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, 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

• 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

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.)

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

former:

Greater Lebanon

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

• 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 (may not serve consecutive terms);
• election last held 15 October 1998 (next to be held in December 2007 based on three-year extension);
• 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 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

• 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)

• 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];
• Tachnaq

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]

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Antoine CHEDID

chancery:

2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 939-6320

FAX:

[1] (202) 939-6324

consulate(s) general:

Detroit, New York, Los Angeles

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

agriculture:

NA%

industry:

NA%

services:

NA%

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

general assessment:

repair of the telecommunications system, severely damaged during the civil war, now complete

domestic:

• 2 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

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)

total:

7,300 km

paved:

6,198 km

unpaved:

1,102 km (1999)

• 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)

males age 18-49:

974,363

females age 18-49:

1,024,273 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

821,762

females age 18-49:

865,770 (2005 est.)

• 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 (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)

• 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