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Compare Lebanon (2002) - Syria (2008)
Compare Lebanon (2002) z Syria (2008)
| Lebanon (2002) | Syria (2008) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 6 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Beqaa, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye | 14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.3% (male 511,902; female 491,804)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 1,157,688; female 1,267,106) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 113,341; female 135,939) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 36.5% (male 3,633,562/female 3,423,435)
15-64 years: 60.1% (male 5,952,275/female 5,664,236) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 303,346/female 337,893) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk |
| Airports | 8 (2001) | 90 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | 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 (2002) |
total: 26
over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 64
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 52 (2007) |
| Area | total: 10,400 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km |
total: 185,180 sq km
land: 184,050 sq km water: 1,130 sq km note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory |
| Area - comparative | about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut | slightly larger than North Dakota |
| Background | Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions 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 20,000 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 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. | Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, France administered Syria until its independence in 1946. The country lacked political stability, however, and experienced a series of military coups during its first decades. Syria united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. In September 1961, the two entities separated, and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In November 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, a member of the Socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawite sect, seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. During the 1990s, Syria and Israel held occasional peace talks over its return. Following the death of President al-ASAD, his son, Bashar al-ASAD, was approved as president by popular referendum in July 2000. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005. During the July-August 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah, Syria placed its military forces on alert but did not intervene directly on behalf of its ally Hizballah. |
| Birth rate | 19.96 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 27.19 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $4.6 billion
expenditures: $8.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $8.45 billion
expenditures: $10.38 billion (2007 est.) |
| Capital | Beirut | name: Damascus
geographic coordinates: 33 30 N, 36 18 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins 1 April; ends 30 September |
| Climate | Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows | mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus |
| Coastline | 225 km | 193 km |
| Constitution | 23 May 1926, amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989 | 13 March 1973 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Lebanese Republic
conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: Lubnan |
conventional long form: Syrian Arab Republic
conventional short form: Syria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah local short form: Suriyah former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt) |
| Currency | Lebanese pound (LBP) | - |
| Death rate | 6.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 4.74 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $8.4 billion (2001 est.) | $6.61 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Vincent Martin BATTLE
embassy: Awkar, Lebanon mailing address: P. O. Box 70840, Awkar, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002 telephone: 011-961-4-543-600/542-600 FAX: 011-961-4-544-136 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Michael CORBIN
embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansour Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 3391-4444 FAX: [963] (11) 3391-3999 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Farid ABBOUD
chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6320 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles |
chief of mission: Ambassador Imad MUSTAFA
chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548 |
| Disputes - international | Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Lebanese Government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights | Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1,000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) patrolling a buffer zone since 1964; lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shaba'a farms in the Golan Heights; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation settles border dispute with Jordan; approximately two million Iraqis have fled the conflict in Iraq with the majority taking refuge in Syria and Jordan |
| Economic aid - recipient | $3.5 billion (pledges 1997-2001) | $77.85 million (2005 est.) |
| Economy - overview | 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 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% in 1996 and in 1997 but slowed to 2% in 1998, -1% in 1999, and -0.5% in 2000. Growth recovered slightly in 2001 to 1%. During the 1990s annual inflation fell to almost 0% from more than 100%. Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure. The government nonetheless faces serious challenges in the economic arena. It has funded reconstruction by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In order to reduce the ballooning national debt, the re-installed HARIRI government began an economic austerity program to reign in government expenditures, increase revenue collection, and privatize state enterprises. The Hariri government met with international donors at the Paris II conference in November 2002 to seek bilateral assistance in order to restructure its higher interest rate bearing domestic debt obligations at lower rates. While privatization of state-owned enterprises had not occurred by the end of 2002, the government had successfullly avoided a currency devaluation and debt default in 2002. | The Syrian economy grew by an estimated 3.5% in real terms in 2007 led by the petroleum and agricultural sectors, which together account for about one-half of GDP. Higher crude oil prices countered declining oil production and led to higher budgetary and export receipts. Damascus has implemented modest economic reforms in the past few years, including cutting lending interest rates, opening private banks, consolidating all of the multiple exchange rates, raising prices on some subsidized items, most notably, gasoline and cement, and establishing the Damascus Stock Exchange-which is set to begin operations in 2008. In October 2007, for example, Damascus raised the price of subsidized gasoline by 20%, and may institute a rationing system in 2008. In addition, President ASAD signed legislative decrees to encourage corporate ownership reform, and to allow the Central Bank to issue Treasury bills and bonds for government debt. Nevertheless, the economy remains highly controlled by the government. Long-run economic constraints include declining oil production, high unemployment and inflation, rising budget deficits, and increasing pressure on water supplies caused by heavy use in agriculture, rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and water pollution. |
