The Lebanese Republic
Population:
3,826,018 (2005)
Age Structure: 0-14 years: 26.7% (male 520,270/female 499,609)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 1,216,738/female 1,324,031)
65 years and over: 6.9% (male 120,176/female 145,194) (2005)
Population growth rate: 1.26% (2005)
Languages: Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian
Ethnic composition: Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%
Religious composition: Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Roman Catholic, Protestant), other 1.3%
Literacy rate: total population: 87.4% male: 93.1% female: 82.2% (2003)
Geography:
10,400 sq km (smaller than Connecticut)
Largest cities: Beirut*,
Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows
Precipitation: 825 millimeters
Per capital water resources: 1,463 cubic meters
National Government:
Nominal Democracy
National leadership: President Emile Lahud (1998)
Independence: 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations French mandate)
Important international agreements:
Important international organizations: Arab Bank for Eco Dev of Africa, Arab Fund for Eco and Soc Dev, Arab League, Arab Monetary Fund, G-77, Int Atomic Energy Agency, Int Bank for Reconstruction and Dev (World Bank), Int Labor, Int Monetary Fund, Org of America States (observer), Org of the Islamic Conference, United Nations, World Health Org, World Trade Org (observer)
Standing Military: Lebanese Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force; 18-30 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation: 12 months
Size and capability: males age 18-49: 974,363 (2005)
Military Expenditures: $540.6 million (2004); 3.1% GDP (2004)
Unresolved international disputes: international pressure to remove Syrian troops and intelligence personnel from Lebanon; Lebanese Government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; UN Interim Force in Lebanon has been in place since 1978; 394,532 Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA); 300,000 internally displaced persons from 1975-90 civil war and Israeli invasions; illicit drugs: cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced, opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin in transit
Economy:
GDP: $18.83 billion (2004); 4% growth (2004)
agriculture: 12%
industry: 21%
services: 67% (2000)
Population below poverty line: 28% (1999)
Internet technology: 400,000 users (2002); 6,998 hosts (2004)
Newspaper circulation: 107 copies sold per 1,000 inhabitants
Sources:
