Lebanon is a Southeast Asian country. Integrated in the Middle East and located in the so-called Levante, Lebanon has an area of 10 452 km2. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. The main cities are Beirut, the capital, with 1 185 300 residents (2004), Tripoli (215 500 residents), Juniyah (80 800 residents), Zahlah (77 600 residents), Exit (150 900 residents) And Tire (118 500 residents).
It has a Mediterranean climate; in the mountains, temperatures drop as a function of altitude.
Economy
Agriculture is a sector that has suffered a drastic reduction. Most of the agricultural soils are located on the Mediterranean coast and produce potatoes, oranges, tomatoes, cucumbers, lemons, limes, onions and olives. Even so, the country is not self-sufficient and imports large quantities of food, especially vegetables. There are also several poppy plantations that are used to make opium. Industrial production is low, but it is the most developed when compared to that of other countries in the Middle East. Cement, paper, cigarettes and leather goods are produced. Lebanon’s main trading partners are the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Italy and the United States of America.
Environmental indicator: the value of carbon dioxide emissions, per capita (metric tons, 1999), is 4.0.
Population
It is one of the most densely populated countries in the Arab states. In 2006, it had about 3 874 050 residents, which corresponded to a density of approximately 367.88 residents/km2. The birth and death rates are, respectively, 18.52% and 6.21%. Average life expectancy is 72.88 years. The value of the Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.752 and the value of the Gender-adjusted Development Index (IDG) is 0.737 (2001). It is estimated that, in 2025, the population will be 4 565 000 residents. The largest ethnic groups in the country are: Arab (95%), Armenian (4%) and others (1%). There is a huge religious divide in the country: Shiite Muslims (34%), Sunni Muslims (21%), Maronite Christians (19%), Orthodox Christians (12%) and Druze (7%). The official language is Arabic, although many people speak English and French.
History
When the Ottoman Empire fragmented after the First World War, Lebanon came under French rule. In 1941 independence was declared and, five years later, foreign troops left the country. Immediately internal conflicts began, caused by opposition between Muslims, Druze and Christians. In 1958 the civil war started. National instability was exacerbated by the arrival of Palestinian refugees and, even more serious, by the presence of members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), after they were expelled from Jordan in 1970. Five years later a new civil war broke out. The PLO’s attacks on Israel provoked reprisals from the Israelis and Lebanese forces led by the Christians of the right-wing Phalangist Party. For Lebanon democracy and rights, please check homeagerly.
From 1975 onwards, the country’s political organization became increasingly fragile and the civil war began to be more or less permanent. In 1977, Syria sent 40,000 soldiers to Lebanese territory with the aim of supporting Muslims. The following year, Israel invaded the south of the country to establish a kind of border between itself and the PLO groups. The United Nations sent a temporary peacekeeping force and the Israelis withdrew. But in 1982, Israel, with the support of Southern Phalangists, invaded Lebanon to expel PLO forces, under the leadership of Yasser Arafat. That same year, Bachir Gemayal, the Phalangist president who had been in power for three months, was assassinated. A peacekeeping force, consisting of American, English, French and Italian soldiers, he withdrew after several suicide attacks by Muslim extremists on positions of international forces. In 1984, Syria and Israel controlled 80% of the country, leaving 20% in the hands of the various factions and militias. Lebanon’s legal government has been virtually powerless. Civil wars have become banal and bloody. Phalangists massacred Palestinians in refugee camps, and Muslims, villages of Christians. In 1985, Israeli troops withdrew, maintaining only one security zone in the south.
Countryaah.com: Offers a full list of airports in the country of Lebanon, sorted by city location and acronyms.
Digopaul.com: presents formal definitions of English word – Lebanon. Covers U.K. and U.S. pronunciations, popular web meanings, various word forms, and related pictures about Lebanon.
Abbreviationfinder.org: Provides most commonly used abbreviations and initials containing the country name of Lebanon. Listed by popularity.
1UpTravel.com – Maps of Lebanon
Browse a collection of city, country, political, shaded relief, thematic and historical maps of this Middle Eastern Country. Check out the maps of Beirut, Sidon and Tyre.
