LEBANON
Geography People Government Economy Transportation Communications Defense Forces
LEBANON
Note--Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political
institutions and regaining its national sovereignty since the end of
the devastating 16-year civil war which began in 1975. Under the Ta'if
accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have
established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving
Muslims a greater say in the political process. Since December 1990,
the Lebanese have formed three cabinets and conducted the first
legislative election in 20 years. Most of the militias have been
weakened or disbanded. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has seized vast
quantities of weapons used by the militias during the war and extended
central government authority over about one-half of the country.
Hizballah, the radical Sh'ia party, retains most of its weapons.
Foreign forces still occupy areas of Lebanon. Israel maintains troops
in southern Lebanon and continues to support a proxy militia, The Army
of South Lebanon (ASL), along a narrow stretch of territory contiguous
to its border. The ASL's enclave encompasses this self-declared
security zone and about 20 kilometers north to the strategic town of
Jazzine. As of December 1993, Syria maintained about 30,000-35,000
troops in Lebanon. These troops are based mainly in Beirut, North
Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's deployment was legitimized by
the Arab League early in Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if accord.
Citing the continued weakness of the LAF, Beirut's requests, and
failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the
constitutional reforms in the Ta'if accord, Damascus has so far
refused to withdraw its troops from Beirut.
@Lebanon:Geography
Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel
and Syria
Map references: Middle East
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LEBANON - MAJOR CITIES
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Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
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BEIRUT 1,500,000 33.52N, 35.30E 961- GMT+2
Tripoli 500,000 34.27N, 35.50E 961- GMT+2
Zahle 200,000 33.50N, 35.55E 961- GMT+2
Sidon 100,000 33.32N, 35.22E 961- GMT+2
Tyre 14,000 33.16N, 35.12E 961- GMT+2
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Area:
total area: 10,400 sq km
land area: 10,230 sq km
comparative area: about 0.8 times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries: total 454 km, Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km
Coastline: 225 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice
Line; Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982; Syrian
troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976
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
Natural resources: limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a
water-deficit region
Land use:
arable land: 21%
permanent crops: 9%
meadows and pastures: 1%
forest and woodland: 8%
other: 61%
Irrigated land: 860 sq km (1989 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
natural hazards: duststorms, sandstorms
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified -
Desertification, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine
Life Conservation
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
@Lebanon:People
Population: 3,695,921 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 36% (female 657,403; male 682,757)
15-64 years: 58% (female 1,131,450; male 1,016,859)
65 years and over: 6% (female 111,585; male 95,867) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.15% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 27.9 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.44 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 38 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.69 years
male: 67.22 years
female: 72.28 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.31 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Lebanese
Ethnic divisions: Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%
Religions: Islam 70% (5 legally recognized Islamic groups - Alawite or
Nusayri, Druze, Isma'ilite, Shi'a, Sunni), Christian 30% (11 legally
recognized Christian groups - 4 Orthodox Christian, 6 Catholic, 1
Protestant), Judaism NEGL%
Languages: Arabic (official), French (official), Armenian, English
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population: 80%
male: 88%
female: 73%
Labor force: 650,000
by occupation: industry, commerce, and services 79%, agriculture 11%,
government 10% (1985)
@Lebanon:Government
Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Lebanon
conventional short form: Lebanon
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah
local short form: none
Digraph: LE
Type: republic
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 Ilyas HARAWI (since 24 November 1989); note
- by custom, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister
is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shi'a
Muslim
head of government: Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 22 October
1992)
cabinet: Cabinet; chosen by the president in consultation with the
members of the National Assembly
Legislative branch: unicameral
National Assembly: (Arabic - Majlis Alnuwab, French - Assemblee
Nationale) Lebanon's first legislative election in 20 years was held
in the summer of 1992; the National Assembly is composed of 128
deputies, one-half Christian and one-half Muslim; its mandate expires
in 1996
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
Member of: 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, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Riyad TABBARAH
chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-6300
FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324
consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: (vacant)
embassy: Antelias, Beirut
address: P. O. Box 70-840, Beirut; PSC 815, Box 2, Beirut; FPO AE
09836-0002
telephone: [961] (1) 402200, 403300, 416502, 426183, 417774
FAX: [961] (1) 407112
Flag: three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and
red with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band
Economy
Overview: The 1975-1991 civil 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. A
tentative peace has enabled the central government to begin restoring
control in Beirut, collect taxes, and regain access to key port and
government facilities. The battered economy has also been propped up
by a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and
medium-scale manufacturers. Family remittances, banking transactions,
manufactured and farm exports, the narcotics trade, and international
emergency aid are the main sources of foreign exchange. In the
relatively settled year of 1991, industrial production, agricultural
output, and exports showed substantial gains. The further rebuilding
of the war-ravaged country was delayed in 1992 because of an upturn in
political wrangling. In October 1992, Rafiq HARIRI was appointed Prime
Minister. HARIRI, a wealthy entrepreneur, announced ambitious plans
for Lebanon's reconstruction which involve a substantial influx of
foreign aid and investment. Progress on restoring basic services is
limited. Since Prime Minister HARIRI's appointment, the most
significant improvement lies in the stabilization of the Lebanese
pound, which had gained over 30% in value by yearend 1993. The years
1993 and 1994 were marked by efforts of the new administration to
encourage domestic and foreign investment and to obtain additional
international assistance. The construction sector led the 8.5% advance
in real GDP in 1994.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $15.8 billion (1994
est.)
National product real growth rate: 8.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $4,360 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 35% (1993 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $1.4 billion
expenditures: $3.2 billion (1994 est.)
Exports: $925 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities: agricultural products, chemicals, textiles, precious and
semiprecious metals and jewelry, metals and metal products
partners: Saudi Arabia 21%, Switzerland 9.5%, Jordan 6%, Kuwait 12%,
US 5%
Imports: $4.1 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
commodities: consumer goods, machinery and transport equipment,
petroleum products
partners: Italy 14%, France 12%, US 6%, Turkey 5%, Saudi Arabia 3%
External debt: $765 million (1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 25% (1993 est.)
Electricity:
capacity: 1,220,000 kW
production: 2.5 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 676 kWh (1993)
Industries: banking, food processing, textiles, cement, oil refining,
chemicals, jewelry, some metal fabricating
Agriculture: principal products - citrus fruits, vegetables, potatoes,
olives, tobacco, hemp (hashish), sheep, goats; not self-sufficient in
grain
Illicit drugs: 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; increasingly a
key locus of cocaine processing and trafficking; a Lebanese/Syrian
1994 eradication campaign eliminated the opium crop and caused a 50%
decrease in the cannabis crop
Economic aid: the government estimates that it has received $1.7
billion in aid and has an additional $725 million in commitments to
support its $3 billion National Emergency Recovery Program
Currency: 1 Lebanese pound (#L) = 100 piasters
Exchange rates: Lebanese pounds (#L) per US$1 - 1,644.6 (January
1995), 1,680.1 (1994), 1,741.4 (1993), 1,712.8 (1992), 928.23 (1991),
695.09 (1990)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Lebanon:Transportation
Railroads:
total: 222 km
standard gauge: 222 km 1.435-m
note: system in disrepair, considered inoperable
Highways:
total: 7,300 km
paved: 6,200 km
unpaved: gravel 450 km; improved earth 650 km
Pipelines: crude oil 72 km (none in operation)
Ports: Al Batrun, Al Mina, An Naqurah, Antilyas, Az Zahrani, Beirut,
Jubayl, Juniyah, Shikka Jadidah, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre
Merchant marine:
total: 64 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 260,383 GRT/381,937 DWT
ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 41, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk
1, combination ore/oil 1, container 2, livestock carrier 6,
refrigerated cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, specialized tanker 1,
vehicle carrier 2
Airports:
total: 9
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 2
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@Lebanon:Communications
Telephone system: 325,000 telephones; 95 telephones/1,000 persons;
telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding
still underway
local: NA
intercity: primarily microwave radio relay and cable
international: 2 INTELSAT (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) earth
stations (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 0; note - numerous AM and FM
stations are operated sporadically by various factions
radios: NA
Television:
broadcast stations: 13
televisions: NA
@Lebanon:Defense Forces
Branches: Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air
Force)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 857,698; males fit for military
service 533,640 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $278 million, 5.5% of
GDP (1994)
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