Lebanon (2002) | Guinea-Bissau (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Beqaa, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos |
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:
42.09% (male 276,312; female 277,536) 15-64 years: 55.05% (male 344,493; female 379,889) 65 years and over: 2.86% (male 16,850; female 20,742) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
Airports | 8 (2001) | 29 (2000 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 (2002) |
total:
3 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
26 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 10,400 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km |
total:
36,120 sq km land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut |
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. | In 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal, the country's first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held. An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil war in 1998, created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. The president was ousted by a military junta in May 1999. An interim government turned over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Koumba YALLA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by a crippled economy devastated by civil war and the military's predilection for governmental meddling. |
Birth rate | 19.96 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 39.29 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.6 billion
expenditures: $8.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Beirut | Bissau |
Climate | Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows | tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds |
Coastline | 225 km | 350 km |
Constitution | 23 May 1926, amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989 | 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 |
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:
Republic of Guinea-Bissau conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau local short form: Guine-Bissau former: Portuguese Guinea |
Currency | Lebanese pound (LBP) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously the Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used |
Death rate | 6.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 15.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.4 billion (2001 est.) | $964 million (1998 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 |
the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta |
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 Mario LOPES DA ROSA chancery: Suite 519, 1511 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950 FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954 |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $3.5 billion (pledges 1997-2001) | $115.4 million (1995) |
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. | One of the 20 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2000. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.643 billion kWh (2000) | 51.2 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 1.25 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 7.95 billion kWh (2000) | 55 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 97%
hydro: 3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 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; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% | African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% |
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) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); Guinea-Bissauan pesos per US dollar - 26,373 (1996)
note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the CFA franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the CFA franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA francs per euro |
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 Koumba YALLA (since 18 February 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Faustino IMBALI (since 20 March 2001) cabinet: NA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature election results: Koumba YALLA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Koumba YALLA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28% |
Exports | $700 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $80 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | foodstuffs and tobacco, textiles, chemicals, precious stones, metal and metal products, electrical equipment and products, jewelry, paper and paper products | cashew nuts 70%, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber (1996) |
Exports - partners | Saudi Arabia 11%, UAE 11%, Switzerland 7%, US 7%, France 5%, Iraq 4%, Jordan 4%, Kuwait 4%, Syria 4% (2000) | India 59%, Singapore 12%, Italy 10% (1998) |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $18.8 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12%
industry: 21% services: 67% (2000) |
agriculture:
54% industry: 15% services: 31% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,200 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2001 est.) | 7.6% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 33 50 N, 35 50 E | 12 00 N, 15 00 W |
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 | - |
Highways | total: 7,300 km
paved: 6,350 km unpaved: 950 km (1999 est.) |
total:
4,400 km paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
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 | - |
Imports | $6.6 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $55.2 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, textiles, metals, fuels, agricultural foods | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products (1996) |
Imports - partners | Italy 11%, France 8%, Germany 8%, US 7%, Switzerland 6%, China 5%, Syria 5%, UK 4% (2000) | Portugal 26%, France 8%, Senegal 8%, Netherlands 7% (1998) |
Independence | 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2.6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | banking; food processing; jewelry; cement; textiles; mineral and chemical products; wood and furniture products; oil refining; metal fabricating | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks |
Infant mortality rate | 27.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 110.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.5% (2001 est.) | 3% (2000 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) | ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 22 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,200 sq km (1998 est.) | 17 sq km (1993 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) | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices who are appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases) |
Labor force | 1.5 million
note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (1999 est.) (2001 est.) |
480,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | services NA%, industry NA%, agriculture NA% | agriculture 78% |
Land boundaries | total: 454 km
border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km |
total:
724 km border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
Land use | arable land: 17.6%
permanent crops: 12.51% other: 69.89% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
11% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 38% forests and woodland: 38% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
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 | NA |
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 National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years)
elections: last held 28 November 1999 (next to be held by NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRS 37, RGB 27, PAIGC 25, 11 remaining seats went to 5 of the remaining 10 parties that fielded candidates |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.79 years
male: 69.38 years female: 74.32 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
49.42 years male: 47.12 years female: 51.78 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.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 53.9% male: 67.1% female: 40.7% (1997 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 NM | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 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.) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force) | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $343 million (FY99/00) | $8 million (FY96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.8% (FY99/00) | 2.8% (FY96) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,003,174 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
305,071 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 618,129 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
173,703 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 22 November (1943) | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) |
Nationality | noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Lebanese |
noun:
Guinean (s) adjective: Guinean |
Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
Natural resources | limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -1.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 72 km (none in operation) | - |
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 | African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Francisco BENANTE]; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Koumba YALLA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Victor Sau'de MARIA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 3,677,780 (July 2002 est.) | 1,315,822 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 28% (1999 est.) | 50% (1991 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.36% (2002 est.) | 2.23% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Antilyas, Batroun, Beirut, Chekka, El Mina, Ez Zahrani, Jbail, Jounie, Naqoura, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 2.85 million (1997) | 49,000 (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) |
0 km |
Religions | Muslim 70% (including Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 30% (including Orthodox Christian, Catholic, Protestant), Jewish NEGL% | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% |
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:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 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:
small system domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 700,000 (1999) | 8,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 580,000 (1999) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east |
Total fertility rate | 2.02 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5.2 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 18% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping |