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Compare European Union (2008) - Lebanon (2001)
Compare European Union (2008) z Lebanon (2001)
| European Union (2008) | Lebanon (2001) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | - | 5 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Ech Chimal, Ej Jnoub, El Bekaa, Jabal Loubnane |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 15.72% (male 37,208,905/female 35,254,445)
15-64 years: 67.16% (male 155,807,769/female 153,690,235) 65 years and over: 17.11% (male 32,592,595/female 46,273,197) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
27.57% (male 509,975; female 490,031) 15-64 years: 65.72% (male 1,136,995; female 1,247,184) 65 years and over: 6.71% (male 110,964; female 132,625) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, oilseeds, sugar beets, wine, grapes; dairy products, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry; fish | citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats |
| Airports | 3,393 (2006) | 8 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | 2,020 (2006) | total:
5 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | 1,373 (2006) | total:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 4,324,782 sq km | total:
10,400 sq km land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km |
| Area - comparative | less than one-half the size of the US | about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut |
| Background | Following the two devastating World Wars of the first half of the 20th century, a number of European leaders in the late 1940s became convinced that the only way to establish a lasting peace was to unite the two chief belligerent nations - France and Germany - both economically and politically. In 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert SCHUMAN proposed an eventual union of all Europe, the first step of which would be the integration of the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. The following year the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, signed the Treaty of Paris.
The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other parts of the countries' economies. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the six member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct elections were undertaken and they have been held every five years since. In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic and monetary union - including a common currency. This further integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU, raising the membership total to 15. A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it became the unit of exchange for all of the EU states except the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began using the euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - and in 2007 Bulgaria and Romania joined, bringing the current membership to 27. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to function efficiently with an expanded membership, the Treaty of Nice (in force as of 1 February 2003) set forth rules streamlining the size and procedures of EU institutions. An effort to establish an EU constitution, begun in October 2004, failed to attain unanimous ratification. A new effort, undertaken in June 2007, calls for the creation of an Intergovernmental Conference to form a political agreement, known as the Reform Treaty, which is to serve as a constitution. Unlike the constitution, however, the Reform Treaty would amend existing treaties rather than replace them. |
Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions and regaining its national sovereignty since 1991 and the end of the devastating 16-year civil war. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, the Lebanese have conducted several successful elections, most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended central government authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, the radical Shi'a party, retains its weapons. Syria maintains about 25,000 troops in Lebanon based mainly in Beirut, North Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's troop deployment was legitimized by the Arab League during Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if Accord. Damascus justifies its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing the continued weakness of the LAF, Beirut's requests, and the failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from its security zone in southern Lebanon in May of 2000, however, has emboldened some Lebanese Christians and Druze to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. |
| Birth rate | 10 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 20.16 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | - | revenues:
$3.31 billion expenditures: $5.55 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Capital | name: Brussels (Belgium), Strasbourg (France), Luxembourg
geographic coordinates: 50 50 N, 4 20 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: the Council of the European Union meets in Brussels, Belgium, the European Parliament meets in Brussels and Strasbourg, France, and the Court of Justice of the European Communities meets in Luxembourg |
Beirut |
| Climate | cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south | Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows |
| Coastline | 65,992.9 km | 225 km |
| Constitution | based on a series of treaties: the Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951; the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957; the Single European Act in 1986; the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht) in 1992; the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997; and the Treaty of Nice in 2003; note - a new draft Constitutional Treaty, signed on 29 October 2004 in Rome, gave member states two years for ratification either by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it was scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006; defeat in French and Dutch referenda in May-June 2005 dealt a severe setback to the ratification process; in June 2007, the European Council agreed on a clear and concise mandate for an Intergovernmental Conference to form a political agreement and put it into legal form; this agreement, known as the Reform Treaty, is to serve as a constitution and will be presented to the European Council in October 2007, in order to begin the ratification process | 23 May 1926, amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Taif Accord) of October 1989 |
