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Compare Lebanon (2005) - Southern Ocean (2006)

Compare Lebanon (2005) z Southern Ocean (2006)

 Lebanon (2005)Southern Ocean (2006)
 LebanonSouthern Ocean
Administrative divisions 6 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Beqaa, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye -
Age structure 0-14 years: 26.7% (male 520,270/female 499,609)


15-64 years: 66.4% (male 1,216,738/female 1,324,031)


65 years and over: 6.9% (male 120,176/female 145,194) (2005 est.)
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Agriculture - products citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats -
Airports 8 (2004 est.) -
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 (2004 est.)
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Airports - with unpaved runways total: 3


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
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Area total: 10,400 sq km


land: 10,230 sq km


water: 170 sq km
total: 20.327 million sq km


note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut slightly more than twice the size of the US
Background Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions since 1991 and the end of the devastating 15-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, a radical Shia organization, retains its weapons. During Lebanon's civil war, the Arab League legitimized in the Ta'if Accord Syria's troop deployment, numbering about 16,000 based mainly east of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Damascus justified 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 southern Lebanon in May 2000, however, encouraged some Lebanese groups to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. The passage of UNSCR 1559 in early October 2004 - a resolution calling for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and end its interference in Lebanese affairs - further emboldened Lebanese groups opposed to Syria's presence in Lebanon. Syria finally withdrew the remainder of its forces from Lebanon in April of 2005. A large body of recent oceanographic research has shown that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica, plays a crucial role in global ocean circulation. The region where the cold waters of the ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a distinct border - the Antarctic Convergence - which fluctuates with the seasons, but which encompasses a discrete body of water and a unique ecologic region. The Convergence concentrates nutrients, which promotes marine plant life, and which in turn allows for a greater abundance of animal life. In the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization decided to delimit the waters within the Convergence as a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit and which approximates the extent of the Antarctic Convergence. As such, the Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). It should be noted that inclusion of the Southern Ocean does not imply recognition of this feature as one of the world's primary oceans by the US Government.
Birth rate 18.88 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) -
Budget revenues: $4.895 billion


expenditures: $6.642 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
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Capital Beirut -
Climate Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter
Coastline 225 km 17,968 km
Constitution 23 May 1926; amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if 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
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Death rate 6.24 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) -
Debt - external $15.84 billion (2004 est.) -
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Jeffrey D. FELTMAN


embassy: Awkar, Lebanon


mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002


telephone: [961] (4) 542600, 543600


FAX: [961] (4) 544136
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Diplomatic representation in the US 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
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Disputes - international intense international pressure prompts the removal of Syrian troops and intelligence personnel from Lebanon; Lebanese Government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; the roughly 2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been in place since 1978 Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims exist in the waters in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west
Economic aid - recipient $2.2 billion received (2003), out of the $4.2 billion in soft loans pledged at the November 2002 Paris II Aid Conference -
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. In the years since, Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In an attempt to reduce the ballooning national debt, the HARIRI government began an austerity program, reining in government expenditures, increasing revenue collection, and privatizing state enterprises. In November 2002, the government met with international donors at the Paris II conference to seek bilateral assistance in restructuring its massive domestic debt at lower rates of interest. Substantial receipts from donor nations stabilized government finances in 2003, but did little to reduce the debt, which stood at nearly 180% of GDP. In 2004 the HARIRI government issued Eurobonds in an effort to manage maturing debt, and the KARAMI government has continued this practice. However, privatization of state-owned enterprises had not occurred by the end of 2004, as promised during the Paris II conference. Fisheries in 2003-04 landed 136,262 metric tons, of which 87% (118,166 tons) was krill and 8% (11,182 tons) Patagonian toothfish, compared to 142,555 tons in 2002-03 of which 83% (117,728 tons) was krill and 12% (16,479 tons) Patagonian toothfish (estimated fishing from the area covered by the Convention of the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which extends slightly beyond the Southern Ocean area). International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376 metric tons of Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish. In the 2004-05 Antarctic summer 28,202 tourists, most of them seaborne (approximately 97%), visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 14,762 in 1999-2000.
Electricity - consumption 8.591 billion kWh (2002) -
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2002) -
Electricity - imports 1.09 billion kWh (2002) -
Electricity - production 8.066 billion kWh (2002) -
Elevation extremes lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m


highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m
lowest point: -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench


highest point: sea level 0 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 increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish


note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries
Environment - international agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation
the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing)


note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the very cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north
Ethnic groups Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% -
Exchange rates Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (2004), 1,507.5 (2003), 1,507.5 (2002), 1,507.5 (2001), 1,507.5 (2000) -
Executive branch chief of state: President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998)


head of government: Prime Minister Fuad SINIORA (since 30 June 2005); Deputy Prime Minister Elias MURR (since April 2005)


