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

noun:

Lebanese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Lebanese

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.87 male(s)/female

total population:

0.96 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

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

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

chief of state:

President Michel SULAYMAN (since 25 May 2008)

head of government:

Prime Minister Najib MIQATI (since 7 July 2011), Deputy Prime Minister Samir MOQBIL (since 7 July 2011)

cabinet:

Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term (may not serve consecutive terms);
• election last held on 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;
• 1 seat unfilled due to death of incumbent

• 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)

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 Maura CONNELLY

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

• three horizontal bands consisting of red (top), white (middle, double width), and red (bottom) with a green cedar tree centered in the white band;
• the red bands symbolize blood shed for liberation, the white band denotes peace, the snow of the mountains, and purity;
• the green cedar tree is the symbol of Lebanon and represents eternity, steadiness, happiness, and prosperity

name:

"Kulluna lil-watan" (All Of Us, For Our Country!)

lyrics/music:

Rachid NAKHLE/Wadih SABRA

note: adopted 1927; the anthem was chosen following a nationwide competition

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 mobile-cellular networks provide good service; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership exceeds 55 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 961;
• submarine cable links to Cyprus, Egypt, and Syria;
• satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean);
• coaxial cable to Syria (2009)

• 7 TV stations in operation, 1 of which is state-owned;
• more than 30 radio stations, 1 of which is state-owned;
• satellite and cable TV services are available;
• transmissions of at least 2 international broadcasters are accessible through partner stations (2007)

total:

401 km

country comparison to the world: 116

standard gauge:

319 km 1.435-m gauge

narrow gauge:

82 km 1.050-m gauge

note: rail system unusable because of the damage done during fighting in the 1980s and in 2006 (2008)

males age 16-49:

1,081,016

females age 16-49:

1,115,349 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

920,825

females age 16-49:

941,806 (2010 est.)

male:

36,856

female:

35,121 (2010 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)

current situation:

• Lebanon is a source and destination country for women and children who are subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking;
• the country may also be a transit point for Eastern European women and children destined for sex trafficking in other Middle Eastern countries;
• women from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Madagascar who travel to Lebanon voluntarily with the assistance of recruitment agencies to work in domestic service often find themselves in conditions of forced labor;
• some Syrian women in street prostitution may be forced to engage in the sex trade and Syrian girls are reportedly brought to Lebanon for the purpose of prostitution

tier rating:

• Tier 3 - the government neither made combating human trafficking a national priority during the reporting period nor allocated resources to protecting victims;
• it also made no concerted efforts to educate the Lebanese public regarding the issue and failed to show substantial progress in identifying foreign victims of trafficking;
• it failed to bring specific charges of forced labor or forced prostitution in cases involving abuses against migrant workers and did not provide stringent punishments that would deter such crimes;
• the government did, however, draft legislation providing increased protection to migrant domestic workers, transmit a draft anti-trafficking law to parliament for review, establish an office and hotline to receive workers' complaints, and improve recognition of trafficking indicators through training (2011)

• 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