| Electricity - consumption | 8.643 billion kWh (2000) | 34 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2007) |
| Electricity - imports | 1.25 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2007 est.) |
| Electricity - production | 7.95 billion kWh (2000) | 34.94 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 97%
hydro: 3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m |
lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
| Environment - current issues | 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 | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water |
| Environment - international agreements | 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
| Ethnic groups | Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% |
| Exchange rates | Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (January 2002), 1,507.5 (2001), 1,507.5 (2000), 1,507.8 (1999), 1,516.1 (1998), 1,539.5 (1997) | Syrian pounds per US dollar - 50.0085 (2007), 51.689 (2006), 50 (2005), 48.5 (2004), 52.8 (2003)
note: data for 2004-06 are the public sector rate; data for 2002-03 are the parallel market rate in 'Amman and Beirut; the official rate for repaying loans was 11.25 Syrian pounds per US dollars during 2004-06, |
| Executive branch | 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 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 |
chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice President Farouk al-SHARA (since 11 February 2006) oversees foreign policy; Vice President Najah al-ATTAR (since 23 March 2006) oversees cultural policy
head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-UTRI (since 10 September 2003); Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdallah al-DARDARI (since 14 June 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president approved by popular referendum for a second seven-year term (no term limits); referendum last held on 27 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2014); the president appoints the vice presidents, prime minister, and deputy prime ministers election results: Bashar al-ASAD approved as president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.6% |
| Exports | $700 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 150,000 bbl/day (2007 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | foodstuffs and tobacco, textiles, chemicals, precious stones, metal and metal products, electrical equipment and products, jewelry, paper and paper products | crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat |
| Exports - partners | Saudi Arabia 11%, UAE 11%, Switzerland 7%, US 7%, France 5%, Iraq 4%, Jordan 4%, Kuwait 4%, Syria 4% (2000) | Iraq 27.3%, Germany 12.1%, Lebanon 9.5%, Italy 6.6%, Egypt 5.3%, Saudi Arabia 4.8% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green cedar tree centered in the white band | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, colors associated with the Arab Liberation flag; two small, green, five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; former flag of the United Arab Republic where the two stars represented the constituent states of Syria and Egypt; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, Iraq, which has an Arabic inscription centered in the white band, and that of Egypt, which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band; the current design dates to 1980 |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $18.8 billion (2001 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12%
industry: 21% services: 67% (2000) |
agriculture: 24.6%
industry: 24.4% services: 51% (2007 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,200 (2001 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2001 est.) | 3.5% (2007 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 33 50 N, 35 50 E | 35 00 N, 38 00 E |
| Geography - note | Nahr el 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 | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 2005 est.) |
| Heliports | - | 7 (2007) |
| Highways | total: 7,300 km
paved: 6,350 km unpaved: 950 km (1999 est.) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in 2002; opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin transit country on way to US and European markets | a transit point for opiates, hashish, and cocaine bound for regional and Western markets; weak anti-money-laundering controls and bank privatization may leave it vulnerable to money laundering |
| Imports | $6.6 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 160,000 bbl/day (2007 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, textiles, metals, fuels, agricultural foods | machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper |
| Imports - partners | Italy 11%, France 8%, Germany 8%, US 7%, Switzerland 6%, China 5%, Syria 5%, UK 4% (2000) | Saudi Arabia 12.3%, China 7.9%, Egypt 6.2%, UAE 6%, Germany 4.9%, Italy 4.9%, Ukraine 4.8%, Iran 4.5% (2006) |
| Independence | 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | -0.4% (2007 est.) |
| Industries | banking; food processing; jewelry; cement; textiles; mineral and chemical products; wood and furniture products; oil refining; metal fabricating | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seeds crushing |
| Infant mortality rate | 27.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 27.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 27.94 deaths/1,000 live births female: 27.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.5% (2001 est.) | 7% (2007 est.) |
| International organization participation | 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, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 22 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 1,200 sq km (1998 est.) | 13,330 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | 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) | Supreme Judicial Council (appoints and dismisses judges; headed by the President); national level - Supreme Constitutional Court (adjudicates electoral disputes and rules on constitutionality of laws and decrees; justices appointed for four-year terms by the President); Court of Cassation; Appeals Courts (Appeals Courts represent an intermediate level between the Court of Cassation and local level courts); local level - Magistrate Courts; Courts of First Instance; Juvenile Courts; Customs Courts; specialized courts - Economic Security Courts (hear cases related to economic crimes); Supreme State Security Court (hear cases related to national security); Personal Status Courts (religious; hear cases related to marriage and divorce) |
| Labor force | 1.5 million
note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (1999 est.) (2001 est.) |
5.457 million (2007 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | services NA%, industry NA%, agriculture NA% | agriculture: 26%
industry: 14% services: 60% (2003 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 454 km
border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km |
total: 2,253 km
border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km |
| Land use | arable land: 17.6%
permanent crops: 12.51% other: 69.89% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 24.8%