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 election date NA); note - on 3 September 2004 the National Assembly voted 96 to 29 to extend Emile LAHUD's six-year term by three years; the prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; by agreement, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shia Muslim


election results: for 15 October 1998 election: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions
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Exports NA -
Exports - commodities authentic jewelry, inorganic chemicals, miscellaneous consumer goods, fruit, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper -
Exports - partners Syria 24.9%, UAE 10%, Turkey 6.9%, Switzerland 6.7%, Saudi Arabia 5.3% (2004) -
Fiscal year calendar year -
Flag description three horizontal bands consisting of red (top), white (middle, double width), and red (bottom) with a green cedar tree centered in the white band -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 12%


industry: 21%


services: 67% (2000)
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GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2004 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 4% (2004 est.) -
Geographic coordinates 33 50 N, 35 50 E 60 00 S, 90 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude
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 the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the very cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds
Highways total: 7,300 km


paved: 6,198 km


unpaved: 1,102 km (1999 est.)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA


highest 10%: NA
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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 European markets and for Middle Eastern consumption -
Imports NA -
Imports - commodities petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco -
Imports - partners Italy 11.2%, France 10.3%, Syria 9.8%, Germany 8.6%, China 5.8%, US 5.5%, UK 4.6% (2004) -
Independence 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) -
Industrial production growth rate NA -
Industries banking, food processing, jewelry, cement, textiles, mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil refining, metal fabricating -
Infant mortality rate total: 24.52 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 27.19 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 21.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2% (2004 est.) -
International organization participation ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) -
Irrigated land 1,200 sq km (1998 est.) -
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) -
Labor force 2.6 million


note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (2001 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA -
Land boundaries total: 454 km


border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km
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Land use arable land: 16.62%


permanent crops: 13.98%


other: 69.4% (2001)
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Languages Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian -
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 -
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 in four rounds on 29 May, 5, 12, 19 June 2005 (next to be held 2009)


election results: percent of vote by group - NA; seats by group - Future Movement Bloc 36; Democratic Gathering 15; Development and Resistance Bloc 15; Loyalty to the Resistance 14; Free Patriotic Movement 14; Lebanese Forces 6; Qornet Shewan 5; Popular Bloc 4; Tripoli Independent Bloc 3; Syrian National Socialist Party 2; Kataeb Reform Movement 2; Tachnaq Party 2; Democratic Renewal Movement 1; Democratic Left 1; Nasserite Popular Movement 1; Ba'th Party 1; Kataeb Party 1; independent 5
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Life expectancy at birth total population: 72.63 years


male: 70.17 years


female: 75.21 years (2005 est.)
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Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 87.4%


male: 93.1%


female: 82.2% (2003 est.)
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Location Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica
Map references Middle East Antarctic Region
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm -
Merchant marine total: 44 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 198,602 GRT/248,313 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 26, livestock carrier 8, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 3


foreign-owned: 6 (Austria 1, Greece 5)


registered in other countries: 40 (2005)
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Military branches Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF): Army, Navy, and Air Force -
Military expenditures - dollar figure $540.6 million (2002) (2004) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 3.1% (FY99) (2004) -
National holiday Independence Day, 22 November (1943) -
Nationality noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)


adjective: Lebanese
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Natural hazards dust storms, sandstorms huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 meter thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue
Natural resources limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs; squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, fishes
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) -
Pipelines oil 209 km (2004) -
Political parties and leaders Ba'th Party [leader NA]; Democratic Gathering [Walid JUNBLATT]; Democratic Left [leader NA]; Development and Resistance Bloc [Nabih BARRI, Amal leader/speaker]; Free Patriotic Movement [Michel AWN]; Future Movement Bloc [Sa'ad HARIRI]; Kataeb Party [leader NA]; Kataeb Reform Movement [leader NA]; Lebanese Forces [leader NA]; Loyalty to the Resistance [Mohammad RA'AD]; Nasserite Popular Movement [leader NA]; Popular Bloc [leader NA]; Qornet Shewan [leader NA]; Syrian National Socialist Party [leader NA]; Tripoli Independent Bloc [leader NA] -
Political pressure groups and leaders NA -
Population 3,826,018 (July 2005 est.) -
Population below poverty line 28% (1999 est.) -
Population growth rate 1.26% (2005 est.) -
Ports and harbors Beirut, Chekka, Jounie, Tripoli -
Radio broadcast stations AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998) -
Railways total: 401 km


standard gauge: 319 km 1.435-m


narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050-m


note: rail system became unusable because of damage during the civil war in the 1980s; short sections are operable (2004)
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Religions Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian, Copt, Protestant), other 1.3%


note: seventeen religious sects recognized
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Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female


total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
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Suffrage 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education -
Telephone system general assessment: telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding well underway


domestic: primarily microwave radio relay and cable


international: country code - 961; 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
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Telephones - main lines in use 678,800 (2002) -
Telephones - mobile cellular 775,100 (2002) -
Television broadcast stations 15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995) -
Terrain narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 meters over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 meters (the global mean is 133 meters); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million square kilometers in March to about 18.8 million square kilometers in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers
Total fertility rate 1.92 children born/woman (2005 est.) -
Transportation - note - Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal
Unemployment rate 18% (1997 est.) -
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