Lebanon

Lebanon has been the scene of armed struggle since ancient times, as one power after another has seized control of the country. Modern-day Lebanon is a unique blend of the ancient and the new.

In the twentieth century, Lebanon consisted of a carefully constructed yet peaceful balance between Christian and Muslim populations. The arrival of Palestinian refugees sparked a fifteen-year civil war, which ended only when Syria took control of the country in 1990. There was strong opposition to Syrian rule, but Western powers favored the status quo because violence had declined. In early 2005, following widespread protests, Syria withdrew from Lebanon. In the twenty-first century, although the government of Lebanon is supported by Western powers, wide swaths of the country are controlled and influenced by the fundamentalist Shia Islamic group known as Hezbollah.

General Information

• Full name of country: Lebanese Republic
• Former name(s): Greater Lebanon
• Region: Middle East
• Nationality: Lebanese (singular and plural) (noun), Lebanese (adjective)
• Official language: Arabic
• Population: 5,331,203 (2023 est.)
• Population growth: 0.64% (2023 est.)
• Currency (money): Lebanese pound
• Land area: 10,230 sq km (3,950 sq miles)
• Water area: 170 sq km (66 sq miles)
• Time zone: UTC +2
• Capital: Beirut
• Flag: The flag of Lebanon features a tricolor design, with a central white horizontal band (called a Spanish fess, due to being twice the size of the bands beside it) between two equal, horizontal bands of red, each half the size of the white band. Centered in the white band, and just touching each red stripe, is a green cedar, or Lebanon Cedar, the national emblem. Symbolically, the red represents the spilled blood in the fight for freedom, while the white, a general representation of peace or purity, stands for the country’s snow-topped mountains.
• Independence: November 22, 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
• Government type: parliamentary republic
• Suffrage: 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education; excludes military personnel; excludes persons convicted of felonies and other crimes
• Legal system: mixed legal system of civil law based on the French civil code, Ottoman legal tradition, and religious laws covering personal status, marriage, divorce, and other family relations of the Jewish, Islamic, and Christian communities
• National anthem: "Kulluna lil-watan" (All Of Us, For Our Country!), by Rachid Nakhle/Wadih Sabra
• National holiday: Independence Day, November 22 (1943)
• Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: Lebanon's population density is more than 547 people per square kilometer according to World Bank (2021). Most people live in the coastal areas. The country's major cities, all coastal, include Beirut, with a metro population of 2.421 million (2023), Tarabulus (Tripoli), Saida (Sidon), and Sur (Tyre). There are about one million refugees in Lebanon (2021).

About 67.8 percent of the people are Muslim, of which 31.9 percent are Sunni and 31.2 percent are Shia, and 32.4 percent are Christian. Approximately 4.5 percent of the population is Druze. There are also small populations of Jews, Baha'is, Buddhists, Hindus, and Mormons. Lebanon recognizes eighteen religious sects (2020 estimate).

Although the official language is Arabic, French is a widely used second language. English, and Armenian are also spoken.

Indigenous People: The Lebanese population is 95 percent Arab, although many Christian Lebanese self-identify as Phoenicians rather than Arabs. About 4 percent of the population is Armenian.

Lebanon has one of the largest populations of registered refugees per capita in the world. About 487,000 Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon, mostly in the south (2022). The first refugees came in 1948, after the Arab-Israeli war that established the nation of Israel. Other refugees came after the Six Days' War of 1967. Following the outbreak of civil war in Syria in 2011, more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees fled to Lebanon. In 2023, there were 789,842 Syrian refugees living in Lebabnon

Education: Lebanon has no compulsory school requirement, but primary school is free. According to a 2018 estimate, the country’s literacy rate is 95.1 percent overall.

Primary education begins at age six and lasts for five years, followed by seven years of secondary education.

Almost all secondary and higher education is private. There are forty-one universities in Lebanon. The American University of Beirut (AUB), established in 1866, is world-renowned for its high educational standards. While AUB is secular and offers instruction in English, most universities in the country are religiously affiliated.

Health Care: Lebanon once had an excellent health care system. In fact, at one time, Beirut met the health needs of the entire Middle East. After years of war, however, the Lebanese health care infrastructure was nearly destroyed. Records were rendered missing or incomplete, facilities and staffs became inadequate, and the Ministry of Health ceased to function.

A concerted effort to improve health care in the country continues. Average life expectancy at birth in Lebanon is 77.6 years for men and 80.46 for women (2023 estimate). There are approximately 2.21 doctors for every 1,000 people (2019).

Most hospitals are private, and even in an emergency, a patient must provide proof of insurance or other ability to pay before receiving treatment. Virtually all doctors speak either English or French. The best hospitals are in Beirut, including the American University Hospital.

Food: Popular Lebanese foods include grilled lamb kebabs; kibbe, balls of minced lamb and bulgur wheat; shawarma, which is lamb or chicken carved from a spit; roast chicken; and falafel, fried balls of chickpeas and spices, served in pita bread.

Other common foods include hummus, a dip made of chickpeas and tahini (pureed sesame seeds); tabouleh, a salad of parsley and tomato with bulgur wheat; baba ghanoush, a dip of eggplant and tahini; and fattoush, a minty salad with baked or fried pita-bread crumbs. A favorite dessert is baklava, which is made of phyllo dough layered with honey and walnuts.

Typical Lebanese drinks include red wine, arak (an alcoholic drink made from aniseed), strong Turkish coffee, and hot chai tea.

International restaurants are gaining in popularity in modern Lebanon. Even American fast-food chains may be seen in sections of Beirut.

Arts & Entertainment: Lebanon, which has been called the party capital of the Middle East, offers an active nightlife including bars, nightclubs, and movie theaters.

Prominent Lebanese artists include painters such as Joseph Matar and Husein Madi. Matar paints landscapes, portraits, sacred art, and still life. He has stated that his landscapes attempt to preserve his view of Lebanon before war and modernization destroyed it.

Traditional Lebanese music employs unique instruments such as the tabla (a type of small drum), the oud (a stringed guitar-like instrument), and the ney (a type of flute).

Football (soccer) is a popular sport, and Lebanon has several football leagues. Other popular sports include basketball, cricket, golf, tennis, and skiing in the winter. In past years, Lebanon has hosted the Pan-Arab Games, as well as the Asian Cup football tournament.

Holidays: Muslim holidays, including Ramadan, Muharram (Islamic New Year), Muloud/Yum an-Nabi (marking the birth of Muhammad), and Leilat al-Meiraj (marking the ascension of Muhammad), are widely celebrated in Lebanon.

Other holidays observed in Lebanon include the Feast of St. Maron (February 9) and Independence Day (November 22).

Environment and Geography

Topography: Lebanon is a small country on the eastern end of the Mediterranean. It is roughly wedge-shaped, with the widest part to the north. Lebanon is bounded by Syria on the north and east and by Israel on the south. It is about one-third of the size of the American state of Maryland. Its Mediterranean coastline is 225 kilometers (135 miles) long.

A narrow plain follows the coast, and the Jabal Lubnan (the Lebanon Mountains), composed largely of limestone, lie to the east. El Beqaa (the Bekaa Valley) separates western Lebanon from the northeastern Anti-Lebanon Mountains.

Most of the country is mountainous. The highest peak is Qurnet as Sauda, in the Lebanon Mountains, rising to 3,088 meters (10,131 feet) in the north.

One of Lebanon's major rivers is the Nahr Al-Asi (Orontes), which rises in the Bekaa Valley near Baalbek, and flows north into Syria and Turkey. About 400 kilometers (250 miles) long, the river is mostly unnavigable, but it provides irrigation.

Nahr Al-Litani (the Litani River) flows for 145 kilometers (90 miles) southwest between the mountain ranges and empties into the Mediterranean south of Sidon. The Litani waters the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon's primary agricultural area, and is the only river in the Middle East that does not cross a national boundary.

The Jordan River rises in southern Lebanon and flows into Israel. Like the other rivers, it is used for irrigation rather than for navigation.

Natural Resources: The Lebanon Mountains yield limestone and iron ore. Lebanon's other chief resources include salt, arable land, and water.

Environmental concerns include erosion, desertification, and deforestation throughout the country. In addition, Beirut experiences air pollution caused by traffic and industrial waste-burning. Coastal waters are polluted by raw sewage and oil spills.

Plants & Animals: The mountains of Lebanon are still dotted with huge cedar trees, but not nearly in the same numbers as in ancient times. The most common mountain tree is the oak, along with the walnut, poplar, pine, carob, and locust. There are also some tamarisks, maples, sumacs, and acacias.

The sycamore, which in Lebanon is really a type of inedible-fig tree, grows in the coastal lowlands. Dateless date palms are used for timber.

Juniper and barberry grow in abundance in the eastern mountains while bramble, myrtle, and clematis dominate the slopes in the west. Other common plants include lentisk, arbutus, styrax, jasmine, bay, small-leaved holly, honeysuckle, rhododendron, barberry, oleander, and cypress. Prickly pear, an introduced plant, is often used for hedges.

Common herbs that grow in Lebanon include sage, rosemary, lavender, rue, and wormwood. Among the country's many flowers are varieties of hyacinth, tulip, rose, hollyhock, ranunculus, gladiolus, anemone, crocus, amaryllis, cyclamen, chrysanthemum, blue campanula, and mandrake.

There are few wild animal species left in Lebanon. Those that remain include bears, leopards, wolves, hyenas, jackals, foxes, hares, boars, mongooses, gazelles, squirrels, rats, and moles.

Numerous varieties of birds, however, are found, including eagles, hawks, kites, owls, vultures, falcons, gulls, partridges, linnets, robins, water-ouzels, thrushes, pigeons, woodcocks, and wrens.

A few varieties of freshwater fish live in Lebanon's rivers, while the ocean is home to shellfish and mullet.

Climate: The weather in Lebanon depends on altitude. The coastal lowlands experience hot, humid summers with very little rain, and mild, rainy winters. The mountains receive heavy rains and snow during winter at the highest elevations. The Bekaa Valley has an arid desert climate.

Beirut, on the coast, has an elevation of approximately 30 meters (98 feet). It experiences an average January temperature of 13 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit) and an average July temperature of 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit). In contrast, Ksara, at 918 meters (3,011 feet), has an average winter temperature of 7 degrees Celsius (45 degrees Fahrenheit) and an average summer temperature of 23 degrees Celsius (74 degrees Fahrenheit).

Precipitation also varies. Beirut's average precipitation is about 89 centimeters (35 inches), while Ksara receives an average of 62 centimeters (24 inches).

Economy

Before the civil war of 1975–91, Lebanon acted as an entrepot (a port for receiving and reshipping cargo without paying duties) and banking hub for the Middle East. This position, along with the country's infrastructure, was seriously damaged by the war. Lebanon subsequently borrowed heavily in order to rebuild.

In 2021, Lebanon's gross domestic product (GDP; purchasing power parity) was estimated at US$72.577 billion (2017 dollars). The per capita GDP for the same period was an estimated US$13,000. Lebanon’s unemployment rate was estimated at 14.49 percent in 2021, though the unemployment rate is thought to be much higher among the nation’s poor populations. According to the United Nations, between 2019 and 2021, between an estimated 42 to 82 percent of people in Lebanon lived below the national poverty line.

Industry: Principal industries include banking, tourism, food processing, wine, jewelry, textiles, cement, mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil refining, and metal fabricating.

Lebanon exports jewelry, base metals, chemicals, consumer goods, foodstuffs, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, and paper. Total exports were estimated at US$10.147 billion in 2021.

Agriculture: About 11.9 percent of Lebanon's land is arable (2018 estimate). Important agricultural products include vegetables, citrus fruit, grapes, apples, olives, and tobacco. Livestock products include cows' milk, sheep, goats, eggs, beef, and veal.

Lower slopes are often covered with vineyards, and extensive olive orchards flourish at higher elevations. Numerous varieties of fruit trees are grown, including apple, pomegranate, citrus, quince, almond, and banana. Mulberry trees are cultivated primarily for the silkworm industry.

Tourism: Lebanon has worked hard to improve its tourist industry, constructing new infrastructure, shopping complexes, hotels, restaurants, roads, and telecommunications services. These efforts paid off, with more tourism contributing 4 percent to Lebanon's GDP in 2022. However, regional violence continues to hamper tourism in the country.

Archaeological and historic sites trace the history of Lebanon. Baalbek is the first Phoenician city dedicated to the worship of Baal. The city was known as Heliopolis to the Romans. Baalbek was named a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1984, as well as the cities of Anjar, Byblos, and Tyre. Ouadi Qadisha and the Forest of the Cedars of God was named a World Heritage Site in 1998.

Byblos (Jbeil) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Its archaeological excavations and medieval Arab and Crusader artifacts attract many visitors.

Ecotourism is also popular in Lebanon. Tourists are attracted to the magnificent natural scenery of such sites as the Horsh Ehden Nature Reserve, the Shouf Cedar Forest, the Jeita Grotto, and other protected areas.

In addition, Lebanon's many vineyards and associated wineries also draw tourists to the country. Some of the most famous wineries include the wine caves of Ksara and Chateau Musar.

Government

Modern Lebanon incorporates the territory of the ancient Phoenicians. Lebanon was repeatedly devastated but never completely destroyed by the Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, and Arabs. It was incorporated into the Turkish Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century.

During the Arab domination of the seventh through the tenth century, Lebanon provided refuge for several religious groups, including Maronite Catholics, Greek Catholics, Greek Orthodox, and Muslims.

After World War I, the Greater Lebanese state was administered by France. Lebanon achieved independence in 1943.

In Lebanese, the Lebanese Republic is known as Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah. Lubnan, or Lebanon, is the short form. For administrative purposes, the country is organized into eight mohafazat, or governorates.

The unicameral Majlis al-Nuwab, or National Assembly, has 128 members, elected by popular vote. Members serve four-year terms unless the Assembly is dissolved following a vote of no confidence. Seats in the Assembly are apportioned among Christian and Muslim members.

The president is chief of state. The National Assembly elects the president to a six-year term. The prime minister, who is the head of government, is appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly.

The prime minister appoints the ministers of the Cabinet, with advice from the president and the National Assembly. The Cabinet, which must have an equal number of Christian and Muslim members, has executive power.

In July 2006, Lebanon’s capital Beirut was bombed extensively by Israel forces seeking to rout the militant Islamic group Hezbollah on the Israeli-Lebanese border. Forces of the Lebanese government were not involved in the affair, and the government was critical of the United States and other Western powers for not doing more to prevent Israel’s destruction of Beirut’s infrastructure. A cease-fire agreement was reached in order to end the conflict, but border relations remain tense.

The Supreme Court (Court of Cassation) is comprised of four divisions. Each division has a presiding judge and two association judges, all appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council. The judicial branch also includes the ten-member Constitutional Council, Courts of Appeal, Courts of First Instance; tribunals, religious courts, and military courts.

Interesting Facts

• Lebanese Arabic is a mixture of Syriac-Aramaic (Assyrian), Arabic, and Turkish (with a few modern English words).
• Byblos, Lebanon, was first settled about eight thousand years ago.
• The ancient Phoenician alphabet, the oldest examples of which were found in Byblos, is the basis of the contemporary alphabet.
• In August 2020, an explosion in Beirut caused at least 218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and left 300,000 people homeless.

Bibliography

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"Human Development Insights." Human Development Reports, United Nations Development Programme, 2023, hdr.undp.org/data-center/country-insights#/ranks. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

"Lebanon." The World Bank, 2023, data.worldbank.org/country/lebanon. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

"Lebanon." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 14 Nov. 2023, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/lebanon/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

"Lebanon." World Health Organization, 2023, www.who.int/countries/lbn/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

"Lebanon." United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2023, uis.unesco.org/country/LB. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

"Lebanon—2023 Annual Research: Key Highlights." Economic Impact Factsheet, World Travel and Tourism Council, 2023, researchhub.wttc.org/factsheets/lebanon. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

"Lebanon: Statistics." United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, data.unicef.org/country/lbn/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.