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 in October 1990. 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.
Location: Middle East, in the eastern Mediterranean
Sea, between Israel and Syria
Map references: Africa, Middle
East, Standard Time Zones of the World
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 and water pollution
natural hazards NA
international agreements party to - Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, 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
Population:
3,620,395 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.98% (1994 est.)
Birth rate: 27.89 births/1,000 population
(1994 est.)
Death rate: 6.55 deaths/1,000 population (1994
est.)
Net migration rate: -1.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 39.5 deaths/1,000 live
births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population
69.35 years
male 66.92 years
female 71.9 years
(1994 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.39
children born/woman (1994 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)
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, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission Ambassador Riad TABBARAH
chancery
2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone (202)
939-6300
FAX (202) 939-6324
consulate(s) general
Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission Ambassador Mark HAMBLEY
mailing embassy
Antelias, Beirut
address P. O. Box 70-840, PSC 815, Box
2, Beirut; FPO AE 09836-0002
telephone [961] 417774 or 415802
through 415803, 402200, 403300
FAX [961] (1) 407-112
Flag: three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and
red with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band
Overview: Since 1975 civil war has 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. Following October 1990, however, 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, has 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 year 1993 was marked by efforts of the new administration
to encourage domestic and foreign investment and to obtain additional international
assistance.
National product: GDP - exchange rate conversion
- $6.1 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
4.2% (1992)
National product per capita: $1,720 (1993
est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: 35% (1993 est.)
Budget:
revenues $990 million
expenditures $1.98 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 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: $700
million (1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate
25% (1993 est.)
Electricity:
capacity 1,300,000
kW
production 3.413 billion kWh
consumption per capita
990 kWh (1992)
Industries: banking, food processing,
textiles, cement, oil refining, chemicals, jewelry, some metal fabricating
Agriculture: accounts for about one-third of GDP; 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
Economic aid: aid for Lebanon's reconstruction programs currently totals
$1.3 billion since October 1992, including a $175 million loan from the World
Bank
Currency: 1 Lebanese pound (£L) = 100 piasters
Exchange rates: Lebanese pounds (£L) per US$1 - 1,713.00
(December 1993), 2,200.00 (1992), 928.23 (1991), 695.09 (1990), 496.69 (1989)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Railroads: 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:
Beirut, Tripoli, Ra'Sil'ata, Juniyah, Sidon, Az Zahrani, Tyre, Jubayl,
Shikka Jadidah
Merchant marine: 63 ships (1,000 GRT or
over) totaling 268,268 GRT/399,054 DWT, bulk 4, cargo 39, chemical tanker
1, combination bulk 1, container 2, livestock carrier 9, refrigerated cargo
1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 2, combination
ore/oil 1
Airports:
total 9
usable
7
with permanent-surface runways 5
with runways over 3,659 m
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m 3
with runways 1,220-2,439 m
1
Telecommunications: telecommunications system severely
damaged by civil war; rebuilding still underway; 325,000 telephones (95 telephones
per 1,000 persons); domestic traffic carried primarily by microwave radio
relay and a small amount of cable; international traffic by satellite - 1
Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station and 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
(erratic operations), coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria
but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan, 3 submarine coaxial cables; broadcast
stations - 5 AM, 3 FM, 13 TV (numerous AM and FM stations are operated sporadically
by various factions)
Branches:
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; including Army, Navy, and Air Force)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 827,267; fit for military service
514,291
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion
- $271 million, 8.2% of GDP (1992 budget)