| Country name | - | conventional long form:
Lebanese Republic conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: Lubnan |
| Currency | - | Lebanese pound (LBP) |
| Death rate | 10 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | - | $9.6 billion (2000 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador C. Boyden GRAY
embassy: 13 Zinnerstraat/Rue Zinner, B-1000 Brussels mailing address: same as above telephone: [32] (2) 508-2222 FAX: [32] (2) 512-5720 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador David M. SATTERFIELD embassy: Antelias, Beirut mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Beirut; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002 telephone: [961] (4) 543600, 543600 FAX: [961] (4) 544136 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John BRUTON
chancery: 2300 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 862-9500 FAX: [1] (202) 429-1766 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Dr. Farid ABBOUD chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6300 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles |
| Disputes - international | as a political union, the EU has no border disputes with neighboring countries, but Estonia has no land boundary agreements with Russia, Slovenia disputes its land and maritime boundaries with Croatia, and Spain has territorial and maritime disputes with Morocco and with the UK over Gibraltar; the EU has set up a Schengen area - consisting of 22 EU member states that have signed the convention implementing the Schengen agreements or "acquis" (1985 and 1990) on the free movement of persons and the harmonization of border controls in Europe; these agreements became incorporated into EU law with the implementation of the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam on 1 May 1999; in addition, non-EU states Iceland and Norway (as part of the Nordic Union) have been included in the Schengen area since 1996 (full members in 2001), bringing the total current membership to 24; the UK (since 2000) and Ireland (since 2002) take part in only some aspects of the Schengen area, especially with respect to police and criminal matters; nine of the 12 new member states that joined the EU in 2004 joined Schengen on 21 December 2007; of the three remaining EU states, Cyprus is expected to join by 2009, while Romania and Bulgaria continue to enhance their border security systems | Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Lebanese government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as a part of Lebanon from which Hizballah conducts cross-border attacks |
| Economic aid - recipient | - | $3.5 billion (pledges 1997-2001) |
| Economy - overview | Internally, the EU is attempting to lower trade barriers, adopt a common currency, and move toward convergence of living standards. Internationally, the EU aims to bolster Europe's trade position and its political and economic power. Because of the great differences in per capita income among member states (from $7,000 to $69,000) and historic national animosities, the EU faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common policies. For example, since 2003 Germany and France have flouted the member states' treaty obligation to prevent their national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit. In 2004 and 2007, the EU admitted 10 and two countries, respectively, that are, in general, less advanced technologically and economically than the other 15. Eleven established EU member states introduced the euro as their common currency on 1 January 1999 (Greece did so two years later), but the UK, Sweden, and Denmark chose not to participate. Of the 12 most recent member states, only Slovenia (1 January 2007) and Cyprus and Malta (1 January 2008) have adopted the euro; the remaining nine are legally required to adopt the currency upon meeting EU's fiscal and monetary convergence criteria. | The 1975-91 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. Peace enabled the central government to restore control in Beirut, begin collecting taxes, and regain access to key port and government facilities. Economic recovery was helped by a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers. Family remittances, banking services, manufactured and farm exports, and international aid provided the main sources of foreign exchange. Lebanon's economy has made impressive gains since the launch in 1993 of "Horizon 2000," the government's $20 billion reconstruction program. Real GDP grew 8% in 1994, 7% in 1995, 4% per year in 1996 and 1997 but slowed to 2% in 1998, -1% in 1999, and 1% in 2000. Annual inflation fell during the course of the 1990s from more than 100% to 0%, and foreign exchange reserves jumped from $1.4 billion to more than $6 billion. Burgeoning capital inflows have generated foreign payments surpluses, and the Lebanese pound has remained very stable for the past two years. Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure. Solidere, a $2-billion firm, has managed the reconstruction of Beirut's central business district; the stock market reopened in January 1996; and international banks and insurance companies are returning. The government nonetheless faces serious challenges in the economic arena. It has funded reconstruction by tapping foreign exchange reserves and by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. The newly re-installed HARIRI government's announced policies fail to address the ever-increasing budgetary deficits and national debt burden. The gap between rich and poor has widened in the 1990s, resulting in grassroots dissatisfaction over the skewed distribution of the reconstruction's benefits. |
| Electricity - consumption | 2.81 trillion kWh (2004 est.) | 7.86 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | NA | 0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | NA | 654 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | 3.007 trillion kWh (2004 est.) | 7.748 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
91.29% hydro: 8.71% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands -7 m
highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 m; note - situated on the border between France and Italy |
lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m |
| Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 82, Tropical Timber 94
signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation |
| Ethnic groups | - | Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% |
| Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003) | Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (January 2001), 1,507.5 (2000), 1,507.8 (1999), 1,516.1 (1998), 1,539.5 (1997), 1,571.4 (1996) |
| Executive branch | chief of union: President of the European Commission Jose Manuel DURAO BARROSO (since 22 November 2004)
cabinet: European Commission (composed of 27 members, one from each member country; each commissioner responsible for one or more policy areas) elections: the president of the European Commission is designated by member governments and is confirmed by the European Parliament; working from member state recommendations, the Commission president then assembles a "college" of Commission members; the European Parliament confirms the entire Commission for a five-year term; the last confirmation process was held 18 November 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: European Parliament approved the European Commission by an approval vote of 449 to 149 with 82 abstentions note: the European Council brings together heads of state and government and the president of the European Commission and meets at least four times a year; its aim is to provide the impetus for the major political issues relating to European integration and to issue general policy guidelines |
chief of state:
President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998) head of government: Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 23 October 2000); Deputy Prime Minister Issam FARES (since 23 October 2000) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly; the current Cabinet was formed in 1998 elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term; election last held 15 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; by custom, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shi'a Muslim election results: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions |
| Exports | 6.971 million bbl/day (2001) | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft, plastics, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, fuels, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, wood pulp and paper products, textiles, meat, dairy products, fish, alcoholic beverages. | foodstuffs and tobacco, textiles, chemicals, precious stones, metal and metal products, electrical equipment and products, jewelry, paper and paper products |
| Exports - partners | US 23.3%, Switzerland 7.6%, Russia 5.2%, China 4.8% (2006) | UAE 9%, Saudi Arabia 8%, Syria 6%, US 6%, Kuwait 6%, France 5%, Belgium 5%, Jordan 4% (1999) |
| Fiscal year | NA | calendar year |
| Flag description | on a blue field, 12 five-pointed gold stars arranged in a circle, representing the union of the peoples of Europe; the number of stars is fixed | three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $18.2 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2%
industry: 27.1% services: 70.7% (2006 est.) |
agriculture:
12% industry: 27% services: 61% (1999 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2007 est.) | 1% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | - | 33 50 N, 35 50 E |
| Geography - note | - | Nahr al Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity |
| Heliports | 100 (2007) | - |
| Highways | - | total:
7,300 km paved: 6,350 km unpaved: 950 km (1999 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 25.2% (2001 est.) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | - | inconsequential producer of hashish; a Lebanese/Syrian eradication campaign started in the early 1990s has practically eliminated the opium and cannabis crops |
| Imports | 17.76 million bbl/day (2001) | $6.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, aircraft, plastics, crude oil, chemicals, textiles, metals, foodstuffs, clothing | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, textiles, metals, fuels, agricultural foods |
| Imports - partners | US 13.8%, China 13.4%, Russia 8.2%, Japan 6.2% (2006) | Italy 13%, France 11%, Germany 8%, US 7%, Switzerland 6%, Japan, UK, Syria (1999) |
| Independence | 7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the EU); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force) | 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 2.6% (2006 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | among the world's largest and most technologically advanced, the European Union industrial base includes: ferrous and non-ferrous metal production and processing, metal products, petroleum, coal, cement, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, rail transportation equipment, passenger and commercial vehicles, construction equipment, industrial equipment, shipbuilding, electrical power equipment, machine tools and automated manufacturing systems, electronics and telecommunications equipment, fishing, food and beverage processing, furniture, paper, textiles, tourism | banking; food processing; jewelry; cement; textiles; mineral and chemical products; wood and furniture products; oil refining; metal fabricating |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 4.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
28.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.8% (2006 est.) | 0% (2000 est.) |
| International organization participation | European Union: ARF (dialogue member), ASEAN (dialogue member), IDA, OAS (observer), UN (observer)
European Community: Australian Group, CBSS, CERN, FAO, EBRD, G-10, NAM (observer), NSG (observer), OECD, UNRWA, WCO, WTO, ZC (observer) European Central Bank: BIS European Investment Bank: EBRD, WADB (nonregional member) |
ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 22 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 168,050 sq km (2003 est.) | 860 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Court of Justice of the European Communities (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied uniformly throughout the EU; resolve constitutional issues among the EU institutions) - 27 justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note - for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 13 justices known as the "Grand Chamber"; Court of First Instance - 27 justices appointed for a six-year term | four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed) |
| Labor force | 222.4 million (2006 est.) | 1.3 million (1999 est.)
