Aaron O'Neill
Research lead for society, economy, and politics: Europe & global
Lebanon - Statistics & Facts
Lebanon is a small, predominantly Arab country in Western Asia. It lies on the Mediterranean coast and is enclaved by Syria to the north and east, with Israel to the south. The region’s position as a metropolitan and maritime hub at the intersection of three continents has helped Lebanon develop a rich history and culture over several millennia, which has been spread across the globe due to Lebanon’s relatively large diaspora.
However, Lebanon’s recent history has been beset by a series of challenges, including financial collapse, political instability, and widespread poverty, with many observers describing Lebanon as a failed state by 2023. Also beginning in 2023, Israel’s war in Gaza saw a year of back-and-forth rocket attacks between Israel and Hezbollah, a major militant and political organization in Lebanon, before Israel escalated the conflict with intensified bombardment and an eventual ground invasion in September 2024.
As a result, much of the Lebanese population is now experiencing an extreme poverty crisis, defined by food shortages and water insecurity, energy shortages, and failing public services. Soaring prices, a devalued currency, and high unemployment have seen crime rates rise and the growth of black markets. Many families in Lebanon have become dependent on remittances sent from abroad, and Lebanon had the second highest GDP to remittance ratio globally in 2023. There have been large-scale antigovernmental protests as a result of the crises, however the government has failed to adequately address the root causes of the problems. With Israel’s invasion, it is unlikely these issues will be resolved any time soon, potentially leading to yet another refugee crisis in the region.
In 2021, Lebanon’s fertility rate dropped below 2.1 children per woman (replacement level fertility), while life expectancy at birth fell by around five years from 2018-2022, and infant mortality rates are climbing. Some sources show a shrinking population, primarily due to Syrian refugees returning home, however, this has proven difficult to assess given the volatile security situation in the region. Emigration and forced displacement are common themes of the crises in Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon itself, with Lebanon estimated to have absorbed up to 1.5 million Syrian refugees since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, greatly straining already-struggling public services, and some 800,000 remained in 2022. Lebanon already had a sizeable Palestinian refugee population going back to the 1940s, with a figure estimated at roughly 250,000 in 2023. Lebanon also has a significant diaspora with long traditions of emigration, and it is likely that there are more people of Lebanese descent living abroad than in Lebanon itself, with the largest communities in South America.
Since the war’s conclusion, the largest political development in Lebanon has been the rise of Hezbollah, which was the only major militant group not dissolved at the end of the civil war. Hezbollah was formed as a Shia resistance group in response to the Israeli invasion in 1982, but has since expanded to its operations to include political involvement and social programs, such as hospitals, media outlets, and education centers, often working in parallel to the state, especially in the south. Hezbollah has strong ties with Iran, and the group has been a major adversary of Israel in recent decades, including cross-border attacks and several brief wars in the 1990s and 2006. In fact, Hezbollah is believed to have greater military capabilities than the Lebanese standing army, whose capabilities are often curtailed by Western and Israeli influence. Hezbollah is considered the strongest non-state armed group in the world, and has played an active role in foreign conflicts, including recent operations in Syria and Iraq. Politically, Hezbollah has been the largest party in Lebanon on several occasions, although most of its support is concentrated in the Shiite community. The organization was led by Hassan Nasrallah from 1992 until his assassination by Israel in 2024.
However, Lebanon’s recent history has been beset by a series of challenges, including financial collapse, political instability, and widespread poverty, with many observers describing Lebanon as a failed state by 2023. Also beginning in 2023, Israel’s war in Gaza saw a year of back-and-forth rocket attacks between Israel and Hezbollah, a major militant and political organization in Lebanon, before Israel escalated the conflict with intensified bombardment and an eventual ground invasion in September 2024.
