• Loyalty to the Resistance [Mohammad RA'AD];
• Nasserite Popular Movement [leader NA];
• Popular Bloc [leader NA];
• Qornet Shewan [leader NA];
• Syrian National Socialist Party [leader NA];
• Tripoli Independent Bloc [leader NA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Dr. Farid ABBOUD

chancery:

2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 939-6300

FAX:

[1] (202) 939-6324

consulate(s) general:

Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles

chief of mission:

Ambassador Jeffrey D. FELTMAN

embassy:

Awkar, Lebanon

mailing address:

P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002

telephone:

[961] (4) 542600, 543600

FAX:

[961] (4) 544136

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

general assessment:

telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding well underway

domestic:

primarily microwave radio relay and cable

international:

• country code - 961;
• 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

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 during the civil war in the 1980s; short sections are operable (2004)

total:

7,300 km

paved:

6,198 km

unpaved:

1,102 km (1999 est.)

total:

44 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 198,602 GRT/248,313 DWT

by type:

bulk carrier 4, cargo 26, livestock carrier 8, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 3

foreign-owned:

6 (Austria 1, Greece 5)

registered in other countries:

40 (2005)

• intense international pressure prompts the removal of Syrian troops and intelligence personnel from Lebanon;
• 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):

394,532 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA))

IDPs:

300,000 (1975-90 civil war, Israeli invasions) (2004)

• 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