Lebanon

The Republic of Lebanon is located in Western Asia in the Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south. The capital of Lebanon- Beirut is known as the ‘Paris of Western Asia’.


HISTORY:- The Phoenicians dwelled in the region before the reign of Cyrus the Great. After two centuries of Persian rule, Lebanon became a part of Armenian, Assyrian, Macedonian, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Crusader, and Ottoman Empires. 400 years of Ottoman rule was ended with the French mandate over Lebanon after the World War I. In 1920, the French divided Lebanon into two Muslim and Maronite Christian dominant regions. In 1926, The French set up the Lebanese Republic. In 1941, Lebanon declared independence under the authority of the Free French government. In 1944, the entire administrative power of Lebanon was shifted from the French National Committee of Liberation to Lebanese government. In 1948, Lebanon joined the Arab League to invade Israel. First civil war broke out in 1958 between Muslim and Maronite Christians. The second civil war broke out in 1975 and continued until 1991. In 1978 and in 1982, Lebanon was invaded and occupied twice by the Israeli Defense Forces. This civil war caused massive loss of human and eco-social properties of Lebanon. In 1985, a part of the Israeli troop withdrew from Lebanon. 15-year civil war was ended with the assistance of Syria but at the cost of huge economic losses.

 

GEOGRAPHY:- Lebanon is a Middle East country and its geographic coordinates are 33 50 N, 35 50 E. Lebanon has captured 10,400 sq km area in which 10,230 sq km area is covered by land mass. The coastline is 225 km long bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The lowest point is Mediterranean Sea (0 m) and the highest point is Qurnat as Sawda\' (3,088 m). Lebanon is mostly mountainous except the narrow coastal plains and El Beqaa or Beqaa Valley. The Baqaa valley separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains.

 

CLIMATE:- The climate of Lebanon is mostly Mediterranean with mild to cool, wet winters and hot, humid, dry summers. Heavy snow falls are very common in the Lebanon Mountains in winters.

 

GOVERNMENT:- Lebanon is a parliamentary republic. The constitution was adopted in 1926 but it went through several amendments lastly in 1989. The legal system is designed as a blend of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law. The three branches of the government are:

Executive branch comprises the President (chief of state), the Prime minister (head of government), the Deputy Prime Minister, and the cabinet. The President is elected by the National Assembly on a 6-year term. Both the prime minister and the deputy prime minister are appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly. The cabinet is also selected by the prime minister in consultation with the president and the National Assembly.

Legislative branch comprises the unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (128 seats).

Judicial branch comprises the four Courts of Cassation, the Constitutional Council, and the Supreme Council.

Democratic Left, Democratic Renewal Movement, Free Patriotic Movement, Future Movement, Lebanese Forces, National Bloc, Marada Movement, Nasserite Popular Movement, National Liberal Party, Popular Bloc, Progressive Socialist Party are some of the major political parties of Lebanon. Suffrage is universal at 21 for men while women only with elementary education are authorized to vote at the age of 21.

President   Michel Suleiman

Prime Minister  Fouad Siniora

Deputy Prime Minister  Elias Murr

Speaker of Parliament  Nabih Berri

 

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- Lebanon is divided into 8 governorates: Aakar, Baalbek-Hermel, Beqaa, Beyrouth, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, and Nabatiye.

 

CULTURE:- Lebanese music is famous worldwide for its soothing rhythms and oriental beats. Basketball, football, and hip ball are most widely played sports by the Lebanese. Baalbeck International Festival, Beiteddine Festival, Byblos International Festival, and the Al-Bustan Festival are the most popular festivals of the country.

 

ECONOMY:- Agriculture is a least-attended economic sector in Lebanon in spite of having the largest fecund soil in Middle East.

GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $20.42 billion; per capita $5,300.

Real growth rate: 0.5%.

Inflation: 2.4%.

Unemployment: 18% (1997 est.).

Arable land: 17%.

Agriculture: Citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats.

Labor force: 2.6 million; note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (2001 est.); services n.a., industry n.a., agriculture n.a.

Industries: Banking, tourism, food processing, jewelry, cement, textiles, mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil refining, metal fabricating.

Budget:  

Revenues: $6.472 billion

Expenditures: $8.35 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt: 186.6% of GDP (2007 est.)

Debt - external: $31.52 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Natural resources: Limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land.

Exports: $1.782 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): authentic jewelry, inorganic chemicals, miscellaneous consumer goods, fruit, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper.

Imports: $8.855 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco.

Major trading partners: Syria, UAE, Turkey, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Italy, France, Germany, China, U.S., UK (2004).

Monetary unit: Lebanese pound

 

LANGUAGE:- The official language of Lebanon is Arabic, while French, English, and Armenian are also spoken.

 

CITIES:- Capital Beirut is the largest city of Lebanon. Other major cities are Tripoli, Zahle, Sidon, Tyre, Byblos.

 

 POPULATION:- The approximate population of Lebanon is 3,921,278 with a growth rate of 1.2% .

Density per sq mi: 993

Literacy rate: 87% (2003 est.)

 

RACE:-

Arab 95%

Armenian 4%

Other 1%

 

RELIGION:-

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%

 

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 17.61 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 6.06 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 22.59 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.41 years

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.)

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 584

 

UNICEF:- Providing basic education on health and hygiene, awareness on HIV, establishing children\'s and women\'s rights, efforts to improve education system are the principal areas of UNICEF Lebanon’s attention.

 

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: total: 401 km (2002).

Highways: total: 7,300 km; paved: 6,198 km; unpaved: 1,102 km (1999 est.).

Ports and harbors: Antilyas, Batroun, Beirut, Chekka, El Mina, Ez Zahrani, Jbail, Jounie, Naqoura, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre.

 Airports: 8 (2002).

  

 

           

    

  

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