Lebanon




                                  Header


Note:
     Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions
     and regaining its national sovereignty since the end of the
     devastating 16-year civil war in October 1990. Under the Ta'if accord
     - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have
     established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving
     Muslims a greater say in the political process. Since December 1990,
     the Lebanese have formed three cabinets and conducted the first
     legislative election in 20 years. Most of the militias have been
     weakened or disbanded. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has seized vast
     quantities of weapons used by the militias during the war and extended
     central government authority over about one-half of the country.
     Hizballah, the radical Sh'ia party, retains most of its weapons.
     Foreign forces still occupy areas of Lebanon. Israel maintains troops
     in southern Lebanon and continues to support a proxy militia, The Army
     of South Lebanon (ASL), along a narrow stretch of territory contiguous
     to its border. The ASL's enclave encompasses this self-declared
     security zone and about 20 kilometers north to the strategic town of
     Jazzine. As of December 1993, Syria maintained about 30,000-35,000
     troops in Lebanon. These troops are based mainly in Beirut, North
     Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's deployment was legitimized by
     the Arab League early in Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if accord.
     Citing the continued weakness of the LAF, Beirut's requests, and
     failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the
     constitutional reforms in the Ta'if accord, Damascus has so far
     refused to withdraw its troops from Beirut.


                                 Geography


Location:
     Middle East, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and
     Syria
Map references:
     Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     10,400 sq km
land area:
     10,230 sq km
comparative area:
     about 0.8 times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries:
     total 454 km, Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km
Coastline:
     225 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea:
     12 nm
International disputes:
     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




Climate:
     Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers;
     Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows
Terrain:
     narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa' (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and
     Anti-Lebanon Mountains
Natural resources:
     limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit
     region
Land use:
arable land:
     21%
permanent crops:
     9%
meadows and pastures:
     1%
forest and woodland:
     8%
other:
     61%
Irrigated land:
     860 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
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
Note:
     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


                                  People


Population:
     3,620,395 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     1.98% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     27.89 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     6.55 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     -1.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     39.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     69.35 years




male:
     66.92 years
female:
     71.9 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     3.39 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective:
     Lebanese
Ethnic divisions:
     Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%
Religions:
     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%
Languages:
     Arabic (official), French (official), Armenian, English
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
     80%
male:
     88%
female:
     73%
Labor force:
     650,000
by occupation:
     industry, commerce, and services 79%, agriculture 11%, government 10%
     (1985)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Lebanon
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah
local short form:
     none
Digraph:
     LE
Type:
     republic
Capital:
     Beirut
Administrative divisions:
     5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Biqa, 'Al Janub,
     Ash Shamal, Bayrut, Jabal Lubnan




Independence:
     22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French
     administration)
National holiday:
     Independence Day, 22 November (1943)
Constitution:
     23 May 1926, amended a number of times
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
Suffrage:
     21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age
     21 with elementary education
Executive branch:
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
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
National Assembly:
      (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
Judicial branch:
     four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases
     and one court for criminal cases)
Political parties and leaders:
     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
Member of:
     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
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Riad TABBARAH
chancery:
     2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
     (202) 939-6300
FAX:
     (202) 939-6324
consulate(s) general:
     Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles




US diplomatic representation:
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
FAX:
     [961] (1) 407-112
Flag:
     three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red
     with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band


                                  Economy


Overview:
     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.
National product:
     GDP - exchange rate conversion - $6.1 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     4.2% (1992)
National product per capita:
     $1,720 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     35% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     35% (1993 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
     $990 million




expenditures:
     $1.98 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)
Exports:
     $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%
Imports:
     $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%
External debt:
     $700 million (1993 est.)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 25% (1993 est.)
Electricity:
capacity:
     1,300,000 kW
production:
     3.413 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     990 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     banking, food processing, textiles, cement, oil refining, chemicals,
     jewelry, some metal fabricating
Agriculture:
     accounts for about one-third of GDP; principal products - citrus
     fruits, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco, hemp (hashish), sheep,
     goats; not self-sufficient in grain
Illicit drugs:
     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
Economic aid:
     aid for Lebanon's reconstruction programs currently totals $1.3
     billion since October 1992, including a $175 million loan from the
     World Bank
Currency:
     1 Lebanese pound (#L) = 100 piasters
Exchange rates:
     Lebanese pounds (#L) per US$1 - 1,713.00 (December 1993), 2,200.00
     (1992), 928.23 (1991), 695.09 (1990), 496.69 (1989)
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Railroads:
     system in disrepair, considered inoperable




Highways:
total:
     7,300 km
paved:
     6,200 km
unpaved:
     gravel 450 km; improved earth 650 km
Pipelines:
     crude oil 72 km (none in operation)
Ports:
     Beirut, Tripoli, Ra'Sil'ata, Juniyah, Sidon, Az Zahrani, Tyre, Jubayl,
     Shikka Jadidah
Merchant marine:
     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
Airports:
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
Telecommunications:
     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


Branches:
     Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; including Army, Navy, and Air Force)
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 827,267; fit for military service 514,291
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $271 million, 8.2% of GDP (1992 budget)