Lebanon – education
The public education system, where there is no compulsory schooling, is in principle free of charge, but a token amount is paid. approximately 80% of the adult population can read and write. The education system consists of a five-year primary school for 6-11-year-olds, and it is followed by almost all children. The superstructure education for 11-18-year-olds, which is largely private and is followed by just over half of a cohort, consists of two levels of resp. four and three years; the last level is divided into a general branch, a vocational branch and one leading to teacher training.
Further education takes place at the country’s eight universities (1995), where humanities studies are dominant, as well as at other educational institutions, the majority of which are private.
OFFICIAL NAME: Al-Jumhouriyya al-Lubnaniyya
CAPITAL CITY: Beirut
POPULATION: 5,880,000 (Source: COUNTRYaah)
AREA: 10,450 km²
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (S): Arabic, English, French, Armenian
RELIGION: Shia Muslims 35%, Sunni Muslims 21%, Maronites 19%, Druze 8%, Greek Orthodox 6%, Armenian Orthodox 5%, Unified Christians 5%, Protestants 1%
COIN: Lebanese Pound
CURRENCY CODE: LBP
ENGLISH NAME: Lebanon
INDEPENDENCE: 1946
POPULATION COMPOSITION: Lebanese 84%, Palestinians 9%, Armenians 6%, others 1%
GDP PER residents: $ 15,800 (2013)
LIFE EXPECTANCY: men 76 years, women 78 years (2013)
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, HDI: 0.765
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, POSITION: 65
INTERNET DOMAIN NAME: .lb
Lebanon is a Republic of the Middle East on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. From the mid-1970’s to the early 1990’s, the country went through a bloody and devastating civil war, and from 1976 to 2005, Syria had effectively occupied large parts of the country. Reconstruction was rapid, and Lebanon was regaining its traditional role as the Levant’s economic and trade center with Beirut in a dominant role when the country became a war scene again in the summer of 2006. Since 2012, Lebanon has received more than 1 million. refugees from the civil war in Syria.
- AbbreviationFinder.org: Find two-letter abbreviation for each independent country and territory, such as LE which stands for Lebanon.
Lebanon – Constitution
The Constitution of the Republic of Lebanon is from 1926 with amendments 1927, 1929, 1943, 1947 and 1990. The legislative power lies with the 128 members of the National Assembly, which is equally divided between Christians and Muslims; they are elected for four years by a party list system and general proportional representation elections. The executive power lies with the government, headed by the Prime Minister, who sits for six years and cannot be re-elected immediately; the prime minister is accountable to parliament. The president is elected by the National Assembly for six years. Since 1943, the President has been a Christian (Maronite), the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of Parliament a Shia Muslim. In 1990, the power of the president was severely curtailed in favor of the prime minister, reflecting the increased share of Muslims in the population. Check youremailverifier for Lebanon social condition facts.
Lebanon – economy
Until the beginning of the civil war in 1975, Lebanon had one of the most developed economies in the Middle East and served as the region’s financial center. Free capital mobility and strict banking secrecy attracted significant sums from all over the world. However, the banking sector was seriously affected by the civil war, which led to an immediate capital flight from the country. Since the end of the war in 1990, economic policy has focused on rebuilding the country and stabilizing the currency, the Lebanese pound. Through an extensive investment program, the infrastructure was rebuilt during approximately 15 years, leading to large budget deficits and a public debt reaching 180% of GDP in 2005.
Israel’s intense bombing of Lebanese residential areas and infrastructure in July and August 2006 has once again set the country’s economy years back; official estimates indicate material damage of 9.4 billion. dollars. A donors’ conference in Paris in 2007 has pledged DKK 7.6 billion. dollars in loans and assistance. More traditional problems include weak economic growth (0.5% in 2005) and high unemployment and external debt (around 125% of GDP in 2005).
