|
 Geography
of Lebanon
Location: Middle East, bordering the Eastern
Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria
Geographic coordinates: 33 50 N, 35 50 E
Area: total: 10,452 sq km 
Land boundaries: total : 454 km border countries:
Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km
Coastline: 225 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea : 12 nm
Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters
with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience
heavy winter snows
Terrain: narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa' (Bekaa
Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains
Elevation extremes: lowest point : Mediterranean Sea
0 m highest point: Jabal al Makmal 3,087 m
Natural resources: limestone, iron ore, salt,
water-surplus state in a water-deficit region
Land use: arable land : 21% permanent crops: 9%
permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 8% other:
61% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 860 sq km (1993 est.)
Environment - current issues: 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
Environment - international agreements: party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified:
Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation
Geography - note: Nahr al 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
People
Population: 3,562,699 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 30% (male 535,596; female 515,776)
15-64 years: 64% (male 1,084,121; female 1,196,678)
65 years and over: 6% (male 105,133; female 125,395)
(1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.61% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 22.5 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 6.45 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(1999 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 30.53 deaths/1,000 live births
(1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.93 years
male: 68.34 years
female: 73.66 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.25 children born/woman (1999
est.)
Nationality:
noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Lebanese
Ethnic groups: Arab 55%, Levantine 40%, Armenian 4%,
other 1%
Religions: Christian and Muslim. Christian (11
legally recognized Christian groups - 4 Orthodox
Christian, 6 Catholic, 1 Protestant), Islam (5 legally
recognized Islamic groups - Alawite or Nusayri, Druze,
Isma'ilite, Shi'a, Sunni), Judaism.
Languages: Lebanese (spoken), Arabic (official),
French (official), English, Armenian,
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and
write total population: 92.4% male: 94.7% female: 90.3%
(1995 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Lebanese Republic
conventional short form: Lebanon. Local long form : Al
Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: Libnen
Data code: LE
Government type: republic
National capital: Beirut
Administrative divisions: 5 governorates (muhafazat,
singular - muhafazah); Al Biqa', Al Janub, Ash Shamal,
Bayrut, Jabal Lubnan
Independence: 22 November 1943 (from League of
Nations mandate under French administration)
National holiday: Independence Day, 22 November
(1943)
Constitution: 23 May 1926, amended a number of times
Legal system: mixture of Ottoman law, canon law,
Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of
legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Suffrage: 21 years of age; compulsory for all males;
authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education
Executive branch:
Chief of State:
President General Emile LAHOUD (since 24 Novemver 1998)
Prime Minister Michel AOUN (since September 1988 in
exile after his removal in October 1990)
Head of Government :
Prime Minister Rafic Hariri
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or
Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French)
(128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis
of sectarian proportional representation to serve
four-year terms).
Judicial branch: four Courts of Cassation (three
courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for
criminal cases)
Political parties and leaders: political party
activity is organized along largely sectarian lines;
numerous political groupings exist, consisting of
individual political figures and followers motivated by
religious, clan, and economic considerations
International organization participation: ABEDA,
ACCT, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO
(correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Flag description: three horizontal bands of red
(top), white (double width), and red with a green and
brown cedar tree centered in the white band
Economy
Economy - overview: The 1975-91 war seriously damaged
Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output
by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a
Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. Peace has
enabled the central government to restore control in
Beirut, begin collecting taxes, and regain access to key
port and government facilities. Economic recovery has
been helped by a financially sound banking system and
resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers, with
family remittances, banking services, manufactured and
farm exports, and international aid as the main sources
of foreign exchange. Lebanon's economy has made
impressive gains since former Prime Minister HARIRI
launched his $18 billion "Horizon 2000" reconstruction
program in 1993. Real GDP grew 8% in 1994 and 7% in 1995
before Israel's Operation Grapes of Wrath in April 1996
stunted economic activity. During 1992-96, annual
inflation fell from more than 170% to 10%, and foreign
exchange reserves jumped to more than $4 billion from
$1.4 billion. Burgeoning capital inflows have fueled
foreign payments surpluses, and the Lebanese pound has
remained relatively stable. Progress also has been made
in rebuilding Lebanon's war-torn physical and financial
infrastructure. Solidere, a $2-billion firm, is managing
the reconstruction of Beirut's central business
district, the stock market reopened in January 1996, and
international banks and insurance companies are
returning. The government nonetheless faces serious
challenges in the economic arena. The government has had
to fund reconstruction by tapping foreign exchange
reserves and boosting borrowing. The stalled peace
process and ongoing violence in southern Lebanon could
spawn wider hostilities that would disrupt vital capital
inflows. Furthermore, the gap between rich and poor has
widened since HARIRI took office, sowing grassroots
dissatisfaction over the skewed distribution of
reconstruction's benefits and leading the government to
shift its focus from rebuilding infrastructure to
improving social conditions.
The government of Dr. Hoss tried to reduce Lebanon's
national debt through various austerity measures. The
state of the economy was a major factor in the
re-election of Hariri in 2000 who was believed to be
able to stimulate the economy.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$15.8 billion (1998
est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 3% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$4,500 (1998
est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 4% industry:
23% services: 73% (1997 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (1998 est.)
Labor force: total: 1.3 million plus as many as 1
million foreign workers by occupation: services 60%,
industry 28%, agriculture 12% (1998 est.)
Unemployment rate: 18% (1997 est.)
Budget: revenues: $4.9 billion expenditures: $7.9
billion, including capital expenditures of $1 billion
(1998 est.)
Industries: banking; food processing; textiles,
jewelry; cement, oil refining, chemicals, metal
fabricating, wood products
Electricity - production: 9.7 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel:
90.72% hydro: 9.28% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 9.629 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 608 million kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: citrus, vegetables, potatoes,
olives, tobacco, hemp (hashish); sheep, goats
Exports: total value : $1 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: paper and paper products 26%, food stuffs
16%, textiles and textile products 10%, jewelry 8%,
metals and metal products 8%, electrical equipment and
products 8%, chemical products 6%, transport vehicles 4%
(1995) partners: Saudi Arabia 13%, Switzerland 12%, UAE
11%, Syria 9%, US 5%, Jordan 5% (1995)
Imports: $5.7 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.) commodities
: machinery and transport equipment 28%, foodstuffs 20%,
consumer goods 19%, chemicals 9%, textiles 5%, metals
5%, fuels 3% (1995)
Imports - partners: Italy 12%, France 10%, US 9%,
Germany 9%, Switzerland 6%, Japan, UK, Syria (1998)
Debt - external: $8.8 billion (1999 est.)
Economic aid: recipient: aid pledges of $3.5 billion
for 1997-2001
Currency: 1 Lebanese pound (£L) = 100 piasters
Exchange rates: Lebanese pounds (£L) per US$1 -
1,508.0 (January 1999), 1,516.1 (1998), 1,539.5 (1997),
1,571.4 (1996), 1,621.4 (1995), 1,680.1 (1994)1,741.4
(1993), 1,712.8 (1992)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 330,000 (1995)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 120,000 (1995)
Telephone system: telecommunications system severely
damaged by war; rebuilding well underway domestic:
primarily microwave radio relay and cable international:
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
Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 3, shortwave 1
note: government is licensing a limited number of the
more than 100 AM and FM stations operated sporadically
by various factions that sprang up during the war
Radios: 2.37 million (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 13 note: government is
licensing a limited number of TV stations operated by
various factions
Televisions: 1.1 million (1993 est.)
Transportation
Railways: total: 222 km standard gauge : 222 km
1.435-m (from Beirut to the Syrian border)
Highways: total: 6,270 km paved
Pipelines: crude oil 72 km (none in operation)
Ports and harbors: Al Batrun, Al Mina, An Naqurah,
Antilyas, Az Zahrani, Beirut, Jubayl, Juniyah, Shikka,
Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre
Merchant marine: total: 68 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 346,029 GRT/536,861 DWT ships by type: bulk 8,
cargo 44, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1,
combination ore/oil 1, container 4, livestock carrier 4,
roll-on/roll-off 2, vehicle carrier 3 (1999 est.)
Airports: 9 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 7
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m : 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (1999 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1 914 to
1,523 m: 2 (1999 est.)
Military
Military branches: Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes
Army, Navy, and Air Force)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49:
957,729 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males
age 15-49: 592,264 (2000 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $500 million
(FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 4% (FY98)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: Israeli troops occupying
southern Lebanon since June 1982 withdrew in May 2000
but still occupy the Shebaa Farms region of southern
Lebanon; Syrian occupation troops in northern, central,
and eastern Lebanon since October 1976.
Illicit drugs: small illicit producer of hashish and
heroin for the international drug trade; hashish
production is shipped to Western Europe, the Middle
East, and North and South America; a key locus of
cocaine processing and trafficking; a Lebanese/Syrian
eradication campaign started in the early 1990s has
practically eliminated the opium and cannabis crops.
Top
|
