1986 Edition

Agriculture

fruits, wheat, corn, barley, potatoes, tobacco, olives, onions; not self-sufficient in food; an illegal producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade

Airfields

66 total, 50 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 1 1 with runways 1, 220-2,439 m

10 total, 9 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m; major military airfields are Riyaq, Kleiat, and al-Fidar Air Strip

Branches

Lao People's Army (LPA, which consists of an army with naval, aviation, and militia elements), Air Force, National Police Department

power lies with the President, who is elected by unicameral legislature (National Assembly); Cabinet appointed by President, approved by legislature; independent secular courts on French pattern; religious courts for matters of marriage, divorce, inheritance, etc.; by custom, the President is a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the president of legislature is a Shi'a Muslim; each of nine religious communities are represented in the legislature in proportion to their national numerical strength

Army, Navy, Air Force

Budget

(1985 est.) public revenues, $500 million; public expenditures, $1.5 billion

Capital

Beirut

Civil air

28 major transport aircraft

Coastline

225 km People

Communists

the Lebanese Communist Party was legalized in 1970; members and sympathizers estimated at 2,000-3,000

Elections

National Assembly held every four years or within three months of dissolution of Chamber; security conditions have prevented parliamentary elections since April 1972 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

Electric power

1,047,300 kW capacity (1985); 13.761 billion kWh produced (1985), 5,254 kWh per capita

Ethnic divisions

93% Arab, 6% Armenian, 1% other

Exports

$595 million (f.o.b., 1984)

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications

GDP

$5.3 billion (1983 est.)

Government leader

Amine Pierre GEMAYEL, President (since September 1982); Rashid KARAMI, Prime Minister (since May 1984)

Highways

about 21,300 km total; 1,300 km bituminous or bituminous treated; 5,900 km gravel, crushed stone, or improved earth; 14,100 km unimproved earth and often impassable during rainy season mid-May to mid-September

7,370 km total; 6,270 km paved, 450 km gravel and crushed stone, 650 km improved earth

Imports

$2.7 billion (f.o.b., 1984)

Infant mortality rate

48/1,000 (1983)

Inland waterways

about 4,587 km, primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional kilometers are sectionally navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m

Labor force

650,000 (1985); 79% industry, commerce, and services, 1 1 % agriculture, 10% goverment; high unemployment

Land boundaries

551 km Water

Language

Arabic (official); French is widely spoken; Armenian, English

Legal system

mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, and civil law system; constitution mandated in 1926; no judicial review of legislative acts; legal education at Lebanese University; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Life expectancy

men 63, women 67

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

12 nm

Literacy

75%

Major industries

service industries, food processing, textiles, cement, oil refining, chemicals, some metal fabricating

Member of

Arab League, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB— Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, IWC — International Wheat Council, NAM, QIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WSG, WTO Economy

Military manpower

males 15-49, 878,000; 469,000 fit for military service; 43,000 reach military age (18) annually; no conscription age specified 50km Land 10,360 km2; smaller than Connecticut; 64% desert, waste, or urban; 27% agricultural; 9% forest; 400,000 hectares under cultivation

Monetary conversion rate

18 Lebanese pounds=US$l (November 1985)

National holiday

Independence Day, 22 November

Nationality

noun — Lebanese (sing., pi.); adjective — Lebanese

Natural resources

limestone, iron

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 seige of Beirut, which resulted in the evacuation of the PLO from Beirut in September under the supervision of a multinational force made up of US, French, and Italian troops. Within days of the departure of the multinational force (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. Lebanon continues to be partially occupied by Syrian troops. Israel withdrew the bulk of its forces from the south in 1985, retaining a 10-km deep security zone just north of the 1949 Armistice Line. Israel continues to arm and train the Army of South Lebanon (ASL), which opposes the return of Palestinian ghters to South Lebanon. The ASL has increasingly been involved in confronting Shi'a as well as leftist militias sponsored by Syria. Syria maintains troops in the Riyaq area of the Bekaa, while Special Forces units are stationed in the Matn, and in the Tripoli areas, north and northeast. In late 1985 the Syrian regime successfully negotiated a tripartite agreement among the three major rival Christian, Druze, and Shi'a militias, but implementation remains a distant possibility. The Christian and Muslim communities are deeply split from within over specific points in the agreement. Israel and Lebanon signed a withdrawal agreement on 17 May 1983. The agreement was never implemented and was subsequently voided. A partial Israeli withdrawal and government attempts to extend authority have led to renewed factional fighting. The following description is based on the present constitutional and customary practices of the Lebanese system.

Official name

Republic of Lebanon

Organized labor

about 65,000 Government

Pipelines

136 km, refined products

crude oil, 72 km

Political subdivisions

4 provinces

Population

2,675,000 (July 1986), average annual growth rate 2.1%

Ports

3 major (Beirut, Tripoli, Sidon), 5 minor

Ports (river)

5 major, 4 minor

Railroads

390 km total; 305 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 85 km 1.050-meter gauge; all single track; system almost inoperable

Religion

57% Muslim (Sunni and Shi'a) and Druze, 42% Christian (Maronite, Greek Orthodox and Catholic, Roman Catholic, Protestant), 1% other (official estimates); Muslims, in fact, constitute a majority

Suffrage

compulsory for all males over 21; authorized for women over 21 with elementary education

Telecommunications

service to general public considered poor; radio network provides generally erratic service to government users; approx. 10 AM stations; 1 TV station; over 5,000 telephones; 1 ground satellite station Defense Forces

rebuilding program disrupted; had fair system of radio relay, cable; approx 150,400 telephones (5.0 per 100 popl.); 3 FM, 5 AM, 15 TV stations; 1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean statellite station, both inactive; 3 submarine coaxial cable (inactive); radio-relay to Jordan and Syria inoperable Defense Forces

Type

republic