1988 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1988 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Climate
temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers
Communists
the Lebanese Communist Party was legalized in 1970; members and sympathizers estimated at 2,000-3,000
Comparative area
slightly larger than Maryland
Environment
population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas resulting in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, soil exhaustion; desertification
Land boundary
805 km with South Africa
Land use
10% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 66% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 24% other
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
Special notes
landlocked; enclave of
Terrain
mostly highland with some plateaus, hills, and mountains
Total area
30,350 km2; land area: 30,350 km2
Economy
Agriculture
fruits, wheat, corn, barley, potatoes, tobacco, olives, onions; not selfsufficient in food; an illegal producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade
Budget
public revenues, $500 million; public expenditures, $1.5 billion (1985 est.)
Electric power
1,297,000 kW capacity; 2,270 million kWh produced, 850 kWh per capita (1986)
Exports
$482 million (f.o.b., 1985)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
$5.3 billion (1983 est.)
Imports
$2.2 billion (c.i.f., 1985)
Major industries
service industries, food processing, textiles, cement, oil refining, chemicals, some metal fabricating
Monetary conversion rate
from 1 January through 31 December 1986 the Lebanese pound fell from 18 pounds to 95 pounds per US$1
Natural resources
limestone, iron
Communications
Airfields
10 total, 9 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force Quthtng
Civil air
28 major transport aircraft
Highways
7,370 km total; 6,270 km paved, 450 km gravel and crushed stone, 650 km improved earth
Pipelines
crude oil, 72 km
Ports
2 major (Beirut, Tripoli); one petroleum terminal; 3 legal minor ports; numerous illegal ports controlled by various political factions
Railroads
378 km total; 296 km 1.435meter standard gauge, 82 km 1.050-meter gauge; all single track; system almost inoperable
Telecommunications
rebuilding program disrupted; had fair system of radio-relay, cable; about 150,400 telephones (5.6 per 100 popl.); 3 FM, 5 AM, 15 TV stations; 1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT stations, all inactive; 3 submarine coaxial cables, all inactive; radio-relay to Jordan and Syria, inoperable Defense Forces