note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (1997 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 4.4%
industry: 27.1% services: 67.1% note: the remainder is in miscellaneous public and private sector industries and services (2002 est.) |
services NA%, industry NA%, agriculture NA% |
| Land boundaries | total: 12,440.8 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Andorra 120.3 km, Belarus 1,050 km, Croatia 999 km, Holy See 3.2 km, Liechtenstein 34.9 km, Macedonia 394 km, Moldova 450 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Norway 2,348 km, Russia 2,257 km, San Marino 39 km, Serbia 945 km, Switzerland 1,811 km, Turkey 446 km, Ukraine 1,257 km note: data for European Continent only |
total:
454 km border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km |
| Land use | arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
arable land:
18% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 8% other: 64% (1996 est.) |
| Languages | Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Gaelic, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish
note: only official languages are listed; German, the major language of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, is the most widely spoken mother tongue - over 19% of the EU population; English is the most widely spoken language - about 49% of the EU population is conversant with it (2007) |
Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian |
| Legal system | comparable to the legal systems of member states; first supranational law system | mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | two legislative bodies consists of the Council of the European Union (27 member-state ministers having 345 votes; the number of votes is roughly proportional to member-states' population; note - the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU) and the European Parliament (785 seats, as of 1 January 2007; seats allocated among member states by proportion to population; members elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term)
elections: last held 10-13 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party - EPP-ED 268, PES 202, ALDE 88, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 36, UEN 27, independents 28; note - seats by party as of 1 December 2007 - EPP-ED 275, PES 217, ALDE 104, UEN 44, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 24, independents 34, 4 unaccounted for |
unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 August and 3 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - Muslim 57% (of which Sunni 25%, Sh'ite 25%, Druze 6%, Alawite less than 1%), Christian 43% (of which Maronite 23%); seats by party - Muslim 64 (of which Sunni 27, Sh'ite 27, Druze 8, Alawite 2), Christian 64 (of which Maronite 34) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.7 years
male: 75.6 years female: 82 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
71.52 years male: 69.13 years female: 74.03 years (2001 est.) |
| Literacy | - | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 86.4% male: 90.8% female: 82.2% (1997 est.) |
| Location | Europe between the North Atlantic Ocean in the west and Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine to the east | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria |
| Map references | Europe | Middle East |
| Maritime claims | NA | territorial sea:
12 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | total:
71 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 379,705 GRT/592,672 DWT ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 42, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Netherlands 1, Syria 1 (2000 est.) |
| Military - note | In November 2004, the EU heads of government signed a "Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe" that offers possibilities for increased defense and security cooperation. If ratified, this treaty will give operational effect to the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), approved in the 2000 Nice Treaty. Despite limits of cooperation for some EU members, development of a EU military planning unit is likely to continue. The planning unit will support the EU Rapid Reaction Force, which EU ministers have said will deploy 2 "battle groups" in January 2007. France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy continue to press for wider coordination. The 5-nation Eurocorps - created in 1992 by France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Luxembourg - has already deployed troops and police on peacekeeping missions to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and assumed command of the ISAF in Afghanistan in August 2004. Eurocorps directly commands the 5,000-man Franco-German Brigade, the Multinational Command Support Brigade, and EUFOR, which took over from SFOR in Bosnia in December 2004. Individual EU nations made commitments to provide 67,100 troops following the December 1999 EU summit in Helsinki. Some 56,000 troops from EU member states were actually deployed on various international operations in 2003. In August 2004, the new European Defense Agency, tasked with promoting cooperative European defense capabilities, began operations. In November 2004, the EU Council of Ministers formally committed to creating 13 1,500-man battle groups by the end of 2007, to respond to international crises on a rotating basis. Twenty-two of the EU's 25 nations have agreed to supply troops. France, Italy, and the UK formed the first of 3 battle groups in 2005. In May 2005, Norway, Sweden and Finland agreed to establish one of the battle groups, possibly to include Estonia forces. The remaining 9 groups are to be formed in 2007. A rapid-reaction naval EU Maritime Task Group was stood up in March 2007. (2005) | - |