Pre-war crises
Lebanon has been an independent country since the 1940s, after which point it experienced periods of stability and growth, with Beirut acting as one of the leading commercial and banking hubs of the Middle East; as well as periods of adversity and destruction, including regular conflicts with Israel and a devastating civil war that lasted from 1975-1990. Yet, the past decade has been one of the most difficult periods in Lebanon’s history, with dire future outlooks. In 2019, a liquidity crisis exposed the weaknesses of Lebanon’s financial sector, and compounding factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beirut port explosion, the war in Ukraine, Western sanctions, and several others, eventually resulting in economic collapse. GDP fell from 55 billion U.S. dollars in 2018 to 20 billion in 2021, annual inflation rates were above 150 percent in 2021 and 2022, and national debt grew ten times larger from 2020 to 2022.As a result, much of the Lebanese population is now experiencing an extreme poverty crisis, defined by food shortages and water insecurity, energy shortages, and failing public services. Soaring prices, a devalued currency, and high unemployment have seen crime rates rise and the growth of black markets. Many families in Lebanon have become dependent on remittances sent from abroad, and Lebanon had the second highest GDP to remittance ratio globally in 2023. There have been large-scale antigovernmental protests as a result of the crises, however the government has failed to adequately address the root causes of the problems. With Israel’s invasion, it is unlikely these issues will be resolved any time soon, potentially leading to yet another refugee crisis in the region.
Demographics
Lebanon is estimated to have a population of more than six million people, although estimates vary by source due to its large refugee population. Most of Lebanon’s population is concentrated along coastal urban centers, with the largest cities being Tyre and Sidon in the south, Beirut in the center, and Tripoli in the north – all four of which are among the oldest, continuously-inhabited cities in the world. Beirut is the capital and its metropolitan area is home to over two million people. Lebanon’s literacy rate is approaching 100 percent, and the official language is Arabic, with Shami (or Levant Arabic) the dominant dialect. Due to colonial and commercial influences, French is the de facto second language in both education and business, although English proficiency has grown in recent decades.In 2021, Lebanon’s fertility rate dropped below 2.1 children per woman (replacement level fertility), while life expectancy at birth fell by around five years from 2018-2022, and infant mortality rates are climbing. Some sources show a shrinking population, primarily due to Syrian refugees returning home, however, this has proven difficult to assess given the volatile security situation in the region. Emigration and forced displacement are common themes of the crises in Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon itself, with Lebanon estimated to have absorbed up to 1.5 million Syrian refugees since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, greatly straining already-struggling public services, and some 800,000 remained in 2022. Lebanon already had a sizeable Palestinian refugee population going back to the 1940s, with a figure estimated at roughly 250,000 in 2023. Lebanon also has a significant diaspora with long traditions of emigration, and it is likely that there are more people of Lebanese descent living abroad than in Lebanon itself, with the largest communities in South America.
Religion and politics
The Lebanese population stands out in the Middle East for its ethnic and religious diversity, with Shia Muslims, Sunni Muslims, and Maronite Christians comprising around 30 percent of the population each - this gives Lebanon the largest relative Christian population in the region. This religious diversity is heavily reflected in politics, with most parties split along sectarian lines. Relations between Lebanon’s different religious groups are not always peaceful, however, and this was a key factor in the breakout of the Lebanese Civil War. The civil war saw no clear victory for either the Christian or Muslim population, although peace agreements included provisions that brought more equal political representation for both sides, while the positions of president, prime minister, and speaker are now each reserved for figures from different backgrounds. General stability saw Lebanon emerge as as the second most democratic country in the MENA region (after Israel) in 2010, although its score has fallen drastically in recent years, and it was reclassified as an authoritarian regime in 2020.Since the war’s conclusion, the largest political development in Lebanon has been the rise of Hezbollah, which was the only major militant group not dissolved at the end of the civil war. Hezbollah was formed as a Shia resistance group in response to the Israeli invasion in 1982, but has since expanded to its operations to include political involvement and social programs, such as hospitals, media outlets, and education centers, often working in parallel to the state, especially in the south. Hezbollah has strong ties with Iran, and the group has been a major adversary of Israel in recent decades, including cross-border attacks and several brief wars in the 1990s and 2006. In fact, Hezbollah is believed to have greater military capabilities than the Lebanese standing army, whose capabilities are often curtailed by Western and Israeli influence. Hezbollah is considered the strongest non-state armed group in the world, and has played an active role in foreign conflicts, including recent operations in Syria and Iraq. Politically, Hezbollah has been the largest party in Lebanon on several occasions, although most of its support is concentrated in the Shiite community. The organization was led by Hassan Nasrallah from 1992 until his assassination by Israel in 2024.