permanent crops: 4.47% other: 70.73% (2005) |
| Languages | Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
| Legal system | mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on a combination of French and Ottoman civil law; Islamic law is used in the family court system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | 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) |
unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-Shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 22-23 April 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPF 172, independents 78 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.79 years
male: 69.38 years female: 74.32 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 70.61 years
male: 69.27 years female: 72.02 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.4% male: 90.8% female: 82.2% (1997 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79.6% male: 86% female: 73.6% (2004 census) |
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey |
| Map references | Middle East | Middle East |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 NM | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm |
| Merchant marine | total: 67 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 320,770 GRT/468,293 DWT
ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 38, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 7, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3, vehicle carrier 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: France 1, Greece 10, Netherlands 4, Panama 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2, Spain 1, Syria 2 (2002 est.) |
total: 96 ships (1000 GRT or over) 353,351 GRT/512,597 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 82, container 1, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 10 (Jordan 2, Lebanon 4, Romania 4) registered in other countries: 164 (Bolivia 1, Cambodia 32, Comoros 8, Cyprus 2, Dominica 2, Georgia 54, Hong Kong 1, North Korea 7, Lebanon 1, Libya 1, Malta 4, Mongolia 1, Panama 24, Sierra Leone 8, Slovakia 2, St Kitts and Nevis 5, St Vincent and The Grenadines 11, unknown 2) (2007) |
| Military branches | Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force) | Syrian Armed Forces: Syrian Arab Army (includes Syrian Arab Navy), Syrian Arab Air and Air Defense Force (includes Air Defense Command) (2005) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $343 million (FY99/00) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.8% (FY99/00) | 5.9% (2005 est.) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,003,174 (2002 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 618,129 (2002 est.) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 22 November (1943) | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) |
| Nationality | noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Lebanese |
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
| Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms | dust storms, sandstorms |
| Natural resources | limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 72 km (none in operation) | gas 2,794 km; oil 2,000 km (2007) |
| 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 | legal parties: National Progressive Front or NPF [President Bashar al-ASAD, Dr. Suleiman QADDAH] (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party [President Bashar al-ASAD]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallah Nasr Al-DIN]; Syrian Arab Socialist Union or ASU [Safwan QUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yusuf Rashid FAYSAL]; Syrian Social Nationalist Party [Ali QANSU]; Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL])
opposition parties not legally recognized:: Arab Democratic Socialist Union Party [Hasan Abdul AZIM]; Arab Socialist Movement; Democratic Ba'th Party [Ibrahim MAHKOS]; People's Democratic Party [Riad al TURK]; Revolutionary Workers' Party [Abdul Hafeez al HAFEZ] Kurdish parties (considered illegal): Kurdish Democratic Front [Abdul Hamid DARWISH] (includes four parties); Kurdish Coordination [Abdul Hakim BASHAR] (includes Azadi Party [Kheirudin MURAD], Future Party [Masha'l TAMMO], Yekity Party [Hasam SALE]) other parties: Nahda Party [Abdul Aziz al MISLET]; Syrian Democratic Party [Mustafa QALAAJI] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Damascus Declaration National Council [Riyad SEIF, secretary general] (a broad alliance of opposition groups and individuals including: Committee for Revival of Civil Society [Michel KILO, Riyad SEIF]; Communist Action Party [Fateh JAMOUS]; Kurdish Democratic Alliance; Kurdish Democratic Front; Liberal Nationalists' Movement; National Democratic Front; National Democratic Rally; and Syrian Human Rights Society or HRAS [Fawed FAWUZ]); National Salvation Front (alliance between former Vice President Abd al-Halim KHADDAM, the SMB, and other small opposition groups); Syrian Muslim Brotherhood or SMB [Sadr al-Din al-BAYANUNI]; (operates in exile in London; endorsed the Damascus Declaration but is not an official member) |
| Population | 3,677,780 (July 2002 est.) | 19,314,747
note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 28% (1999 est.) | 11.9% (2006 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.36% (2002 est.) | 2.244% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Antilyas, Batroun, Beirut, Chekka, El Mina, Ez Zahrani, Jbail, Jounie, Naqoura, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios | 2.85 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | total: 399 km
standard gauge: 317 km 1.435-m narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050-m note: entire system is unusable because of damage in civil war (2001) |
total: 2,711 km
standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2006) |
| Religions | Muslim 70% (including Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 30% (including Orthodox Christian, Catholic, Protestant), Jewish NEGL% | Sunni Muslim 74%, other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%, Christian (various denominations) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) |
| Sex ratio | 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: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.061 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.051 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.898 male(s)/female total population: 1.049 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Suffrage | 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | 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 |
general assessment: fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology
domestic: the number of fixed-line connections has increased markedly since 2000; mobile-cellular service growing rapidly and teledensity has reached 25 wireless telephones per 100 persons; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 963; submarine cable connection to Cyprus; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 700,000 (1999) | 3.243 million (2006) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 580,000 (1999) | 4.675 million (2006) |
| Television broadcast stations | 15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995) | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west |
| Total fertility rate | 2.02 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.31 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 18% (1997 est.) | 10% (2007 est.) |
| Waterways | none | 900 km (not economically significant) (2005) |
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