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Communications

Airports [time series]

total: 9 usable: 7 with permanent-surface runways: 5 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 1

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

total: 7,300 km paved: 6,200 km unpaved: gravel 450 km; improved earth 650 km

Merchant marine [time series]

63 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 268,268 GRT/399,054 DWT, bulk 4, cargo 39, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 2, livestock carrier 9, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 2, combination ore/oil 1

Pipelines [time series]

crude oil 72 km (none in operation)

Ports [time series]

Beirut, Tripoli, Ra'Sil'ata, Juniyah, Sidon, Az Zahrani, Tyre, Jubayl, Shikka Jadidah

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

system in disrepair, considered inoperable

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding still underway; 325,000 telephones (95 telephones per 1,000 persons); domestic traffic carried primarily by microwave radio relay and a small amount of cable; international traffic by satellite - 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station and 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station (erratic operations), coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan, 3 submarine coaxial cables; broadcast stations - 5 AM, 3 FM, 13 TV (numerous AM and FM stations are operated sporadically by various factions)

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

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

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

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

Manpower availability [time series]

males age 15-49 827,267; fit for military service 514,291

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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

Budget [time series]

revenues: $990 million expenditures: $1.98 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

1 Lebanese pound (#L) = 100 piasters

Economic aid [time series]

aid for Lebanon's reconstruction programs currently totals $1.3 billion since October 1992, including a $175 million loan from the World Bank

Electricity [time series]

capacity: 1,300,000 kW production: 3.413 billion kWh consumption per capita: 990 kWh (1992)

Exchange rates [time series]

Lebanese pounds (#L) per US$1 - 1,713.00 (December 1993), 2,200.00 (1992), 928.23 (1991), 695.09 (1990), 496.69 (1989)

Exports [time series]

$925 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: agricultural products, chemicals, textiles, precious and semiprecious metals and jewelry, metals and metal products partners: Saudi Arabia 21%, Switzerland 9.5%, Jordan 6%, Kuwait 12%, US 5%

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$700 million (1993 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Illicit drugs [time series]

illicit producer of hashish and heroin for the international drug trade; hashish production is shipped to Western Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America; increasingly a key locus of cocaine processing and trafficking

Imports [time series]

$4.1 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: Consumer goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products partners: Italy 14%, France 12%, US 6%, Turkey 5%, Saudi Arabia 3%

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 25% (1993 est.)

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

35% (1993 est.)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (National product) [time series]

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $6.1 billion (1993 est.)

Real GDP per capita (National product per capita) [time series]

$1,720 (1993 est.)

Real GDP growth rate (National product real growth rate) [time series]

4.2% (1992)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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 the 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 was delayed in 1992 because of an upturn in political wrangling. In October 1992, Rafiq HARIRI was appointed Prime Minister. HARIRI, a wealthy entrepreneur, has announced ambitious plans for Lebanon's reconstruction which involve a substantial influx of foreign aid and investment. Progress on restoring basic services is limited. Since Prime Minister HARIRI's appointment, the most significant improvement lies in the stabilization of the Lebanese pound, which had gained over 30% in value by yearend 1993. The year 1993 was marked by efforts of the new administration to encourage domestic and foreign investment and to obtain additional international assistance.

Unemployment rate [time series]

35% (1993 est.)

Geography

Area [time series]

total area: 10,400 sq km land area: 10,230 sq km comparative area: about 0.8 times the size of Connecticut

Climate [time series]

Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows

Coastline [time series]

225 km

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air and water pollution natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation

Disputes - international (International disputes) [time series]

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

Irrigated land [time series]

860 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries [time series]

total 454 km, Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km

Land use [time series]

arable land: 21% permanent crops: 9% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 8% other: 61%

Location [time series]

Middle East, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria

Map references [time series]

Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims [time series]

territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources [time series]

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

Note [time series]

Nahr al Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity

Terrain [time series]

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

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

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

Capital [time series]

Beirut

Constitution [time series]

23 May 1926, amended a number of times

Digraph [time series]

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation in US) [time series]

chief of mission: Ambassador Riad TABBARAH chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 939-6300

Executive branch [time series]

chief of state: President Ilyas HARAWI (since 24 November 1989); 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 head of government: Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 22 October 1992) cabinet: Cabinet; chosen by the president in consultation with the members of the National Assembly

Diplomatic representation in the US (FAX) [time series]

(202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles

Diplomatic representation in the US (FAX) [time series]

[961] (1) 407-112

Flag [time series]

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

Independence [time series]

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

Judicial branch [time series]

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

Legal system [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

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

Country name (Names) [time series]

conventional long form: Republic of Lebanon conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: none

Legislative branch (National Assembly) [time series]

(Arabic - Majlis Alnuwab, French - Assemblee Nationale) Lebanon's first legislative election in 20 years was held in the summer of 1992; the National Assembly is composed of 128 deputies, one-half Christian and one-half Muslim; its mandate expires in 1996

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 22 November (1943)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

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

Suffrage [time series]

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

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

Diplomatic representation from the US (US diplomatic representation) [time series]

chief of mission: Ambassador Mark HAMBLEY mailing embassy: Antelias, Beirut address: P. O. Box 70-840, PSC 815, Box 2, Beirut; FPO AE 09836-0002 telephone: [961] 417774 or 415802 through 415803, 402200, 403300

People

Birth rate [time series]

27.89 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate [time series]

6.55 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%

Infant mortality rate [time series]

39.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Labor force [time series]

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

Languages [time series]

Arabic (official), French (official), Armenian, English

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 69.35 years male: 66.92 years female: 71.9 years (1994 est.)

Literacy [time series]

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

Nationality [time series]

noun: Lebanese (singular and plural) adjective: Lebanese

Net migration rate [time series]

-1.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population [time series]

3,620,395 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

1.98% (1994 est.)

Religions [time series]

Islam 70% (5 legally recognized Islamic groups - Alawite or Nusayri, Druze, Isma'ilite, Shi'a, Sunni), Christian 30% (11 legally recognized Christian groups - 4 Orthodox Christian, 6 Catholic, 1 Protestant), Judaism NEGL%

Total fertility rate [time series]

3.39 children born/woman (1994 est.)