Lebanon

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

total:

1.31 cu km/yr (29%/11%/60%)

per capita:

316.8 cu m/yr (2005)

• 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

• smallest country in continental Asia;
• 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

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.86 male(s)/female

total population:

0.96 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

total number:

54,387

percentage:

7 % (2000 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 (vacant);
• note - Parliament has tried six times to elect a president and failed;
• President Michel SULAYMAN's term expired on 24 May 2014;
• the prime minister and his cabinet are temporarily taking over the duties of the president

head of government:

Prime Minister Tamam SALAM (since 6 April 2013); 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);
• first round of election held on 23 April 2014 (next to be held in 2020);
• the prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly

election results:

• 23 April 2014 first round parliamentary vote - Samir GEAGEA 48, Henri HELOU 16, Amin GEMAYEL 1;
• note - 86 out of a possible 128 votes required to win election;
• five subsequent rounds have failed because there was no quorum;
• a seventh round is scheduled to take place 18 June 2014

highest court(s):

• Court of Cassation or Supreme Court (organized into 4 divisions, each with a presiding judge and 2 associate judges);
• Constitutional Council (consists of 10 members)

judge selection and term of office:

• Court of Cassation judges appointed by Supreme Judicial Council, headed by the chief justice, and includes other judicial officials;
• judge tenure NA;
• Constitutional Council members appointed - 5 by the Council of Ministers and 5 by parliament;
• members serve 5-year terms

subordinate courts:

• Courts of Appeal (6);
• Courts of First Instance;
• specialized tribunals, religious courts;
• military courts

chief of mission:

Ambassador Antoine CHEDID (since 4 June 2008)

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 David HALE (since 6 September 2013)

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

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 roughly 100 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 (2011)

• 7 TV stations, 1 of which is state-owned;
• more than 30 radio stations, 1 of which is state-owned;
• satellite and cable TV services 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)

major seaport(s):

Beirut, Tripoli

container port(s) (TEUs):

Beirut (1,034,249)

• 17-30 years of age for voluntary military service;
• 18-24 years of age for officer candidates;
• no conscription (2013)

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 has been in place since 1978

refugees (country of origin):

447,328 (Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)); 1,107,550 (Syria) (2014)

IDPs:

at least 20,000 (2007 Lebanese security forces' destruction of Palestinian refugee camp) (2013)

current situation:

• Lebanon is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking;
• Eastern European women and children are transported through Lebanon for sexual exploitation in other Middle Eastern countries;
• women from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Kenya, Bangladesh, Nepal, Madagascar, Congo, Togo, Cameroon, and Nigeria are recruited by agencies to work in domestic service but are often subject to conditions indicative of forced labor, including the withholding of passports, nonpayment of wages, restricted movement, threats, and abuse;
• Lebanon's artiste visa program enabling women to work as dancers for three months in the adult entertainment industry sustains a significant sex trade;
• anecdotal information indicates some Lebanese children are victims of forced labor, such as street begging and commercial sexual exploitation;
• Syrian refugee women and children in Lebanon are at increased risk of sex trafficking

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Lebanon does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• the government conducts investigations of human trafficking and possibly some prosecutions but for another year did not report convicting any trafficking offenders or officials complicit in human trafficking;
• the government continues to lack a formal system for identifying victims and does not have a policy to protect victims from being punished for crimes committed as a direct result of being trafficked;
• NGOs, rather than the government, provide victim assistance and protection (2013)

• 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