Lebanon

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

total:

1.38 cu km/yr (33%/1%/67%)

per capita:

385 cu m/yr (2000)

• 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:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.92 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.82 male(s)/female

total population:

0.94 male(s)/female (2008 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 Michel SULAYMAN (as of 25 May 2008)

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 25 May 2008 (next to be held in 2014);
• the prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly

election results:

Michel SULAYMAN elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 for, 6 abstentions, 3 invalidated

• 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 Bloc [Walid JUNBLATT, leader of Progressive Socialist Party];
• Democratic Left [Ilyas ATALLAH];
• Democratic Renewal Movement [Nassib LAHUD];
• Future Movement Bloc [Sa'ad HARIRI];
• Kataeb Party [Amine GEMAYEL];
• Lebanese Forces [Samir JA'JA];
• Tripoli Independent Bloc

• 8 March Coalition: Development and Resistance Bloc [Nabih BERRI, leader of Amal Movement];
• Free Patriotic Movement [Michel AWN];
• Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc [Mohammad RA'AD] (includes Hizballah Party [Hassan NASRALLAH]);
• Nasserite Popular Movement [Ussama SAAD];
• Popular Bloc [Elias SKAFF];
• Syrian Ba'th Party [Sayez SHUKR];
• Syrian Social Nationalist Party [Ali QANSO]

Independent:

Metn Bloc [Michel MURR]; Tashnaq

chief of mission:

Ambassador Antoine CHEDID

chancery:

2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 939-6300

FAX:

[1] (202) 939-6324

consulate(s) general:

Detroit, New York, Los Angeles

chief of mission:

Ambassador Michele J. SISON

embassy:

Awkar, Lebanon; (Awkar facing the Municipality)

mailing address:

P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Lebanon; 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:

• two wireless networks provide good service;
• political instability hampers privatization and deployment of new technologies;
• combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership 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 (2007)

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)

males age 16-49:

1,106,879

females age 16-49:

1,122,595 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

934,828

females age 16-49:

948,327 (2008 est.)

male:

32,815

female:

31,610 (2008 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)); 50,000-60,000 (Iraq)

IDPs:

17,000 (1975-90 civil war, Israeli invasions); 200,000 (July-August 2006 war) (2007)

• 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