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Friends of El-Marj
 Leb411.com
Islamic
Academy
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Lebanon,
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| Geography |
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Location:
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Middle East,
bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Palestine and Syria |
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Geographic coordinates:
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33 50 N, 35
50 E |
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Map references:
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Middle East |
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Area:
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Total:
10,400 sq km
Land: 10,230 sq km
Water: 170 sq km |
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Land boundaries:
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Total:
454 km
Border countries: Palestine 79 km, Syria 375 km |
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Coastline:
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225 km |
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Climate:
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Mediterranean;
mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon
mountains experience heavy winter snows |
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Terrain:
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Narrow
coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon
and Anti-Lebanon Mountains |
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Elevation extremes:
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Lowest
point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
Highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m |
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Natural resources:
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Limestone,
iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit
region, arable land |
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Land use:
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Arable
land: 16.62%
Permanent crops: 13.98%
Other: 69.4% (2001) |
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Irrigated land:
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1,200 sq km
(1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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Dust storms,
sandstorms |
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Environment - current issues:
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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 |
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| People |
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Population:
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3,826,018
(July 2005 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14
years: 26.7% (male 520,270/female 499,609)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 1,216,738/female
1,324,031)
65 years and over: 6.9% (male 120,176/female
145,194) (2005 est.) |
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Median age:
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Total:
27.34 years
Male: 26.28 years
Female: 28.43 years (2005 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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1.26% (2005
est.) |
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Birth rate:
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18.88
births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Death rate:
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6.24
deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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At birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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Total
population: 72.63 years
Male: 70.17 years
Female: 75.21 years (2005 est.) |
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Nationality:
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Noun:
Lebanese (singular and plural)
Adjective: Lebanese |
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Ethnic groups:
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Arab 95%,
Armenian 4%, other 1% |
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Religions:
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Muslim 59.7%
(Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri),
Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Melkite
Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian
Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean,
Assyrian, Copt, Protestant), other 1.3%
note: seventeen religious sects recognized |
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Languages:
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Arabic
(official), French, English, Armenian |
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Literacy:
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Definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 87.4%
Male: 93.1%
Female: 82.2% (2003 est.) |
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| Government |
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Country name:
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conventional long form:
Lebanese Republic
conventional short form: Lebanon
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah
local short form: Lubnan |
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Government type:
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Republic |
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Capital:
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Beirut |
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Administrative divisions:
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6 governorates
(mohafazat,
singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Beqaa, Liban-Nord,
Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye |
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Independence:
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22 November 1943 (from League
of Nations mandate under French administration) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 22 November
(1943) |
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Constitution:
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23 May 1926; amended a number
of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National
Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989 |
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Legal system:
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Mixture of Ottoman law, canon
law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of
legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction |
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Suffrage:
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21 years of age; compulsory for
all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary
education |
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Executive branch:
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Chief of state:
President Emile LAHUD
Head of government: Prime Minister Fuad SINIORA
Cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in
consultation with the president and members of the
National Assembly
elections: president elected by the National
Assembly for a six-year term; the prime minister and
deputy prime minister appointed by the president in
consultation with the National Assembly; by agreement, the
president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a
Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shia
Muslim |
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Judicial branch:
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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) |
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Political parties:
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Ba'th Party; Democratic Gathering;
Democratic Left; Development and Resistance
Bloc [Amal]; Free Patriotic
Movement; Future Movement Bloc;
Kataeb Party; Kataeb Reform Movement; Lebanese Forces; Loyalty to the
Resistance; Nasserite Popular Movement; Popular Bloc; Qornet Shewan; Syrian National Socialist Party;
Tripoli Independent Bloc |
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International organization participation:
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ABEDA, ACCT,
AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS
(observer), OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
(observer) |
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Flag description:
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Three
horizontal bands consisting of red (top), white (middle,
double width), and red (bottom) with a green cedar tree
centered in the white band |
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| Economy |
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Economy - overview:
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The 1975-91
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. In the years since, Lebanon has rebuilt much
of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure by
borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In an
attempt to reduce the ballooning national debt, the HARIRI
government began an austerity program, reining in
government expenditures, increasing revenue collection,
and privatizing state enterprises. In November 2002, the
government met with international donors at the Paris II
conference to seek bilateral assistance in restructuring
its massive domestic debt at lower rates of interest.
Substantial receipts from donor nations stabilized
government finances in 2003, but did little to reduce the
debt, which stood at nearly 180% of GDP. In 2004 the
HARIRI government issued Eurobonds in an effort to manage
maturing debt, and the KARAMI government has continued
this practice. However, privatization of state-owned
enterprises had not occurred by the end of 2004, as
promised during the Paris II conference. |
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GDP (purchasing power parity):
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$18.83
billion (2004 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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4% (2004
est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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Purchasing
power parity - $5,000 (2004 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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Agriculture:
12%
Industry: 21%
Services: 67% (2000) |
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Labor force:
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2.6 million
Note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million
foreign workers (2001 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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18% (1997
est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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28% (1999
est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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2% (2004
est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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Citrus,
grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives,
tobacco; sheep, goats |
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Industries:
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Banking,
food processing, jewelry, cement, textiles, mineral and
chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil
refining, metal fabricating |
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Electricity - production:
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8.066
billion kWh (2002) |
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Electricity - consumption:
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8.591
billion kWh (2002) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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Authentic
jewelry, inorganic chemicals, miscellaneous consumer
goods, fruit, tobacco, construction minerals, electric
power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper |
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Exports - partners:
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Syria 24.9%,
UAE 10%, Turkey 6.9%, Switzerland 6.7%, Saudi Arabia 5.3%
(2004) |
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Imports - commodities:
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Petroleum
products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and
live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics,
tobacco |
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Imports - partners:
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Italy 11.2%,
France 10.3%, Syria 9.8%, Germany 8.6%, China 5.8%, US
5.5%, UK 4.6% (2004) |
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Currency (code):
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Lebanese
pound (LBP) |
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Exchange rates:
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Lebanese
pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (2004), 1,507.5 (2003),
1,507.5 (2002), 1,507.5 (2001), 1,507.5 (2000) |
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Fiscal year:
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Calendar
year |
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| Communications |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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678,800
(2002) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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775,100
(2002) |
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Telephone system:
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General
assessment: telecommunications system severely damaged
by civil war; rebuilding well underway
Domestic: primarily microwave radio relay and cable
International: country code - 961; 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 |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 20, FM
22, shortwave 4 (1998) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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15 (plus 5
repeaters) (1995) |
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Internet country code:
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.lb |
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Internet hosts:
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6,998 (2004) |
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Internet users:
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400,000
(2002) |
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| Transportation |
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Railways:
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Total: 401 km
Standard gauge: 319 km 1.435-m
Narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050-m
Note: rail system became unusable because of damage
during the Civil war in the 1980s; short sections are
operable (2004) |
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Highways:
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Total: 7,300 km
Paved: 6,198 km
Unpaved: 1,102 km (1999 est.) |
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Pipelines:
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Oil 209 km (2004) |
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Ports and harbors:
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Beirut, Chekka, Jounie,
Tripoli |
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Airports:
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8 (2004 est.) |
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| Military |
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Military branches:
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Lebanese
Armed Forces (LAF): Army, Navy, and Air Force |
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Military service age and obligation:
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18-30 years
of age for compulsory and voluntary military service;
conscript service obligation - 12 months (2004) |
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Manpower available for military service:
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Males age
18-49: 974,363 (2005 est.) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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3.1% (FY99)
(2004) |
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