LEBANON
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 10,400 km2; land area: 10,230 km2
Comparative area: about 0.8 times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries: 454 km total; Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km
Coastline: 225 km
Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice Line;
Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982; Syrian troops in
northern Lebanon since October 1976
Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry
summers
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%; includes irrigated 7%
Environment: rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect,
and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, ethnicity;
deforestation; soil erosion; air and water pollution; desertification
Note: Nahr al Litani only major river in Near East
not crossing an international boundary
PEOPLE
Population: 3,384,626 (July 1991), growth rate 1.4% (1991)
Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: - 7 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 48 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 71 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 3.6 children born/woman (1991)
GOVERNMENT
Note: 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. In the wake of his death,
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.
Lebanese Parliamentarians met in Taif, Saudi Arabia in late 1989
and concluded a national reconciliation pact that codified a new
power-sharing formula, specifiying a Christian president but 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 chances for ending the 16 year old civil war
and implementing Ta'if were markedly improved 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 mini-state 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.
Since the removal of Awn, the Lebanese Government has reunited the
capital city and implemented a phased plan to disarm the militias
and gradually reestablish authority throughout Lebanon. The army has
deployed from Beirut north along the coast road to Tripoli, southeast
into the Shuf mountains, and south to the vicinity of Sidon. 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, 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 East and West Beirut, its southern suburbs,
the Bekaa Valley, and throughout northern Lebanon.
Iran also maintains a small contingent of revolutionary guards
in the Bekaa Valley and South Lebanon 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.
Long-form name: Republic of Lebanon; note--may be changed to
Lebanese Republic
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)
Constitution: 26 May 1926 (amended)
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
National holiday: Independence Day, 22 November (1943)
Executive branch: 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 Shia Muslim
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Arabic--Majlis
Alnuwab, French--Assemblee Nationale)
Judicial branch: four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil
and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases)
Leaders:
Chief of State--Ilyas HARAWI (since 24 November 1989);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Umar KARAMI (since 20
December 1990)
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; most parties
have well-armed militias, which are still involved in occasional clashes
Suffrage: compulsory for all males at age 21; authorized for women
at age 21 with elementary education
Elections:
National Assembly--elections should be held every four years
but security conditions have prevented elections since May 1972
Communists: the Lebanese Communist Party was legalized in 1970;
members and sympathizers estimated at 2,000-3,000
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Nassib S. LAHOUD;
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, and FPO New York 09530);
telephone 961 417774 or 415802, 415803, 402200, 403300
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, disrupted economic activity, 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,
foreign financial support to political factions, the narcotics trade, and
international emergency aid are main sources of foreign exchange.
Economic prospects for 1991 have brightened, particularly if the
Syrian-backed government is able to maintain law and order and
reestablish business confidence. Rebuilding war-ravaged Beirut is likely
to provide a major stimulus to the Lebanese economy in 1991.
GDP: $3.3 billion, per capita $1,000; real growth rate - 15%
(1990 est.)
Budget: revenues $120 million; expenditures $1.0 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.)
Exports: $1.0 billion (f.o.b., 1989 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%
Imports: $1.9 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.);
commodities--NA;
partners--Italy 14%, France 12%, US 6%, Turkey 5%, Saudi Arabia 3%
External debt: $900 million (1990 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 1,381,000 kW capacity; 3,870 million kWh produced,
1,170 kWh per capita (1989)
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, and goats; not self-sufficient in grain
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the
international drug trade; opium poppy production in Al Biqa
is increasing; hashish production is shipped to Western Europe, Israel,
and the Middle East
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $356
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $608 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $962 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $9 million
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 378 km total; 296 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 82 km
1.050-meter gauge; all single track; system almost entirely inoperable
Highways: 7,370 km total; 6,270 km paved, 450 km gravel and crushed
stone, 650 km improved earth
Pipelines: crude oil, 72 km (none in operation)
Ports: Beirut, Tripoli, Ras Silata, Juniyah, Sidon,
Az Zahrani, Tyre, Shikka; northern ports are occupied by Syrian
forces and southern ports are occupied or partially quarantined by
Israeli forces
Airports: 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
Telecommunications: rebuilding program disrupted; had fair system
of radio relay, cable; 325,000 telephones; stations--5 AM, 3 FM, 15 TV;
1 inactive Indian Ocean INTELSAT satellite earth station; 3 submarine
coaxial cables; radio relay to Jordan and Syria, inoperable
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army (includes Navy and Air Force)
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 725,974; 449,912 fit for
military service
Defense expenditures: $168 million, 7.3% of GDP (1991)