| Military branches | - | Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $343 million (FY99/00) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 4.8% (FY99/00) |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
980,412 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
605,332 (2001 est.) |
| National holiday | Europe Day 9 May (1950); note - a Union-wide holiday, the day that Robert SCHUMAN proposed the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community to achieve an organized Europe | Independence Day, 22 November (1943) |
| Nationality | - | noun:
Lebanese (singular and plural) adjective: Lebanese |
| Natural hazards | flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in Spain; ice floes in the Baltic | dust storms, sandstorms |
| Natural resources | iron ore, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, bauxite, uranium, potash, salt, hydropower, arable land, timber, fish | limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land |
| Net migration rate | 1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | crude oil 72 km (none in operation) |
| Political parties and leaders | Confederal Group of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left or EUL/NGL [Francis WURTZ]; European People's Party-European Democrats or EPP-ED [Joseph DAUL]; Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe or ALDE [Graham R. WATSON]; Group of Greens/European Free Alliance or Greens/EFA [Monica FRASSONI and Daniel Marc COHN-BENDIT]; Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty Group or ITS [Bruno GOLLNISCH]; Independence/Democracy Group or IND/DEM [Jens-Peter BONDE and Nigel FARAGE]; Socialist Group in the European Parliament or PES [Martin SCHULZ]; Union for Europe of the Nations Group or UEN [Brian CROWLEY and Cristiana MUSCARDINI] | 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 |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
| Population | 490,426,060 (July 2007 est.) | 3,627,774 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | see individual country listings | 28% (1999 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.16% (2007 est.) | 1.38% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Antilyas, Batroun, Beirut, Chekka, El Mina, Ez Zahrani, Jbail, Jounie, Naqoura, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 930, FM 13,655, shortwave 71 (1998); note - sum of individual country radio broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Euroradio) | AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998) |
| Radios | - | 2.85 million (1997) |
| Railways | total: 236,656 km
broad gauge: 28,240 km standard gauge: 200,532 km narrow gauge: 7,861 km other: 23 km (2006) |
total:
399 km (mostly unusable because of damage in civil war) standard gauge: 317 km 1.435-m narrow gauge: 82 km (1999) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish | Muslim 70% (including Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 30% (including Orthodox Christian, Catholic, Protestant), Jewish NEGL% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: NA
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education |
| Telephone system | note - see individual country entries of member states | general assessment:
telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding well underway domestic: primarily microwave radio relay and cable international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) (erratic operations); coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan; 3 submarine coaxial cables |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 238 million (2005) | 700,000 (1999) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 466 million (2005) | 580,000 (1999) |
| Television broadcast stations | 2,700 (1995); note - sum of individual country television broadcast stations excluding repeaters; there is also a European-wide station (Eurovision) | 15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas | narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa' (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains |
| Total fertility rate | 1.5 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.05 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 8.5% (2006 est.) | 18% (1997 est.) |
| Waterways | 52,332 km (2006) | none |
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