The majority of exports go to other countries in the Middle East, while imports, which in 2005 were five times greater than exports, are mainly supplied by Syria, Italy, France and China. Denmark’s exports to Lebanon in 2005 amounted to DKK 322 million. DKK, while imports from there were 9 mill. Dairy products as well as medical and pharmaceutical products are the most important Danish export products.
Lebanon – military
The Armed Forces Peace Force is (2006) at 72,100, including conscripts with 12 months of service. The army is of 70,000 men, whose main force is divided into small infantry brigades. The fleet of 1100 men has small patrol and landing craft. The Air Force has a handful of fighter jets and helicopters. The Air Force has had some old Hawker Hunter jet fighters for many years, but is implementing ten used MiG-29 fighters from Russia. The guards are equipped with a mixture of old Soviet and Western equipment. The gendarmerie is of 13,000 men.
Since 1978, Lebanon’s armed forces have shared guarding and surveillance with the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL, which also includes Danish forces. The border with Israel is a battle zone between Hezbollah and Israel.
Lebanon – mass media
Before the civil war, the press in Lebanon had relatively great freedom, and Beirut was an important base for foreign journalists in the Middle East. The country’s first newspaper, Hadiqat Al-Akhbar, was founded in 1858; in 2005 about 15 dailies were published with An-Nahar (grdl. 1933, circulation approximately 50,000) and As-Safir (grdl. 1974, circulation approximately 45,000) as the two largest Arab dailies. In addition, the French-language L’Orient-Le Jour (grdl. 1942, circulation approximately 20,000) and the English-language Daily Star are published. The Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) was founded in 1962.
Until the government in the mid-1990’s introduced a new media law, the electronic mass media was marked by anarchy with over 150 illegal, private channels. The law allows only 18 radio channels in addition to the state-owned Radio Liban (grdl. 1937) and five television channels in addition to the state-owned Télé-Liban (grdl. 1959). Several of the private television stations are affiliated with political movements. Among the most important are Al-Manar (Hezbollah) and Future Television (Hariri). The Lebanese media landscape has traditionally been characterized by diversity, and the television field is more dynamic than in the other Arab countries. Internet is widespread, satellite TV is widespread and several of the common Arab satellite channels are based in Lebanon. See also Arabic press.
Lebanon – literature
The Arab literary and national awakening, al-Nahda, from the mid-1800’s. gained its special mark in Lebanon, as several of the pioneers were European-educated Christians, eager to free themselves from Ottoman rule. Through translations and his own works, the al-Yazidji family, the al-Bustany family and Djurdji Zaydan (1861-1914) laid the foundations for a new literature and a Lebanese national consciousness. Beirut became the literary center of the Arab world with many book publishers, magazines and a fairly free press. Some writers emigrated; best known is Gibran Kahlil Gibran, who worked in the United States.
From the 1900’s. can be mentioned Yusuf T. Awwad (1911-89), who in the novel Beirut’s Mills (1973) anticipated the Civil War. Also Rashid al-Dayf (b. 1946) and Elias Khoury (b. 1948) are deeply affected by this disaster. Prominent female writers are Emily Nasrallah (b. 1931) and Hanan al-Shaykh (b. 1945). The latter has put women’s liberation on the agenda in the novels Zahra’s History (1980) and Gazelle’s Musk Scent (1988). Among the gradually fewer French-speaking writers may be mentioned Alexandre Najjar (b. 1967). In L’école de la guerre (1999, School of War) he revives the horrors of the Civil War, and in Le Roman de Beyrouth (2005, The Novel of Beirut) he depicts the history of the city from 1858 to the present through a family saga for three generations.
After the Civil War, Beirut has slowly regained its position as a literary center where Arab writers can have books published that are undesirable in their home countries. See also Arabic literature.
Lebanon – wine
Lebanon is one of the world’s oldest wine countries; viticulture has been known 1000 years before the birth of Christ. Due to the heat, all vineyards are at least 1000 m high; especially in the Bekaa Valley wine is grown. The best wines are long-lived and powerful red wines. A total of approximately 4 mio. bottles of wine a year.
