Lebanon

9 total, 8 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m; none under the direct control of the Lebanese Government

19 major transport aircraft

7,300 km total; 6,200 km paved, 450 km gravel and crushed stone, 650 km improved earth

56 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 236,196 GRT/346,760 DWT; includes 36 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 2 vehicle carrier, 2 roll-on/roll-off, 1 container, 8 livestock carrier, 1 chemical tanker, 1 specialized tanker, 3 bulk, 1 combination bulk

crude oil 72 km (none in operation)

Beirut, Tripoli, Ra'Sil`ata, Juniyah, Sidon, Az Zahrani, Tyre

system in disrepair, considered inoperable

rebuilding program disrupted; had fair system of microwave relay, cable; 325,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 5 AM, 3 FM (numerous AM and FM radio stations are operated inconsistently by various factions), 13 TV; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT satellite earth station, erratic operations; 3 submarine coaxial cables; radio relay to Jordan inoperable, but operational to Syria, coaxial cable to Syria

Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) (including Army, Navy, and Air Force)

exchange rate conversion - $271 million, 8.2% of GDP (1992 budget)

males 15-49, 750,319; 465,938 fit for military service

accounts for about one-third of GDP; principal products - citrus fruits, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco, hemp (hashish), sheep, and goats; not self-sufficient in grain

revenues $533 million; expenditures $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.)

Lebanese pound (plural - pounds); 1 Lebanese pound (#L) = 100 piasters

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $356 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $664 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $962 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $9 million

1,381,000 kW capacity; 3,870 million kWh produced, 1,170 kWh per capita (1989)

Lebanese pounds (#L) per US$1 - 879.00 (January 1992), 928.23 (1991), 695.09 (1990), 496.69 (1989), 409.23 (1988), 224.60 (1987)

$700 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.) commodities: agricultural products, chemicals, textiles, precious and semiprecious metals and jewelry, metals and metal products partners: Saudi Arabia 16%, Switzerland 8%, Jordan 6%, Kuwait 6%, US 5%

$900 million (1990 est.)

calendar year

exchange rate conversion - $4.8 billion, per capita $1,400; real growth rate NA (1991 est.)

illicit producer of opium and hashish for the international drug trade; opium poppy production in Al Biqa` is increasing; hashish production is shipped to Western Europe, Israel, US, and the Middle East

$1.8 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.) commodities: NA partners: Italy 14%, France 12%, US 6%, Turkey 5%, Saudi Arabia 3%

growth rate NA%

banking, food processing, textiles, cement, oil refining, chemicals, jewelry, some metal fabricating

30% (1991)

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 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 could provide a major stimulus to the economy in 1992, provided that the political and military situation remains reasonably calm.

35% (1991 est.)

Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers

225 km

about 0.8 times the size of Connecticut

separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice Line; Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982; Syrian troops in northern Lebanon since October 1976

rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, ethnicity; deforestation; soil erosion; air and water pollution; desertification

10,230 km2

454 km; Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km

arable land 21%; permanent crops 9%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and woodland 8%; other 61%; includes irrigated 7%

Territorial sea: 12 nm

limestone, iron ore, salt; water-surplus state in a water-deficit region

Nahr al Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary

narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa` (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains

10,400 km2

5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Biqa, `Al Janub, Ash Shamal, Bayrut, Jabal Lubnan

Beirut

the Lebanese Communist Party was legalized in 1970; members and sympathizers estimated at 2,000-3,000

26 May 1926 (amended)

Ambassador - no ambassador at present; Mission is headed by Charge; Chancery at 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-6300; there are Lebanese Consulates General in Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles US: Ambassador Ryan C. CROCKER; Embassy at Antelias, Beirut (mailing address is P. O. Box 70-840, Beirut, or Box B, FPO AE 09836); telephone [961] 417774 or 415802, 415803, 402200, 403300

National Assembly: elections should be held every four years, but security conditions have prevented elections since May 1972; in June 1991, the Cabinet appointed 40 new deputies to fill vacancies and balance Christian and Muslim representation; the legislature's mandate expires in 1994

president, prime minister, Cabinet; 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

three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band

22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)

four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases)

Chief of State: President Ilyas HARAWI (since 24 November 1989) Head of Government: Prime Minister Rashid SULH (since 13 May 1992)

mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

unicameral National Assembly (Arabic - Majlis Alnuwab, French - Assemblee Nationale)

Republic of Lebanon; note - may be changed to Lebanese Republic

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

Independence Day, 22 November (1943)

