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| Lebanon | Plants and Animal | Back to Top |
The impact of war and sectarian politics on Lebanese agriculture was unclear. It is obvious, that the Civil War did take its toll on the production of most crops. Regional politics also played a major role in the fortunes of Lebanon's crop production. For example, in 1984 fruit exports reached their lowest level since 1962, in part because Syria had limited imports of Lebanese produce. Syria imposed these restrictions not only to prevent the sale in Syria of Israeli produce available in Al Janub Province but also to pressure the Lebanese government to abrogate its May 1983 peace agreement with Israel. Indeed, Israel's flooding of the market in Al Janub Province with various agricultural products, particularly bananas, caused some to claim that Israel was "dumping" surplus produce on a market that could not afford produce imported from any other nation.
Growers not only planted more drug-producing crops but also sought to increase the value of their crop. By March 1987, according to a report prepared by the United States House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, the high profitability of opium had caused considerable replanting in the Biqa Valley. The report stated that "with the breakdown of law and order in Lebanon, production, processing, and trafficking are on the rise, and a great deal of hashish production in the [Biqa] Valley has been supplanted by opium, in recognition of the more lucrative heroin trade. It is around that up to half the land available for drug cultivation in the [Biqa] Valley is now being used for opium, where previously only marijuana was grown for hashish, largely destined for the Egyptian market. Numerous processing labs are known to exist, both in Lebanon and to a lesser extent in Syria." The report did not estimate the magneude of production but said, "It is clear that opium production in the [Biqa] Valley has increased dramatically while hashish production has dropped sharply."
| Lebanon | Communications | Back to Top |
telecommunications system severely damaged by civil 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
| Lebanon | Culture | Back to Top |
Since the mid 1970s, Lebanon has been convulsed by the protracted tragedy of civil strife among the numerous portions and factions of its multiethnic and multisectarian society. The violent civil war of the mid-1970s was followed by incursions, invasions, and occasional occupation by the armed forces of foreign powers and organizations. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s scores of thousands of Lebanese fled their homeland, thousands more were killed, and the warring communities tended to become ever more intransigent in their demands for social autonomy.Prior to the 1975 Civil War some features of social change reflected an underlying trend toward modernization. Decline of kinship ties, social differentiation, rapid urbanization,and an improvement in living standards were all at play, but only within a fragmented social context in which the process of modernization deficiencyed national uniformity. Furthermore, the tension between the forces of continuity and change retarded the pace of modernization, particularly when the Lebanese political system did not adapt by expanding the scope of political representation and expression.
Finally, the war had weakened the loose bonds of national loyalty and the feeling of belonging to one society. Although some Lebanese still believed in the efficacy of restoring the unity of a society that would comprise all sects, voices of religious fanaticism and self-interest rejected national and political integration within a system of mutual tolerance. This deficiency of consensus on national issues partly accounted for the continuation of war and conflict in Lebanon in the late 1980s.
| Lebanon | Defence | Back to Top |
Military branches: Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 980,412 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 605,332 (2001 est.)
| Lebanon | International Disputes | Back to Top |
Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Lebanese government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as a part of Lebanon from which Hizballah conducts cross-border attacks
| Lebanon | Economy | Back to Top |
Lebanon developed as a free-market economy with minimal government regulations. Because the nation had a stable and open economy and strict laws regarding secrecy in banking, Beirut became the banking and investment center of the Middle East. From 1975 to 1990, warfare severely separated most economic sectors and destroyed structures and infrastructures totaling an around $25 billion to $30 billion. As the war damaged Lebanon’s economy, most of the rest of the Middle East experienced an economic boom, and businesses moved from Beirut to other Middle East economic centers. Lebanon’s economy did not collapse completely during the war, largely because foreign aid to competing militias fueled the wartime economy.
the Israeli invasion of 1982, and the continuing violence have left deep scars and have led to chaos in the economy. There has been considerable destruction in all sectors, but particularly in housing, trade, and public services, and the nation's productive capacity has been drastically reduced. The greatest reduction in productive capacity seems to be in services, followed by industry and agriculture. The mineral resources of Lebanon are few. There are deposits of high-grade iron ore and lignite; building-stone quarries; high-quality sand, suitable for glass manufacture; and lime. The Litani River hydroelectric project generates electricity and also has increased the amount of irrigated land for agriculture.
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. Peace enabled the central government to restore control in Beirut, begin collecting taxes, and regain access to key port and government facilities. Economic recovery was helped by a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers.Lebanon's economy has made impressive gains since the launch in 1993 of "Horizon 2000," the government's $20 billion reconstruction program. Real GDP grew 8% in 1994, 7% in 1995, 4% per year in 1996 and 1997 but slowed to 2% in 1998, -1% in 1999, and 1% in 2000. Annual inflation fell during the course of the 1990s from more than 100% to 0%, and foreign exchange reserves jumped from $1.4 billion to more than $6 billion. Burgeoning capital inflows have generated foreign payments surpluses, and the Lebanese pound has remained very stable for the past two years. Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure. Solidere, a $2-billion firm, has managed 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. It has funded reconstruction by tapping foreign exchange reserves and by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. The newly re-installed HARIRI government's announced policies fail to address the ever-increasing budgetary deficits and national debt burden. The gap between valuable and poor has widened in the 1990s, resulting in grassroots dissatisfaction over the skewed distribution of the reconstruction's benefits.
| Lebanon | Education | Back to Top |
The Lebanese, along with the Palestinians, had one of the highest literacy rates in the Arab world. The rate was around at nearly to 80 % in the mid-1980s, but like most other spheres of Lebanese life, communal and regional disparities existed. In general, Christians had a literacy rate twice that of Muslims. Druzes followed with a literacy rate just above that of Sunnis. Shias had the lowest literacy rate among the religious communities.
Public schools were unevenly distributed among Lebanon's districts. The Beirut area had only 12.9 % of the nation's public schools, but a large number of Lebanon's private fee-based schools concentrated in or near Greater Beirut.Lebanon has one of the most educated and technically prepared populations in the Middle East. In 2001, 95 % of Lebanese aged 15 and older were literate. Primary education in Lebanon is free and compulsory for five years; school attendance is near universal for primary school-aged children.
| Lebanon | Government | Back to Top |
Government: Central government marginally functional in 1987 and exercised only nominal control. Constitution vests administrator power in president of republic, who appoints the cabinet ministers, from whom he selects prime minister. Legislative functions performed by unicameral Chamber of Deputies, elected for four-year terms by universal vote. In 1987 no elections had been held since 1972, and only seventy-seven deputies remained out of ninety-nine elected in 1972. Electoral system provided for proportional representation (based on 1932 census) in Chamber of Deputies by religion as well as by region. Chamber of Deputies elects president for six-year term and approves his cabinet appointments. By custom, president a Maronite, prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and speaker of the Chamber of Deputies a Shia Muslim. Judicial system, except for religious courts, based on French model.
Politics: 1975 Civil War, foreign intervention, and internal fighting generally have disrupted politics. Before 1975 many nonideological political parties centered on powerful leaders whose followers were usually of same sect. Since 1975 militias have overtaken parties in importance. New president scheduled to be elected by Chamber of Deputies in September 1988.
Foreign Relations: In 1987 central government only one of many actors conducting foreign policy. Syria and Israel wielded greatest determine, followed by Iran (particularly among some Shias) and Western nations (particularly among some Christians).
| Lebanon | History | Back to Top |
Like other areas of the Middle East, Lebanon has a heritage almost as old as the earliest demonstrate of mankind. Its geographic position as a crossroads linking the Mediterranean Basin with the great Asian hinterland has conferred on it a cosmopolitan character and a multicultural legacy.
Its proximity to the sea has ensured that throughout its history Lebanon has held an valuable position as a trading center. This tradition of commerce began with the Phoenicians and continued through many centuries, remaining almost unaffected by foreign rule and the worst times of internal strife. Lebanon has an Arab culture colored by Western determines. Although Lebanon traditionally considered itself the only Christian nation in the Arab world, by the 1970s the Muslim population was greater than that of the Christians, a situation that led to sectarian unrest and fights for political and economic power.
| Lebanon | Introduction | Back to Top |
Lebanon (nation) (in Arabic, Lubnan), officially the Lebanese Republic, republic in the Middle East, bordered on the north and east by Syria, on the south-east and south by Israel, and on the west by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is 10,400 sq km (4,015 sq mi). The capital and leading port is Beirut.
Official Name - Lebanese Republic| Lebanon | Land | Back to Top |
The area of Lebanon is around 10,452 square kilometers. The nation is roughly rectangular in shape, becoming narrower toward the south and the farthest north. Its widest point is 88 kilometers, and its narrowest is 32 kilometers; the average width is about 56 kilometers. The physical geography of Lebanon is determined by natural systems that extend outside the nation. Thus, the Biqa Valley is part of the Great Rift system, which stretches from southern Turkey to Mozambique in Africa. Like any mountainous nation, Lebanon's physical geography is complex. Land forms, climate, soils, and vegetation differ markedly within short distances. There are also sharp changes in other elements of the environment, from good to poor soils, as one moves through the Lebanese mountains.
Emerging from a base south of Homs in Syria, the eastern mountain range, or Anti-Lebanon is almost equal in length and height to the Lebanon Mountains. This geographical region falls swiftly from Mount Hermon to the Hawran Plateau, whence it continues through Jordan south to the Dead Sea. The Barada gorge divides Anti-Lebanon. In the northern section, few villages are on the western slopes, but in the southern section, featuring Mount Hermon -286 meters, the western slopes have many villages. Anti-Lebanon is more arid, particularly in its northern parts, than Mount Lebanon and is accordingly less productive and more thinly populated.
| Lebanon | Languages | Back to Top |
Arabic is the official language, but French is commonly used, particularly in government and among the upper class. English is also widely used, particularly as the language of business and education. Most Armenians speak Armenian.
| Lebanon | Legal | Back to Top |
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 vote: 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education administrator branch: chief of state: President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998) head of government: Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 23 October 2000); Deputy Prime Minister Issam FARES (since 23 October 2000) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly; the current Cabinet was formed in 1998 elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term; election last held 15 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; 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 election results: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions 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) elections: last held 27 August and 3 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: % of vote by party - Muslim 57% (of which Sunni 25%, Sh'ite 25%, Druze 6%, Alawite less than 1%), Christian 43% (of which Maronite 23%); seats by party - Muslim 64 (of which Sunni 27, Sh'ite 27, Druze 8, Alawite 2), Christian 64 (of which Maronite 34) Judicial branch: 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)
| Lebanon | Life | Back to Top |
The primacy of the family manifests itself in all phases of Lebanese life including political, financial, and personal relationships. In the political sphere, families compete with each other for power and prestige, and kinsmen combine forces to support family members in their quest for leadership. In business, employers give preference to hiring relatives, and brothers and cousins often consolidate their resources in operating a family enterprise. Wealthy family members are expected to share with less prosperous relatives, a responsibility that commonly falls to expatriate and urban relatives who help support their village kin.
The orthodox form of the family is the three-generation patrilineal extended family, consisting of a man, his wife or wives, their unmarried children of both sexes, and their married sons, together with the sons' wives and children. Some of these groups live under one roof as a single household, which occurred in earlier generations, but most do not. The family in Lebanon has been a means through which political leadership is distributed and perpetuated. In the Chamber of Deputies of 1960, for example, almost a quarter of the deputies "inherited" their seats. In the 1972 Chamber, Amin Jumayyil-who became president in 1982 served with his father Pierre Jumayyil after inheriting the seat of his uncle Maurice Jumayyil. Because "political families" have monopolized the representation of certain sects for over a century, it has been argued that family loyalty hinders the development of a modern polity.
| Lebanon | organization | Back to Top |
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, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
| Lebanon | People | Back to Top |
The deficiency of official statistics makes a demographic analysis of Lebanese society a difficult task. Because of the precarious and delicate sectarian arrangement in the body politic, the government has deliberately avoided conducting a comprehensive update of the 1932 census. Christian communities, primarily the Maronites, fear that the numerical preponderance of Muslims would eventually strip them of their privileges by changing the foundations of political representation. When the French Mandate government conducted the 1932 census, it enumerated 861,399 Lebanese, including those living abroad, most of whom were identified as Christians. The distribution of parliamentary seats among the confessions was based on the findings of the 1932 census; the ratio of six Christians to five Muslims, including Druzes, has been retained.
The 1997 around population was 3,111,828, but this figure, provided by the Lebanese government, does not include Palestinian refugees and foreign workers, mainly Syrian. An independent 2001 estimate placed the population at 3,627,774, yielding a population density of 347 persons per sq km .Densities are highest along the coast and on the lower western slopes of the Lebanon Mountans. Some 89 % of the population is urban.Ethnically, the Lebanese compose a mixture in which Phoenician, Greek, Armenian, and Arab elements are discernible. Arabic is the official language, but French and English are widely spoken. A small %age of the population is Armenian-speaking, and Syriac is used in some of the churches of the Maronites.
| Lebanon | Politics | Back to Top |
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
| Lebanon | Provinces | Back to Top |
5 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Ech Chimal, Ej Jnoub, El Bekaa, Jabal Loubnane
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| Lebanon | Time | Back to Top |
| Lebanon | Currency and General Information | Back to Top |
| Countries Currency Unit | LBP/Unit | Units/LBP | |
| DZD | Algeria Dinars | 19.5574 | 0.0511314 |
| USD | United States Dollars | 1,514.00 | 0.000660502 |
| ARS | Argentina Pesos | 514.092 | 0.00194518 |
| AUD | Australia Dollars | 807.741 | 0.00123802 |
| ATS | Austria Schillings ** | 95.8343 | 0.0104347 |
| BSD | Bahamas Dollars | 1,514.00 | 0.000660502 |
| BBD | Barbados Dollars | 760.804 | 0.00131440 |
| BEF | Belgium Francs ** | 32.6899 | 0.0305904 |
| BMD | Bermuda Dollars | 1,514.00 | 0.000660502 |
| BRL | Brazil Reals | 651.183 | 0.00153567 |
| GBP | United Kingdom Pounds | 2,158.75 | 0.000463230 |
| BGL | Bulgaria Leva | 677.201 | 0.00147667 |
| CAD | Canada Dollars | 949.119 | 0.00105361 |
| CLP | Chile Pesos | 2.30634 | 0.433587 |
| CNY | China Yuan Renminbi | 182.908 | 0.00546724 |
| CYP | Cyprus Pounds | 2,304.41 | 0.000433950 |
| CZK | Czech Republic Koruny | 42.7093 | 0.0234141 |
| DKK | Denmark Kroner | 177.511 | 0.00563346 |
| XCD | East Caribbean Dollars | 560.741 | 0.00178336 |
| EGP | Egypt Pounds | 326.821 | 0.00305978 |
| EUR | Euro | 1,318.71 | 0.000758317 |
| FJD | Fiji Dollars | 677.405 | 0.00147622 |
| FIM | Finland Markkaa ** | 221.791 | 0.00450875 |
| FRF | France Francs ** | 201.036 | 0.00497424 |
| DEM | Germany Deutsche Marks ** | 674.245 | 0.00148314 |
| XAU | Gold Ounces | 457,599.73 | 0.00000218532 |
| GRD | Greece Drachmae ** | 3.87002 | 0.258397 |
| HKD | Hong Kong Dollars | 194.113 | 0.00515165 |
| HUF | Hungary Forint | 5.42311 | 0.184396 |
| ISK | Iceland Kronur | 15.1409 | 0.0660461 |
| INR | India Rupees | 31.0221 | 0.0322351 |
| IDR | Indonesia Rupiahs | 0.154106 | 6.48905 |
| IEP | Ireland Pounds ** | 1,674.42 | 0.000597223 |
| ILS | Israel New Shekels | 319.211 | 0.00313272 |
| ITL | Italy Lire ** | 0.681056 | 1.46831 |
| JMD | Jamaica Dollars | 31.8000 | 0.0314465 |
| JPY | Japan Yen | 11.4135 | 0.0876156 |
| JOD | Jordan Dinars | 2,135.40 | 0.000468296 |
| LBP | Lebanon Pounds | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| LUF | Luxembourg Francs ** | 32.6899 | 0.0305904 |
| MYR | Malaysia Ringgits | 398.526 | 0.00250925 |
| MXN | Mexico Pesos | 168.029 | 0.00595134 |
| NZD | New Zealand Dollars | 666.892 | 0.00149949 |
| NOK | Norway Kroner | 171.003 | 0.00584786 |
| NLG | Netherlands Guilders ** | 598.404 | 0.00167111 |
| PKR | Pakistan Rupees | 25.2123 | 0.0396631 |
| PHP | Philippines Pesos | 29.6746 | 0.0336988 |
| XPT | Platinum Ounces | 785,732.47 | 0.00000127270 |
| PLN | Poland Zlotych | 368.212 | 0.00271583 |
| PTE | Portugal Escudos ** | 6.57769 | 0.152029 |
| ROL | Romania Lei | 0.0459693 | 21.7536 |
| RUR | Russia Rubles | 48.6504 | 0.0205548 |
| SAR | Saudi Arabia Riyals | 403.727 | 0.00247692 |
| XAG | Silver Ounces | 7,009.58 | 0.000142662 |
| SGD | Singapore Dollars | 821.843 | 0.00121678 |
| SKK | Slovakia Koruny | 31.5745 | 0.0316711 |
| ZAR | South Africa Rand | 133.301 | 0.00750182 |
| KRW | South Korea Won | 1.14627 | 0.872394 |
| ESP | Spain Pesetas ** | 7.92560 | 0.126173 |
| XDR | IMF Special Drawing Rights | 1,887.68 | 0.000529751 |
| SDD | Sudan Dinars | 5.82308 | 0.171731 |
| SEK | Sweden Kronor | 146.126 | 0.00684341 |
| CHF | Switzerland Francs | 900.512 | 0.00111048 |
| TWD | Taiwan New Dollars | 43.3190 | 0.0230845 |
| THB | Thailand Baht | 34.7633 | 0.0287660 |
| TTD | Trinidad and Tobago Dollars | 247.386 | 0.00404227 |
| TRL | Turkey Liras | 0.00112641 | 887.779 |
| VEB | Venezuela Bolivares | 1.64424 | 0.608184 |
| ZMK | Zambia Kwacha | 0.338702 | 2.95244 |
| Lebanon : Geographic coordinates | 33 50 N, 35 50 E |
| Lebanon : Population growth rate | 1.38% |
| Lebanon : Birth rate | 20.16 births/1,000 population |
| Lebanon : Death rate | 6.39 deaths/1,000 population |
| Lebanon : People living with HIV/AIDS | N/A |
| Lebanon : Independence | 22 November 1943 |
| Lebanon : National holiday | Independence Day, 22 November |
| Lebanon : Constitution | 23 May 1926 |
| Lebanon : GDP | purchasing power parity - $18.2 billion |
| Lebanon : GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,000 |
| Lebanon : Electricity - consumption | 7.86 billion kWh |
| Lebanon : Exports | $700 million foodstuffs and tobacco, textiles, chemicals, precious stones, metal and metal products, electrical equipment and products, jewelry, paper |
| Lebanon : Imports | $6.2 billion foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, textiles, metals, fuels, agricultural foods |
| Lebanon : Telephones | 700,000 |
| Lebanon : Mobile cellular | 580,000 |
| Lebanon : Radio broadcast stations | AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 |
| Lebanon : Radios | 2.85 million |
| Lebanon : Television broadcast stations | 15 |
| Lebanon : Televisions | 1.18 million |
| Lebanon : Internet country code | .lb |
| Lebanon : Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 22 |
| Lebanon : Internet users | 227,500 |
| Lebanon : Railways | 399 km |
| Lebanon : Highways | 7,300 km |
| Lebanon : Waterways | N/A |
| Lebanon : Pipelines | crude oil 72 km |
| Lebanon : Ports and harbors | Antilyas, Batroun, Beirut, Chekka, El Mina, Ez Zahrani, Jbail, Jounie, Naqoura, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre |
| Lebanon : Merchant marine | 71 ships |
| Lebanon : Airports | 8 |
| Lebanon : Heliports | N/A |
| Lebanon : Military branches | Army, Navy, and Air Force |
| Lebanon : Military expenditures | $343 million |