Lebanon

Lebanon is a country located in the Middle East along the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria, covering an area of approximately 10,400 square kilometers. As of 2024, Lebanon has a population of over 5.36 million, with Arabic as the official language alongside French, English, and Armenian. The country features a narrow coastal plain, the Bekaa Valley, and the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains, with a Mediterranean climate of mild to cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Beirut serves as the capital, and the government operates as a parliamentary democratic republic.

Lebanon has a lower-middle-income economy with a GDP of $20.08 billion and a GDP per capita of $11,300, driven by banking, tourism, real estate and construction, food processing, wine, jewelry, cement, textiles, and oil refining. Key agricultural products include potatoes, milk, tomatoes, apples, oranges, and olives, while natural resources include limestone, iron ore, salt, and arable land. The unemployment rate is 11.6% as of 2023, with a literacy rate of 92% and life expectancy of 77.9 years. Lebanon faces severe economic challenges including hyperinflation, sharp increases in poverty, banks ceasing lending, and economic contraction resulting from the Israel-Hezbollah conflict and destroyed infrastructure.