Between early 1975 and late 1976 Lebanon was torn by civil war between its Christians - then aided by Syrian troops - and its Muslims and their Palestinian allies. The cease-fire established in October 1976 between the domestic political groups generally held for about six years, despite occasional fighting. Syrian troops constituted as the Arab Deterrent Force by the Arab League have remained in Lebanon. Syria's move toward supporting the Lebanese Muslims, and the Palestinians and Israel's growing support for Lebanese Christians, brought the two sides into rough equilibrium, but no progress was made toward national reconciliation or political reforms - the original cause of the war. Continuing Israeli concern about the Palestinian presence in Lebanon led to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in June 1982. Israeli forces occupied all of the southern portion of the country and mounted a summer-long siege of Beirut, which resulted in the evacuation of the PLO from Beirut in September under the supervision of a multinational force (MNF) made up of US, French, and Italian troops. Within days of the departure of the MNF, Lebanon's newly elected president, Bashir Gemayel, was assassinated; his elder brother Amin was elected to succeed him. In the immediate wake of Bashir's death, however, Christian militiamen massacred hundreds of Palestinian refugees in two Beirut camps. This prompted the return of the MNF to ease the security burden on Lebanon's weak Army and security forces. In late March 1984 the last MNF units withdrew. In 1988, President Gemayel completed his term of office. Because parliamentarians failed to elect a presidential successor, Gemayel appointed then Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) Commander Gen. Michel Awn acting president. Lebanese parliamentarians met in Ta'if, Saudi Arabia, in late 1989 and concluded a national reconciliation pact that codified a new power-sharing formula, specifying reduced powers for the Christian president and giving Muslims more authority. Rene MUAWAD was subsequently elected president on 4 November 1989, ending a 13-month period during which Lebanon had no president and rival Muslim and Christian governments. MUAWAD was assassinated 17 days later, on 22 November; on 24 November, Ilyas Harawi was elected to succeed MUAWAD. In October 1990, the civil war was apparently brought to a conclusion when Syrian and Lebanese forces ousted renegade Christian General Awn from his stronghold in East Beirut. Awn had defied the legitimate government and established a separate ministate within East Beirut after being appointed acting Prime Minister by outgoing President Gemayel in 1988. Awn and his supporters feared Ta'if would diminish Christian power in Lebanon and increase the influence of Syria. Awn was granted amnesty and allowed to travel in France in August 199l. Since the removal of Awn, the Lebanese Government has made substantial progress in strengthening the central government, rebuilding government institutions, and extending its authority throughout the nation. The LAF has deployed from Beirut north along the coast road to Tripoli, southeast into the Shuf mountains, and south to Sidon and Tyre. Many militiamen from Christian and Muslim groups have evacuated Beirut for their strongholds in the north, south, and east of the country. Some heavy weapons possessed by the militias have been turned over to the government, or sold outside the country, which has begun a plan to integrate some militiamen into the military and the internal security forces. Lebanon and Syria signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation in May 1991. Lebanon continues to be partially occupied by Syrian troops, which are deployed in Beirut, its southern suburbs, the Bekaa Valley, and northern Lebanon. Iran also maintains a small contingent of revolutionary guards in the Bekaa Valley to support Lebanese Islamic fundamentalist groups. Israel withdrew the bulk of its forces from the south in 1985, although it still retains troops in a 10-km-deep security zone north of its border with Lebanon. Israel arms and trains the Army of South Lebanon (ASL), which also occupies the security zone and is Israel's first line of defense against attacks on its northern border. The following description is based on the present constitutional and customary practices of the Lebanese system.

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; most parties have well-armed militias, which are still involved in occasional clashes

compulsory for all males at age 21; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education

republic

28 births/1,000 population (1992)

7 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%

43 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

650,000; industry, commerce, and services 79%, agriculture 11%, government 10% (1985)

Arabic and French (both official); Armenian, English

66 years male, 71 years female (1992)

80% (male 88%, female 73%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

noun - Lebanese (singular and plural); adjective - Lebanese

-5 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

250,000 members (est.)

3,439,115 (July 1992), growth rate 1.6% (1992)

Islam 75%, Christian 25%, Judaism NEGL%; 17 legally recognized groups - 5 Islam (Alawite or Nusayri, Druze, Isma`ilite, Shi`a, Sunni); 11 Christian, consisting of 4 Orthodox Christian (Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Nestorean, Syriac Orthodox), 6 Catholic (Armenian Catholic, Caldean, Greek Catholic, Maronite, Roman Catholic, and Syrian Catholic) and the Protestants; 1 Jewish

3.6 children born/woman (1992)